Debussy: Nocturnes

Available for over a year

Julian Johnson recommends a recording of Debussy's Nocturnes. Inspired by the way painters including Turner, Whistler and his French impressionist contemporaries dealt with light, Debussy used an orchestral palette to evoke the slowly changing movement of clouds, a riotous festival, and a silvered moonlit seascape. The music, at once brilliantly orchestrated and subtle, is a demanding test which separates the sheep from the goats among orchestras, conductors and recording engineers. Top reccommendation: DEBUSSY: Nocturnes Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado 0289 471 3322 3 CD DDD GH