Mariangela Vacatello - Claude Debussy: 12 Etudes, Estampes, Deux Arabesques, L'Isle joyeuse (2012)

Every so often—perhaps inspired by Jorge Luis Borges’s eponymous poem—I contemplate things that might have been, and quite frequently my contemplations involve music: What would Beethoven’s 10th have sounded like? How much richer would we be today had Brahms not destroyed his early string quartets out of mortal fear of being called an epigone? Would the world be a different place had Dinu Lipatti been able to carry out his wish to record The Well-Tempered Clavier ? One of the reasons I find these questions so fascinating is because we can neither know their answer nor can we rely on what we do know to hypothesize it—after all, Beethoven’s Ninth is strikingly different from his Eighth; Brahms’s lost string quartets are forever gone; and Lipatti never got around to record a single prelude and fugue by Bach. Before hearing this new recording featuring the young pianist Mariangela Vacatello, it had never dawned on me that Debussy’s late piano works—his set of 12 Etudes for piano—present the perfect Borgesian riddle: Would Debussy have abandoned the Impressionist idiom had he lived another few years, or would we be speaking of Debussy’s Impressionism merely as a phase that eventually yielded to a new musical language?

You may be wondering how my musings about where Debussy’s music may have ended up had the composer not succumbed to cancer at age 56 relate to the task at hand. Well, I respectfully submit that they are relevant here because what I enjoyed the most about Vacatello’s recording is how exquisitely and unapologetically she conveys the striking novelty of these masterpieces. Like Mitsuko Uchida in her classic Philips recording, Vacatello does not unduly look for Impressionism in the etudes, nor does she try to tame these visionary and occasionally wild scores. She does not over-pedal, she does not soft-pedal, she does not play legato when Debussy calls for non-legato, and she does not seek to create tonal haze when the score does not call for such effects. Instead, Vacatello presents these works for what they are­—experiments with a fascinating musical language Debussy had not yet fully figured out.

In the early works, Vacatello is equally compelling. Like her compatriots Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Aldo Ciccolini, and Maurizio Pollini, Vacatello subscribes to the Italian tradition of playing Debussy, which is characterized by rhythmic precision, a stronger emphasis on primary colors, and a certain degree of level-headedness. While it is true that Vacatello’s Debussy does not soar or intoxicate like that of Samson François, I find that it is just as fascinating. I am particularly impressed with L’Isle Joyeuse , in which Vacatello (unlike many pianists who play this piece) refuses the temptation to sectionalize—and, I believe, trivialize—in favor of a cohesive narrative that slowly builds towards apotheosis. The engineering is outstanding. This recording comes with my highest recommendation. Vacatello is definitely a pianist to watch.

Review by Radu A. Lelutiu, Fanfare Magazine

Where do all these marvelous young pianists come from? We are truly in a golden era of pianism. At first I thought I'd never heard of Mariangela Vacatello until I remembered how impressed with her playing I had been at the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, the one that wound up with two gold medal winners: Haochen Zhang from China and the blind Japanese pianist, Nobuyuki Tsujii. Vacatello was a finalist and won the Worldwide Internet Audience Award at that competition. I remember very well her masterly performance of Ravel's Gaspard de la nuit. If you wish, you can see and hear her play Gaspard on Youtube.

This budget-priced disc from Brilliant Classics comprises Debussy's Twelve Études, Estampes [Pagodes, La soirée dans Grenade, & Jardins sous la pluie], the two Arabesques, and L'Isle joyeuse. The program provides an experience of the wide range of Debussy's compositional art, from almost expressionist sound of some of the études, the perfumed Estampes, the salon music of the Arabesques, and the full-out impressionism of L'Isle joyeuse. Unlike many pianists Vacatello tends to use a minimum of pedal, especially in the études, and when she does use the pedal she does so expertly and musically. Her musical instincts are well-honed; one hears both sharply-etched details as well as overall conceptions. Her recording of the Études compares favorably with those of some of my favorite Debussy players – Michiko Uchida comes to mind, for instance Debussy: 12 Etudes, as well as Maurizio Pollini Debussy: 12 Etudes; Berg: Sonate Op. 1.

Perhaps my highest praise can be discerned from the fact that I made a decision to put this disc on my iPod, something I only do with CDs I truly love. I predict great things for this artist.

Highest recommendation.

Review by Scott Morrison, Amazon.com

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 3 from 29. August 2011

EAC extraction logfile from 25. March 2013, 15:02

Mariangela Vacatello / Debussy - 12 Etudes, Estampes, Deux Arabesques, L'Isle joyeuse

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––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Analyzed: Mariangela Vacatello / Debussy - 12 Etudes, Estampes, Deux Arabesques, L'Isle joyeuse
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

DR Peak RMS Duration Track
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
DR14 -0.10 dB -21.31 dB 3:22 01-12 Etudes - I. Pour les cinq doigts
DR14 -0.10 dB -19.39 dB 3:58 02-12 Etudes - II. Pour les tierces
DR18 -0.10 dB -25.68 dB 6:19 03-12 Etudes - III. Pour les quartes
DR15 -0.85 dB -25.79 dB 4:40 04-12 Etudes - IV. Pour les sixtes
DR13 -0.10 dB -17.65 dB 2:47 05-12 Etudes - V. Pour les octaves
DR15 -0.10 dB -21.21 dB 1:39 06-12 Etudes - VI. Pour les huit doigts
DR13 -2.78 dB -21.48 dB 2:17 07-12 Etudes - VII. Pour les degres chromatiques
DR16 -0.10 dB -23.41 dB 5:09 08-12 Etudes - VIII. Pour les agrements
DR17 -0.10 dB -22.16 dB 3:24 09-12 Etudes - IX. Pour les notes repetees
DR19 -0.10 dB -26.55 dB 5:35 10-12 Etudes - X. Pour les sonorites opposees
DR15 -2.05 dB -23.00 dB 4:36 11-12 Etudes - XI. Pour les arpeges composes
DR12 -0.10 dB -17.97 dB 4:31 12-12 Etudes - XII. Pour les accords
DR14 -0.10 dB -20.10 dB 4:47 13-Estampes - I. Pagodes
DR16 -0.10 dB -23.68 dB 5:21 14-Estampes - II. La soiree dans Grenade
DR13 -0.97 dB -19.16 dB 3:50 15-Estampes - III. Jardins sous la pluie
DR14 -7.88 dB -28.88 dB 4:42 16-Deux Arabesques - No.1 Andantino con moto
DR15 -2.79 dB -25.03 dB 3:32 17-Deux Arabesques - No.2 Allegretto scherzando
DR14 -0.10 dB -19.75 dB 6:11 18-L'Isle joyeuse
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Number of tracks: 18
Official DR value: DR15

Samplerate: 44100 Hz
Channels: 2
Bits per sample: 16
Bitrate: 385 kbps
Codec: FLAC
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