As another Naxos survey progresses I am reluctant to put forward the super-budget price as a primary selling point, but in terms of sheer playing this disc, the third in Francois-Joel Thiollier’s Debussy series, doesn’t really compare with more illustrious (and expensive) rivals. Thiollier, a Franco-American pianist with an obvious affinity for this repertoire, is a pleasing and involving guide, but in places there is insufficient characterization and tonal variety. The lack of crispness in the articulation of “La soiree dans Grenade” (from Estampes), where he doesn’t evoke or animate the essential exoticism, and the restricted dynamic range in “Hommage a Rameau”, where he doesn’t achieve a genuine pianissimo in the closing bars, are two representative examples of Thiollier’s limitations. He does have an agile facility in the more motoric pieces (exemplified in “Mouvement” from Images, Book 1), and “Reflets dans l’eau” ripples with luminous clarity, but L’isle joyeuse is treated rather perfunctorily, projecting neither a sense of joyousness nor the majestic stature of one of Debussy’s finest works.
Despite the shortcomings, including a rather synthetic and artificial recorded sound, there are things to enjoy here. However, to get the most from this music, one is better off investing in more luxurious and penetrating Debussy recordings. In particular, the above-listed CDs by Zoltan Kocsis and, more especially, by Michelangeli (who also offers a sprinkling of the most crystalline Debussy playing you’ll ever hear, on Testament, 12/96) or Gieseking (a four-disc set) offer far greater rewards.'