# Masterpiece Theatre: Part Fifteen: Debussy's Jeux



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Masterpiece Theatre: Part Fifteen: Debussy's _Jeux_


















Jeux is a ballet. The story for the work was suggested by the Russian dancer and choreographer Vladimir Nijinsky, famous for his association with Igor Stravinsky, Serge Diaghilev, and the Ballet Russes. Nijinsky had danced in Debussy's L'après midi d'une faune in 1912, and apparently felt some affinity with Debussy and his music. Debussy rejected Nijinsky's original scenario, which included a game of tennis and a crashing airplane; instead, Debussy proposed a scenario in which two women and a man become involved in a love triangle while searching for a lost tennis ball one evening. Premiered in 1913 by the Ballets Russes, the ballet is set at a tennis court, where a man happens upon two women. The man turns on the charm, and flirts with one until he gets a kiss, making the other jealous. The second girl then dances with the man, while the first leaves. They join together at the end, and the ballet ends with a tennis ball rolling across the stage, edging the trio offstage.

The ballet has been criticized for its inaccessibility, and indeed it is an intimidating, complicated work. Absent from the work are repeating themes, clear tonal centers, and simple functional harmonies, making the work somewhat reminiscent of Arnold Schoenberg's atonal modernist opera of 1909, Erwartung, in which "themes" are heard only once, and motivic material is abandoned almost immediately after it is heard. Jeux contains a number of techniques carried over from Debussy's earlier opera Pelléas et Mélisande -- most notably what Arthur Denk calls "diatonic saturation," a technique which exhausts all of the diatonic pitches in embellishing a single chord. The ballet also contains moments of bitonality, in the form of superimposed contrasting diatonic sonorities, and moments of near-atonality. However, there is ultimately a subtle overarching tonal framework (using modal, pentatonic, major, and minor tonalities) connecting the various episodes of the work.

Jeux was premiered just two weeks before Stravinsky's then scandalous Le sacre du printemps, and Debussy was deeply impressed by Le sacre. There are a number of similarities between the two ballets, most notably the adventurous harmonies that stretch the limits of tonality. Debussy's ballet marks a turning point in his career, perhaps even a moment of crisis, and ultimately it would be Stravinsky whose influence would push Debussy in a new musical direction.

[Article taken from All Music Guide]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

What a bizarre ballet! This work is brilliant, but the circumstances surrounding must have certainly been a disappointment to Debussy. This ballet, premiered by the Ballet Russes, had the unfortunate of being premiered months before Stravinsky's _Le sacre du printemps_. By the time, _Le sacre_ hit the stage, Debussy's _Jeux_ was forgotten about. I think it shows just as much musical ingenuity as _Le sacre_, but does it in quiet way. There are an inordinate amount of tempo changes in _Jeux_, so this makes it quite difficult to perform, but also follow. It me some time to finally _get_ it, but when I did, I became rather obsessed with it. Anyway, what do you guys think of the work? A masterpiece? Rightfully forgotten? Please discuss.


----------



## Forster (Apr 22, 2021)

Well, all I can say is that Rite is a doddle to follow in comparison to Jeux.


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Forster said:


> Well, all I can say is that Rite is a doddle to follow in comparison to Jeux.


Yeah, I honestly think _Jeux_ is a more difficult work to get into than _Le sacre_. As I mentioned with _Jeux_, the constant tempi changes are what make it tough to listen to, but I honestly think it's Debussy's finest orchestral work. I know this is probably blasphemy or goes against well-established opinion. I don't know there's just something so beguiling about this piece.


----------



## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I like *Jeux*, especially Sabata's old recording from Rome. There is a newer one from Lan Shui in Singapore on a super audio recording that's a bit more romantic. In any event this music is even more subtle than most of what one hears from Debussy -- not to mention brief.


----------



## John Zito (Sep 11, 2021)

I listened to _Jeux_ for the first time the other day (the Haitink recording), and it did absolutely nothing for me. But in general I've always had a hard time with Debussy's orchestral music. None of it ranks among my favorite of his works.


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

John Zito said:


> I listened to _Jeux_ for the first time the other day (the Haitink recording), and it did absolutely nothing for me. But in general I've always had a hard time with Debussy's orchestral music. None of it ranks among my favorite of his works.


My only hope is that you keep listening and wait before you completely write it off.


----------



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

larold said:


> I like *Jeux*, especially Sabata's old recording from Rome. There is a newer one from Lan Shui in Singapore on a super audio recording that's a bit more romantic. In any event this music is even more subtle than most of what one hears from Debussy -- not to mention brief.
> View attachment 180077
> View attachment 180078


There have been many fine recordings of _Jeux_. My favorite is probably Boulez and the Clevelanders on DG. An absolute aural delight. The Shui recording on BIS that you mentioned is also top-notch.


----------



## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

.I consider Jeux to be a late Debussy orchestral masterpiece, but it likewise took me a while to arrive at that conclusion. I didn't overly take to the piece right way; much like it took me years to 'get' Debussy's late Etudes for solo piano (despite that I'm a Debussy nut).

I also agree that it is a very difficult work to conduct well. Which is why I haven't found many extraordinary recordings of Jeux. Gramophone raves about the Haitink recording with the Concertgebouw on Philips, but I've never been 100% on it. Though Haitink does do some interesting things, interpretatively. Even so, it's not one of my top 3 or 4 versions. Considering that Haitink's recording was my first & only Jeux on LP for a number of years, that might explain why it took me so long to like the piece. (Nor am I overly keen on Haitink's coupling, either--Trois Nocturnes, preferring the recordings of the Nocturnes by Charles Dutoit, Leopold Stokowski, & Eugene Ormandy.) But don't get me wrong, Haitink's Jeux is excellent & I'd put it in my top 10.

I've most liked the following recordings of Jeux over the years,

1. My top five from the digital era (listed in no particular order):

--Pierre Boulez, The Cleveland Orchestra, DG--To my mind, this is one exception where a later Boulez DG recording is better than his two earlier efforts:




--Michael Tilson Thomas, London Symphony Orchestra, Sony--I much prefer this recording to MTT's later recording of Jeux with the San Francisco Symphony:




--Serge Baudo, Czech Philharmonic--IMO, Baudo is a very underrated conductor in the French repertory & both his recordings of Jeux are first rate. (EDIT 1: Actually, I've just noticed that this is not a digital recording, but was recorded in 1967. So, I should have placed it on my list below. Nevertheless, the sound quality is good & the mid-1960s Czech Philharmonic is a fantastic Debussy orchestra!):




--Serge Baudo, London Philharmonic Orchestra--this recording is from 1986, so it is definitely digital. I recall the old Penguin Guide gave these performances a rosette award back in the 1980s: Not on youtube.








Debussy, Baudo - La Mer - Amazon.com Music


Debussy, Baudo - La Mer - Amazon.com Music



www.amazon.com












Debussy - London Philharmonic Orchestra, Serge Baudo - La Mer / Prélude À L'après-midi D'un Faune / Jeux


View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1986 CD release of "La Mer / Prélude À L'après-midi D'un Faune / Jeux" on Discogs.




www.discogs.com




--Charles Dutoit, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (IMO, Dutoit's Debussy gets underrated--both the precision & clarity of textures that he achieves with his virtuosic Montreal orchestra are amazing. He makes Jean Martinon's Debussy sound imprecise & almost sloppy in comparison, for example.):





2. Five from the mono & analogue eras: The list below includes several of the best conducted versions on record, IMO, despite the older sound quality):

--André Cluytens, Orchestra of the Société des Concerts du Conservatoire, 1963:




--Ernest Bour, Sinfonieorchester des Südwestfunks--Bour is a hugely underrated conductor in the French repertory, IMO, & I find his Debussy & Ravel unique:
Jeux, L. 126 "Poème dansé"
--Manuel Rosenthal, National Theater Opera Orchestra of Paris--Rosenthal was a Ravel student & it shows in his superb conducting:
"Jeux" by Claude Debussy - Audio + Full Score
--_Désiré_-_Émile Inghelbrecht, French National Orchestra--Inghelbrecht was a personal friend of Debussy's & he has a real affinity for this music:








C. Debussy: Jeux


Provided to YouTube by IIP-DDSC. Debussy: Jeux · Orchestre national de la RTF and Désiré Emile InghelbrechtFestival Claude Debussy, Concert du 04/04/1962, Or...




www.youtube.com




--Bernard Haitink, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam:_








Debussy: Jeux (Poème dansé) , L.126


Provided to YouTube by Universal Music GroupDebussy: Jeux (Poème dansé) , L.126 · Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra · Bernard HaitinkLegendary Recordings℗ 1980 U...




www.youtube.com





To my knowledge, there are no studio recordings by Pierre Monteux, Charles Munch, Leopold Stokowski, or Igor Markevitch; nor Claudio Abbado, either--among other notable Debussy conductors. But there may be some live Jeux recordings from these conductors...

EDIT 2: Speaking of which, I've just found this fascinating live 1955 account from Monteux & the Orchestre national de France on youtube:









Debussy: Jeux (Games), Monteux & ONRTF (1955) ドビュッシー 舞踊詩「遊戯」モントゥー


Claude Achille Debussy (1862-1918)Jeux, poème dansé (Games)Pierre Monteux (1875-1964), ConductorOrchestre national de la radiodiffusion Française (Orchestre ...




www.youtube.com





Interestingly, Monteux conducted the world premieres of both Jeux & Le Sacre du Printemps just two weeks apart in 1913.


----------

