Eduard van Beinum’s stereo Debussy recordings have withstood all competition for nearly half a century, and they remain marvelously enjoyable. La Mer combines crystalline purity of expression with some highly distinctive touches, most notably the extraordinarily noble conclusion of the first movement and a really ferocious finale. The Nocturnes show the Concertgebouw winds at their finest. “Nuages” has that magical simplicity of phrasing that makes time seem suspended; “Fetes” is exciting but never scrambled; and “Sirènes” shimmers at a good, flowing tempo. Beinum’s Images have aged a bit less well, a function of the dated mono sound and the slightly funky percussion playing in “Iberia”. But if the precision of the orchestra isn’t quite what it would later become, the style and atmosphere leave nothing to be desired. In short, listeners who love Debussy need to add these performances to their collections, assuming that they aren’t there already. [11/29/2000]
