Ralph Votapek manages to fit both books of Debussy’s Preludes on one disc by virtue of his generally brisk tempos and refusal to linger more than absolutely necessary. He’s less concerned with color and atmosphere than he is with line and rhythm, although his sparkling, virile tone boasts plenty of nuances, even if it’s not quite the model of Debussy’s “hammerless” paradigm. Votapek brilliantly points up the dance-like characteristics of La sérénade interrompue, La danse de Puck, Minstrels, La Puerta del Vino, and General Lavine–eccentric, and renders Brouillards’ arpeggios and the hard-to-control repeated figurations in Le vent dans la plaine unusually distinct without sounding dry or notey.
My one reservation concerns Votapek’s unwillingness to play really softly. Perhaps the close microphone placement is at fault, but the composer’s frequent requests for piano and pianissimo often are as loud as his genuine fortes. Be that as it may, Votapek’s clean, forthright pianism certainly will please collectors seeking another modern, single-disc recording of the Debussy Preludes to consider alongside Vladimir Viardo (ProPiano) or Joan Rowland (SurroundedBy), and to supplement my two-CD favorites from Kars (Decca), Arrau (Philips), and the reference Jacobs (Nonesuch).
