Claude Debussy: Piano Music, Vol. 4 – Noriko Ogawa

This well-filled disc also includes a rarely heard 13th étude, the Étude retrouvée discovered only in 1977. Another late work is Six Épigraphes antiques. These short pieces originated as musical renderings of six poems from Pierre Louÿ’s collection Chansons de Bilitis, purportedly translations of ancient Greek texts by a Greek courtesan. Originally written for two pianos, the Épigraphes were later arranged for a single player by the composer himself. The remaining pieces on the disc come from opposite ends of Debussy’s career. Intermède is the piano version of a movement from his Piano Trio No. 1 from 1880, while Les Soirs illumines from 1917 is Debussy’s last completed work, written as a token of gratitude to his coal merchant, a Monsieur Tronquin, for having provided the household with precious fuel during the wartime winters.

Reviews

Gramophone Magazine September 2008

“All Ogawa’s performances are scrupulously worked, considered and clarified.