Debussy's encounter with Javanese gamelan at the 1889 Paris Exposition influenced his music, opening his ears to new sounds and approaches to form.
Debussy's music is described as painterly, evoking sensations in sound that transcend the material, similar to 'listening to paintings in time'.
Saskia Giorgini, the pianist on this recording, performs on a Bösendorfer 280VC227 piano.
Debussy did not abolish tonality but rather ignored its inconvenient demands, maintaining an open relationship with common practice.
This album was recorded in December 2023 at the Lisztzentrum Raiding, Austria.
The 'Sarabande' from Pour le piano was likened by Debussy to an old painting at the Louvre, indicating his abstract and pre-classical tendencies.
Debussy's piano music is considered a deserving candidate for the beginning of 'modern' or 'new' music due to its subtle radicalism.
