Formerly available from VAI, the items that Ivan Moravec has selected for reissue on Supraphon establish him as a worthy successor to Walter Gieseking in French repertoire, though Moravec's "velvet touch" comes with a surer technique than Gieseking ever commanded. The virtues of these performances are deservedly well-known. Franck's masterpiece seldom has sounded so cogently integrated, with a particularly seraphic Choral introducing a fugue in which Moravec offers optimal linear clarity without any compromise in richness of tone color. Ravel's Sonatine rivals Argerich's in prismatic delicacy as well as virtuosic projection of the music's considerable technical demands.

The Debussy preludes include a glittering Fireworks, a grandly imposing Engulfed Cathedral, and a particularly exquisite Sounds and Scents Swirl in the Night Air (alongside marvelous versions of The Hills of Anacapri and The Terrace of Moonlit Audiences). In these, as in the Franck and the sparkling final toccata of Pour le piano, Moravec's prevailingly gentle touch never precludes surprisingly powerful moments and a wide dynamic range where necessary. Sensitive, ungimmicky remastering gives an excellent sense of the tone colors at Moravec's command notwithstanding the diversity of instruments and venues used over a wide span of time (1962-69), with only a light touch of hiss betraying the age of the master tapes.

--David Hurwitz