Debussy: Préludes II

Nearly 20 years after Préludes I, Pollini delivers this follow-up. As always, his feeling for colour is extraordinary and he homes in, where appropriate, on the quirky wit to perfection—“General Lavine – eccentric” is very funny—and, with his son Daniele, En blanc et noir is beautifully gauged. He plays with the youthful virtuosity in, for example, “Feux d’artifice” of a man a fraction of his age. This is a fine achievement from one of today’s piano greats.