In recent decades Debussy’s Études have acquired a certain cachet among pianists who regularly champion uncompromising fare by Boulez, Berio, Carter, Stockhausen, and others of that ilk. Such pianists include Maurizio Pollini, the late Paul Jacobs, and, presently, Florent Boffard. Phrase by phrase and note for note, Boffard matches the Olympian control and intellectual rigor of Pollini’s DG recording, but with a warm, lustrous sonority, more generous pedaling, sexier soft chords, and a wider degree of melodic and harmonic inflection from ye olde left hand. The way Boffard caresses Étude No. 11’s motto theme at each occurrence, or his exquisitely timed pedal tones in the preceding piece are guaranteed to make you drool. He commands the final étude’s exposed leaps to the point where he can play music rather than merely nail the notes. Like Mitsuko Uchida, Boffard brings slithering accuracy and acrobatic nimbleness to No. 7’s chromatic patterns and No. 8’s perpetual motion scales between the hands. Some listeners may find the strettos in “pour les Quartes” more vehement than usual, yet Boffard is simply complying with Debussy’s request for a “sonore martelé” at these junctures.
Boffard’s fingered legato throughout the first Bartók study evokes the sound of soft mallets striking a deluxe-model marimba, although Paul Jacobs pays closer attention to the composer’s accents and marcatissimo climaxes. Likewise, Jacobs achieves greater continuity in the second étude by keeping whirling 32nd-notes absolutely steady and even, whereas Boffard’s small tempo adjustments pull the half-notes and quarter-notes out of melodic focus. I also want to hear more of the subsidiary voices Bartók singles out from the third étude’s taxing leggiero left-hand sequences. Still, Boffard’s incisive, sizzling account will send many an aspiring piano player back to the woodshed for further practice. Recommended.
