Debussy's 24 Prelude's are among the greatest piano music of the 20th century, and even today, nearly 100 years after they were first composed, they present a formidable artistic challenge for pianists and a delight for music lovers. One of the world's foremost authorities on Debussy, British pianist Paul Roberts has spent decades captivating audiences throughout Europe and the United States with recitals, lecture demonstrations, and master classes on this great composer. He explores the exotic and colorful world of Debussy's piano Prelude's, bringing the great composer's musical impressionism alive through a combination of words, images, and performance.
G**1
a fine DVD...
this is a very fine DVD, but I was left wanting more. It certainly gave me some new insight into the first book of Debussy preludes and will definitely help anyone that is learning one or more of these works. However, I would have liked more info and examples from each of the preludes and it was very curious why one of the preludes (#11 I think) was left out of the analysis. I can't imagine the same attitude as Richter ("I don't like that one - so I won't play it") so can only put the omission down to time constraints.While I didn't give this the top rating, this is still recommended for anyone wanting insight into some of the great impressionist piano works.UPDATE (Feb 2013): Since writing this review (in 2007), I've had the pleasure of studying with Paul Roberts (the pianist and lecturer on this fine DVD) during 3 summers at Paul's piano workshops in the south of France. I can also say that these sessions a truly inspiring and Paul in person is even better than Paul on DVD. To answer my own quest above about wanting more - it can be found in Paul's book "Image: the Music of Claude Debussy. On why only 11 of the 12 preludes were covered it appears that the missing comments on the prelude unfortunately ended up on the cutting room floor. Having played the missing Prelude for Paul I can attest that he has the same level of insight on the missing piece as on the rest of the them!! In any case I recommend the DVD highly and the companion book is also a must read (as is Paul's new book on Ravel).
K**R
What a joy to have an illustrated lecture
What a joy to have an illustrated lecture. The commentary and piano performances were an enriching experience. I was reminded of the lecture/performances of Leonard Bernstein in the late 60's.i heartily recommend this DVD. Kenneth Walther
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2 weeks ago
2 months ago
