# Debussy: Complete Works DG box set



## Gentlementalman (Dec 20, 2017)

Anyone else thinking of getting this? Since i am early on in building my library, i have very little Debussy, and this seems like a great collection.

http://www.deutschegrammophon.com/us/album/debussy-100.html


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

There's another complete set from Warner.









Both companies have access to absolutely marvelous recordings. Heck, get both!


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## Gentlementalman (Dec 20, 2017)

mbhaub said:


> Heck, get both!


My wife may kill me in my sleep.


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## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Gentlementalman said:


> My wife may kill me in my sleep.


No she doesn't then she has to play them all alone, _just put it on your valentine's list. _


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

I have the DG set and its fantastic, worth every penny.


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## KRoad (Jun 1, 2012)

I have the Warner set which I think in retrospect I rushed into buying. It has only received three star reviews so far. When I saw the DG set I had a feeling it would be the better of the two but alas, it was already too late to change my mind. Perhaps I am wrong though. However, I will not be buying both. 

Can anyone confirm at this stage which is the better of the two? Or is it more a case of different folks / different strokes?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The Warner set, 33 CDs, has two 5-star reviews on Amazon. The upcoming DG set, on 24 CDs, has of course no reviews.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

KenOC said:


> The upcoming DG set, on 24 CDs, has of course no reviews.


Whoops didn't notice this was a new DG set in the OP. I have the Debussy Edition on DG, not the upcoming DG Complete Works set which appears to have some overlap but some substantial differences as well, and a few more works hence the 'complete'.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

If you’re a freak in finding the “best” or most right interpretation for you like I am, then better to buy individual works. Compilations offer a general overview which you could get already on Spotify for free. You could end up spending/wasting a lot of money by not finding the ideal recording for you. I wasn’t too impressed by the names of the performers for either box set.

This may be subjective, but French conductors / performers generally do it better in my view. Jean Martinon / Charles Dutoit for orchestral works, Walter Giesking (French born German?), Samson Francois, Pascal Roge for piano. 

Not coincidentally, they are also great for Ravel too. Just my opinion. [i’ve wasted money on others on CD’s before online sampling was available).


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## Gentlementalman (Dec 20, 2017)

Phil loves classical said:


> If you're a freak in finding the "best" or most right interpretation for you like I am, then better to buy individual works. Compilations offer a general overview which you could get already on Spotify for free. You could end up spending/wasting a lot of money by not finding the ideal recording for you. I wasn't too impressed by the names of the performers for either box set.


Ya, i had that thought as well. However, i have heard some of the recordings and have enjoyed them, and i have heard good things about many of the others. I also do not mind supplementing the box with more Recordings that i find to be better.


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

Why let a review spoil your fun? If you've got a Debussy box, enjoy it! Incredibly low prices on both of those boxes. How can you go wrong?


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## palJacky (Nov 27, 2010)

I have only been lurking for a tad, and I have a question about the Warner/EMI box which I am currently traversing.

I chose it over the DG for several reasons.
First more music, it contains many transcriptions(I don't know if I need a recording of Debussy's transcription of Saint-Saens Symphony #2 for piano). There is even a disc of historical Debussy himself at the piano.

Second, I have the previousy mentioned 18-disc edition from DG and thought before I saw the track listing that there would be more of an overlap.

Last was the Warner/EMI was cheaper and already out at the time I was comparing them.


My question is for any Debussy 'experts'. 'Complete' means different things to different record manufactures.

Is there any noticiable omissions from this EMI box?

I am thinking along the lines of DGs Stravinsky box from a few years back which was missing a few things such as the suite from 'pulicinella' and Stravinsky's original Pianola etude which became the basis for his 'Madrid' etude for orchestra. Unlike the recent discovery, those omissions could have been fixed.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

Can't ever get enough Debussy. 
Several box sets of his works exist. The DG box sounds like a great buy, but the Warner box is available at about half the price.
Too, you may favor only the orchestral works and/or piano works, and boxes of just these exist for far cheaper than either of the two big boxes mentioned.
I've purchased a great many of those big "complete works" boxes and like many of you out there I tend to utilize them to survey composers, especially for more obscure works. Over the years I've tended to purchase recordings that received good reviews from various critics here and there whom I've come to rely on and trust. Few if any of the big boxes will provide all "great" performances, but that's not really their objective.
If you can afford both, go for them.
Meanwhile, survey what is available in Debussy at a place like Amazon. You'll find there is quite a bit of music out there to be had. Read reviews, ask around (like you've done here!) and make wise choices. And your music will last you a lifetime.

By the way, you've gotten me curious about picking up that DG box. Can't ever get enough Debussy!


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## David Phillips (Jun 26, 2017)

I plumped for the Warner set - it is a bit of a mish-mash performance-wise, but there's a lot to hold the interest and, apart from having no sung texts, it's very nicely produced.


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

PalJacky asks, "My question is for any Debussy 'experts'. 'Complete' means different things to different record manufactures.

Is there any noticiable omissions from this [Warner]EMI box?"

Hi PalJacky, it's MRS from Amazon. While I wouldn't consider myself a Debussy 'expert', I have been a Debussy enthusiast for several decades now, and the Warner set is by far the most complete Debussy box set I've ever seen, on LP or CD. Usually these kinds of sets aren't complete (but only advertised as such), largely because Debussy wrote so many mélodies, along with various student works, like "Le Gladiateur", & two unfinished late Poe operas (there was also a late Debussy opera on Tristan und Isolde, for which there doesn't seem to be any music...), etc. (Plus, new Debussy works keep getting discovered.) Indeed, of the two Poe operas, I see that "Le Diable dans le Beffroi" (or The Devil in the Belfry) isn't included in the Warner set, though that was the least finished of Debussy's two late operas, as he was gravely ill at the time (scholar Robert Orledge has completed it, and the music is probably more Orledge than Debussy). The set also provides only a piano version of "La Chute de la maison Usher" (or The Fall of the House of Usher), which Debussy came closer to finishing.

https://www.amazon.com/Debussy-chût...54&sr=8-4-fkmr1&keywords=debussy+belfry+usher

The notes to the Warner set also state, "The one work that is not currently available is the orchestral version of an "Intermezzo" composed in June 1882. However, it is possible to form an idea of how this might have sounded thanks to Debussy's own transcription of the piece for piano duet." So, I gather they must have had trouble getting the rights to the orchestral version manuscript (as presumably it is privately owned).

Otherwise, everything I know by Debussy appears to be included in the Warner set (even works that I didn't know had ever been recorded). For instance, I see there are performances from pianist Jean-Louis Haguenauer's 'complete' set of all Debussy's known mélodies, which included various different versions of individual songs, as well as a number of newly discovered songs. So, if the Warner set includes every song & alternative version that was premiered in Haguenauer's survey, then I believe it would be very close to a truly "complete" Debussy set, which makes it a remarkable box set, from that standpoint. I see it even includes the recently discovered piano piece (in 2001) that Debussy wrote to obtain coal for his house in 1917, "Les soirs illumines par l'ardeur du charbon" ("Evenings Lit by Glowing Coal"), played by pianist Alain Planes. However, with that said, I'm a bit skeptical that the set does contain every new song & alternative version from Haguenauer's set, but you'd have to go through both sets and check song by song (though it may). Here's a link to the Haguenauer set, if any 'completist' out there wishes to do so (& let me know, as I'd be interested if every song is included or not):

https://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Fran...-strip-0&keywords=haguenauer+debussy+melodies

As for the performances, I know many of the recordings in the two Debussy Centenary sets (some in more depth than others), and would consider both sets a mixed bag.

From the Warner set, I wouldn't jump to recommend the following musicians in Debussy (though granted they may be good), as I think you can do better, & in some cases a lot better in Debussy: Aldo Ciccolini, Cécile Ousset (though her Preludes can be interesting, as her teacher Marcel Ciampi was a friend of Debussy's & left Ousset his 'marked' Preludes scores, which Debussy wrote notes on), Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Alice Ader, Marco Rapetti (whose box set of Piano Duo music with Massimiliano Damerini isn't as good as Chaplin & Cassard's single Decca recording, IMO, nor the Kontarsky brothers either, etc.), Yehudi Menuhin in the Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp & Violin Sonata (mostly due to sound limitations, but also because Menuhin was more of a violinist than a violist), François-Rene Duchable, Sir Simon Rattle, Mady Mesple (I find her voice hard to listen to), Natalie Dessay (not in Debussy), Barbara Hendricks (a good singer, but she tends to have too wobbly a vibrato for my tastes), Mikko Franck (a mediocre L'enfant prodigue, which I regretted buying), & Daniel Barenboim (not as a Debussy conductor). However, the rest of the set looks good, and is certainly comprehensive, with lots of interesting odds & ends, such as Debussy's own piano roll recordings, which are fascinating to hear. I'll probably be buying it myself, as there are recordings of Debussy music there that I don't recall ever seeing elsewhere, such as the following works:

Chanson des brises, for soprano, female chorus & four-hands piano
The first version (1898) of the two Chansons de Chansons de Charles d'Orleans
Humoreske in Walzerform, Op. 159 (Transc. Debussy--an arrangement of Raff's Humoreske in Walzerform)
A la fontaine, an arrangement for piano solo of "Am Stringbrunnen" from Schumann's Op. 85 set of piano duets
Swan Lake, Op. 20 (Transc. Debussy for Piano 4 Hands)
Der fliegende Höllander, WWV 63: Overture (Transc. Debussy for 2 Pianos)
6 Studien in kanonischer Form, Op. 56: (Transc. Debussy for 2 Pianos)
Introduction et Rondo capriccioso, Op. 28 (Transc. Debussy for 2 Pianos)
Saint-Saens' Symphony No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 55 (Transc. Debussy for 2 Pianos)
"Airs d'Étienne Marcel" (Transc. Debussy for 2 Pianos)
Caprice sur les airs de ballet d'Alceste de Gluck (Transc. Debussy for 2 Pianos)
Diane au bois, L. 48--Comedie lyrique (fragment for soprano, tenor, and piano, which was not included in the Haguenauer set, as it isn't a "mélodie".)

As for the DG Centenary set, I wouldn't overly recommend the following musicians for Debussy in this set either: Leonard Bernstein (due to his late DG excesses), Daniel Barenboim (in the 3 Nocturnes, etc.--Dutoit & Stokowski are better in the Nocturnes), Pierre-Laurent Aimard (while Aimard's Debussy is good, it's a bit unusual, and therefore, shouldn't be a primary recommendation, IMO), Maurizio Pollini (there are better & certainly more French sounding recordings of the 12 Etudes out there, IMO), Jean-Yves Thibaudet (I think he's better in Ravel), and the Emerson Quartet (not a 1st or 2nd choice in this music, IMO). Though the rest of the set looks good.

For those that don't need a 'complete set', I'd probably recommend the other DG Debussy Edition box set myself, if you must own a box set--though it's not ideal either, nor is it even close to being complete at 18 CDs (however, it does include all of soprano Veronique Dietschy's excellent Debussy Mélodie recordings--including the rare version for piano & voices of Debussy's early Cantata "La Damoiselle Élue" (which isn't in the Warner set either, but is included in the Centenary DG set)--which are very hard to find otherwise):

https://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Clau...id=1519670838&sr=1-1&keywords=debussy+edition

Or, perhaps the following box set for only the orchestral works (although I should point out that Dutoit's excellent Montreal Debussy recordings have been recently remastered onto Shm-CDs in Japan, and the sound has been improved, which is especially important in Debussy's unique sound world):

https://www.amazon.com/Orchestral-W...qid=1519671196&sr=1-9&keywords=debussy+dutoit

Here's a link to Dutoit's Japanese Shm-remasters (which I'd strongly recommend):

https://www.amazon.com/Debussy-Orch...9681936&sr=1-3&keywords=dutoit+debussy+import

To anyone looking to take the other route, and build a Debussy collection one (carefully selected) recording at a time, over time, I'd suggest that you explore recordings (& reviews) by the following musicians (on You Tube, Spotify, etc.), per genre (& the below recommendations should also give you a good idea about what I believe are the most valuable Debussy recordings in the various box sets):

1. Orchestral Music:

Among recent Debussy orchestral conductors, I'd recommend looking into the recordings by Charles Dutoit, Pierre Boulez, Serge Baudo, & Claudio Abbado (& some of Bernard Haitink's Debussy is good too--though not so much in the Nocturnes or Jeux), who are among the best Debussy conductors of the digital era, in my opinion; while among the older conductors, I'd suggest looking into Leopold Stokowski, Charles Munch, Jean Martinon, Andre Cluytens, Ernst Bour, Igor Markevitch, and Pierre Monteux, who were all excellent in Debussy (though I tend to prefer Martinon & Monteux more in their Ravel). Ernest Ansermet, Manuel Rosenthal, and Debussy's friend, Desire-Emile Inghelbrecht are worth sampling too--though their recordings may have sound limitations.

2. Solo Piano Music (and Piano duo music):

Among Debussy pianists, over the decades, I've most liked Arturo Benedetti Michangeli (especially in the Images Books 1 & 2), Jacques Fevrier, Monique Haas, Samson François, Claudio Arrau (the best remasters are on the Heritage label), Michel Dalberto, Nelson Freire, Philippe Bianconi, Radu Lupu (live bootlegs), Paul Jacobs (esp. in the Preludes), François Chaplin (a complete set, plus an excellent Decca CD of the piano duo music with Philippe Cassard), the Kontarsky brothers (another piano duo), Noel Lee with either Christian Ivaldi or Werner Haas (other excellent piano duos), Michel Beroff (his Denon set has better sound than the earlier EMI recordings), Jacques Rouvier (an excellent complete set on the Japanese Denon label--which has been remastered in the 2000s), Ivan Moravec, Alain Planes (a complete set, recently reissued at a bargain price--Planes uses both historic & modern pianos), Florent Boffard (who's remarkable in the Etudes), Philippe Cassard (who's also excellent in the Etudes), Kathryn Stott (another student of Marcel Ciampi), Zoltan Kocsis (except for his Preludes, which were disappointing), Jean-Efflam Bavouzet (again, except for a disappointing set of Preludes), Georges Pludermacher, Claude Helffer, Tamas Vasary, Catharine Collard, & Håkon Austbø. (Note that I didn't mention pianist Pascal Roge, who many enjoy in Debussy, as I tend to prefer Roge in the piano music of Poulenc & Satie, where I think he's at his very best. Nor did I mention Roy Howat either, who's actually a very interesting Debussy pianist; however, I see Howat more as a wonderful scholar on the works of Debussy & other French composers.)

Historically speaking, I'd say that Ricardo Vines, Marcel Ciampi, Marcelle Meyer, Gaby & Robert Casadesus, Magda Tagliaferro, Monique Haas (her earlier recordings are generally her best), Walter Gieseking, Jacques Fevrier, Claude Helffer, & Yvonne Lefebure are all worth hearing in Debussy, as some of these pianists had direct ties to Debussy & the musical world of Paris at the time. For example, as a young woman, Marcelle Meyer worked with Debussy on his Preludes, having been introduced to the composer through their mutual friend, Erik Satie (Meyer was Satie's favorite pianist, though unfortunately she never recorded any of his music, to my knowledge). (In addition, I wish that British pianist Harold Bauer, who Debussy asked to premiere his 'anglophile' work, "Children's Corner", had recorded these pieces, and other Debussy works too.)

3. Chamber Music:

In Debussy's chamber music, the following are the best I've heard: the Nash Ensemble has done some excellent recordings (especially of the Violin Sonata & the antique Grecian "Les Chansons de Bilitis", with narrator Delphine Seyrig), as has the Montreal Chamber Players on the Atma label (of the Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp--an essential work), the Boston Symphony Chamber Players (superbly remastered on the Pentatone "Remastered Classics" series); Arthur Grumiaux in the Violin Sonata (also, David Oistrakh, Kyung Wha Chung, Gerard Poulet (with Noel Lee), & Christian Ferras, too); cellist Milos Perenyi & Zoltan Kocsis in the Cello Sonata, also, Maurice Gendron-Jean Francaix, & Gendron-Ivaldi (& Rostropovich-Britten too); flautists Marcel Moyse (historical), Jean-Pierre Rampal, Roger Bourdin, Michel Debost, Sharon Bezaly, & Emmanuel Pahud in Debussy's Syrinx for solo flute; Marisa Robles, Lily Laskine in Debussy's works for harp, especially the late Sonata for Flute, Viola & Harp: Laskine-Ginot-Moyse (historical, 1927), Laskine-Pasquier-Rampal, Rampal-Nordman-Pasquier, Bourdin-Challan-Lequien, Bernold-Caussé-Moretti, and the Melos Ensemble with harpist Osian Ellis. The Delos chamber set by "The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center" is worthwhile too, as are the Atlantic Sinfonietta on the Koch label, and the Athena Ensemble on Chandos. (I've not heard the recent Debussy chamber music recording from Pahud, Capuçon, Chamayou, Moreau, Caussé, & Langlamet on Erato.)

For Debussy's String Quartet, the Parkanyi Quartet is a current favorite of mine. I've also liked the Quartetto Italiano, Chilingirian Quartet, Orlando Quartet, Melos Quartett, and Ysaye Quartet in this music too. (By the way, the French Ysaye Quartet is a later incarnation of the group that originally premiered Debussy's SQ, and I find it very interesting that they offer a richer tonal heft in their string sound, as do the Parkanyi & the Melos quartets).

4. Mélodies:

In Debussy's songs, Veronique Dietschy (whose Debussy, Faure, & Duparc I think very highly of), Elly Ameling, Sandrine Piau, Victoria de los Angeles, Regine Crespin, Maggie Teyte (historical), Gerard Souzay, Hughes Cuenod, Bernard Kruysen, Claudette Leblanc, Michele Command, Colette Alliot Lugaz, François le Roux, Irma Kolassi, and Stéphane Degout all tend to stand out from others that I've heard. I should warn you that some of Debussy's songs can get overly operatic & screechy with some sopranos, and that is one of the reasons why I like Veronique Dietschy recordings so much, as she doesn't fall into that trap (most sopranos do). Others have a high regard for the recordings of Suzanne Danco too, which I've yet to hear. (I also have Jan Van der Crabben and Thierry Felix's Debussy recordings on my wish list.)

Finally, as mentioned--for Debussy completists--there is the box set of Debussy's "Complete Mélodies" from pianist Jean-Louis Haguenauer, with all native French singers--Liliana Faraon, Magali Leger, Marie-Ange Todorovitch, Gilles Ragon, & François Le Roux. While I like Haguenauer as a pianist, I've had a somewhat mixed reaction to his singers. No one is bad or unlistenable, but I wouldn't say the set offers great singing across the board either (as you'd expect from such a project). Even so, it's a valuable set, if anyone's looking to hear all of Debussy's known mélodies; or if, like me, you have the goal to hear every note that Debussy ever composed. (By the way, Haguenauer plays on a 1905 Blünthner piano.)

With that objective in mind--that is, of hearing every note Debussy composed, I should also mention that Pierre Boulez's performing edition of Debussy's music to the play, "Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien", is the most complete edition to date. It includes all of the incidental music that Debussy composed for the play (unlike other editions). However, Boulez didn't get around to recording it, as far as I know (and its not the edition that Boulez used for his early recording of the work). The only recording that I know of the Boulez edition, so far, has been from conductor Thierry Fischer & the BBC Wales Orchestra, recorded by the BBC. It came as a 'free' CD with my BBC magazine subscription several years ago, but unfortunately it's now become pricey. I'd be interested if anyone knows another recording of the Boulez "Le Martyre" edition?

https://www.amazon.com/Martyrdom-Sa...-1-spell&keywords=BBC+debussy+saint+sebastien

https://www.discogs.com/Debussy-The-Martyrdom-Of-Saint-Sebastian/release/3515800

(I also like Michael Tilson-Thomas's Le Martyre de Saint Sebastian LSO recording--especially for the excellent narration of Leslie Caron, who I prefer to any other narrator that I've heard in this work.)

Since the Warner box set doesn't include a "Le Martyre" recording of the Boulez Edition, but rather an early recording by Andre Cluytens, the set doesn't include all of the incidental music that Debussy composed for the play, "Le Martyre de Saint Sebastien". Is that significant? Yes, I think it is, at least, for die-hard Debussy enthusiasts (like myself). As the Fischer recording offered enough new music by Debussy that I'd not heard before, to get me to renew my subscription to BBC magazine that year.


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