Alain Planès never played better on disc than in this 1996/2006 Debussy cycle for Harmonia Mundi, now reissued complete as a specially-priced 5-CD set. I’ve long appreciated Planès’ slightly dry yet sharply delineated and energetic Etudes, along with his softer-grained and subtly characterized Preludes that feature a beautifully preserved 1897 Bechstein. Another vintage piano, a 1902 Blüthner, boasts a nasal, timbrally well-differentiated quality that befits Planès’ clean, intimately nuanced renditions of the Suite bergamasque, Children’s Corner, and Images Books 1 and 2. You can access my detailed comments about Volumes 4 and 5 in its original double-album incarnation by typing Q10994 in Search Reviews. Although Jean-Eflam Bavouzet’s Chandos cycle offers more sonic and artistic consistency (as well as his own brilliant transcriptions of orchestral fare), Planès hits far more than he misses, and listeners surely will find his combination of modern and “period” instruments illuminating. Furthermore, Harmonia Mundi’s attractive packaging and superb annotations add further value to the bargain. Highly recommended. [4/30/2010]
