Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony release an all-Debussy album – nominated for a GRAMMY Award – featuring Images pour orchestre, Jeux, and La plus que lente. This album brings the vivid landscapes of Images, impassioned playfulness of Jeux, and the sensuality of La plus que lente together in a collection that exquisitely illustrates the French composer’s mastery with orchestration.
It’s as effective in the descriptive and evocative pieces of the Images as it is in the much more elusive scenario of Jeux, in which Tilson Thomas weaves the thematic threads into a shimmering, allusive web, with the insidious waltz that emerges in the final pages connecting neatly with the slow waltz of La plus Que Lente. A gorgeous disc.
- Andrew Clements, The Guardian
Claude Debussy (1862-1918)
San Francisco Symphony
Michael Tilson Thomas, music director and conductor
Images pour orchestre 35:24
I. Gigues 7:24
Ibéria
II. Par les rues et par les chemins 7:12
III. Les parfums de la nuit 8:46
IV. Le matin d’un jour de fête 4:44
V. Rondes de printemps 7:18
Jeux 18:26
La plus que lente 6:31
Total Playing Time: 1:00:21
This SACD plays in all CD and SACD players.
All works recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall — a venue of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center, City and County of San Francisco. Images was recorded in 192 kHz/ 24-bit audio (May 22-25, 2014), Jeux was recorded in 96 kHz/ 24-bit audio (January 10-13, 2013), and La plus que lente was recorded in 192 kHz/ 24-bit audio (September 26-28, 2013).
