Debussy: Préludes

The winner of 1975’s International Chopin Piano Competition, Krystian Zimerman has garnered a reputation as a pianist with a Midas touch. Whether he’s playing Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin or Debussy, he brings a restrained expressiveness to the music, along with an exquisite command of the keyboard. In this acclaimed 1993 album of Debussy’s Preludes, Zimerman showers the music in iridescent light (assisted by Deutsche Grammophon’s superb recording engineers), each note shining forth with a breathtaking clarity. Where needed, however, he plays with plenty of mischief and mystery (see “Minstrels” or “Ondine”), while the final “Feux D’artifice” is a masterclass in technical and dramatic control. There are few recordings that make Debussy’s piano music sound so freshly minted and vivid.