Claude Debussy: Préludes Alexei Lubimov

• 1Danseuses de Delphes03:16
• 2Voiles04:00
• 3Le vent dans la plaine02:13
• 4Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soir03:31
• 5Les collines d'Anacapri02:53
• 6Des pas sur la neige03:52
• 7Ce qu'a vu le vent d'ouest03:25
• 8La fille aux cheveux de lin02:28
• 9La sérénade interrompue02:48
• 10La cathédrale engloutie06:08
• 11La danse de Puck02:57
• 12Minstrels02:25
• 13Nuages06:49
• 14Fêtes05:49
• 15Sirènes10:54
• 16Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune08:49
• 17Brouillards03:53
• 18Feuilles mortes02:58
• 19La puerta del vino03:28
• 20Les fées sont d'exquises danseuses03:12
• 21Bruyères03:09
• 22General Lavine - excentric02:44
• 23La terrasse des audiences du clair de lune04:12
• 24Ondine03:11
• 25Hommage à S. Pickwick Esq. P.P.M.P.C.02:36
• 26Canope03:02
• 27Les tierces alternées02:40
• 28Feux d'artifice04:49
• Total Runtime01:52:11

Info for Claude Debussy: Préludes

Debussy is closer to the expressionism of Schoenberg than to the chiselled sonorities of a Chopin or the extravagant virtuosity of a Liszt, even if his refined art can still be seen in the line of tradition of 19th-century music. This is frequently forgotten in the interpretation as well as the assessment of his oeuvre. Debussy himself decried the concept of musical impressionism because he feared, rightly, that superficial refinement would degenerate into musical mist, concealing the subtleties of a new musical idiom and its structural logic. Thus, for example, instead of heading his 24 “Préludes” in two books with programmatic titles in his autograph score, he appended them at the bottom of the individual pieces. Perhaps, even though their popularity makes it almost impossible, we ought simply to forget about the titles when playing or listening to these pieces and recall something else that Debussy once said: “Music is a free art gushing forth, an open-air art boundless as the elements, the wind, the sky, the sea.” It is in this manner – sans rigeur, as Debussy repeatedly marked his music – that Alexei Lubimov plays the “Préludes”. The recording also contains the “Trois Nocturnes” in Maurice Ravel’s two-piano transcription as well as a two-piano arrangement of Debussy’s seminal orchestral masterpiece, the “Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune”.

“I wanted to hear Debussy in a different timbral guise, cloaked in the early 20th century colours that I would find on unique, specially selected instruments… In my search for an inspiring special sound I stumbled upon two excellent pianos that truly seduced me and breathed fresh life into the music… The music revealed itself to me from unknown angles, and like Ulysses bewitched by the Sirens, I let my pianos sing with their own voices and guide me into uncharted realms.” (Alexei Lubimov)

Alexei Lubimov, piano
Alexei Zuev, piano

Alexei Lubimov
Born in Moscow, pianist Alexei Lubimov is one of the most strikingly original musicians performing today. His large repertoire combined with his dedication to principle and musical morals make him a notable exception in today’s music scene. Following studies with Heinrich Neuhaus Alexei Lubimov established an early dual passion for baroque music performed on traditional instruments and also 20th century composers such as Schönberg, Webern, Stockhausen, Boulez, Ives, Ligeti, Schnittke, Gubaidulina, Silvestrov and Pärt. He has premiered many contemporary pieces in Russia and founded a music festival there: “Alternativa”. He formed a quartet dedicated to baroque music during the 1970s when international travel became impossible. Performing old and new music well, however, did not stop Alexei Lubimov from being an outstanding performer of classical and romantic repertoire as his many recordings show.

As political restrictions were lifted in Russia during the 1980s, Alexei Lubimov soon emerged among the first rank of international pianists giving concerts in Europe, North America and Japan. He has appeared with such orchestras such as the Helsinki-, Israel-, Los Angeles-, Munich- and St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic in London, Russian National Orchestra, Orchestre Phil. de Radio France, Toronto Symphony and Deutsches Symphonieorchester Berlin under the most important international conductors: Ashkenazy, Järvi, Kondrashin, Hogwood, Mackerras, Nagano, Norrington, Pletnev, Saraste, Salonen, Janovski or Tortelier. He has given historic performances with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Wiener Akademie and the Collegium Vocale Gent.


In the world of chamber music, he performs regularly with famous soloists and ensembles at festivals throughout the world.

In recent seasons he has given concerts with City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Russian Natioanl Orchestra in Moscow and the Tonkünstlerorchester (2 concerts in the Great Hall of Vienna’s Musikverein) as well as innumerable solo recitals. He toured with Haydn Sinfonietta playing Mozart concertos and played Mozart with the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana under Robert King, Haydn with the Camerata Salzburg under Sir Roger Norrington in New York, Pärt’s Lamentate with RSO Vienna under Andrey Boreyko at the Musikverein and with the Tampere Philharmonic under John Storgards. Other highlights include performances of Prometeus by Scriabin at the Salzburg Festival and in Copenhagen and performances with the Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment (Beethoven), Munich Philharmonic (Silvestrov), SWR Stuttgart (Pärt), DSO Berlin (Pärt), Danish National Symphony Orchestra (Pärt), Anima Eterna Brugge and Russian National Orchestra. In 2010 he has performed solo and with orchestra in Brussels, Utrecht, Budapest, Lille, London and New York, to name only a few examples. The repertoire ranged from baroque to living composers.

His recordings have been issued on various labels including Melodia, Erato, BIS or Sony featuring the complete Mozart sonatas, Schubert, Chopin, Beethoven and Brahms as well as music of the 20th century. Since 2003 he has recorded regularly for ECM producing some unusual CDs of particular note: “Der Bote,” with music of Liszt, Glinka and CPE Bach alongside John Cage and Tigran Mansurian; Arvo Pärt’s Lamentate with the Stuttgart Radio Symphony, “Messe Noir” with music of Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Prokofiev and Scriabin; and “Misteriosos” with music of Silvestrov, Pärt and Ustvolskaya. His recording of Schubert’s Impromptus Op. 90 and Op.142 was released in 2009 by Harmonia Mundi.

Booklet for Claude Debussy: Préludes