Readers of Gramophone may recall that I gave earlier issues in Paul Crossley's ongoing Debussy series (4/93, 9/93 and 2/94) a roughish ride, finding some of his playing too idiosyncratic. Yet he is a sensitive artist as well as having excellent fingers and, no less importantly, the right command of the sustaining pedal; not only that, he always offers some playing of the highest quality along with other things that I like less.
Fortunately, this fourth disc in the series contains music that suits him well. The Suite bergamasque has a light yet sensuously warm touch and distinct charm, ''Clair de lune'' having a nicely unhurried middle section that builds convincingly to its climaxes. The recording, made in The Maltings, Snape, has been engineered at a lowish level (one needs greater volume than the norm) and, beyond that, imparts a softness to the piano tone: this suits the Suite bergamasque well enough, but is less effective in brilliant pieces like the second of the Images oubliees (a forerunner of Jardins sous la pluie) or the ''Prelude'' and ''Toccata'' in Pour le piano. However, here too the playing is of a high order and Crossley's ability as a Debussyiste is not in doubt.
The shorter pieces, like those already mentioned, are mostly early and are also finely done. I might single out the Deux arabesques as an example of playing that is shapely, sensitive and alert, charming without inappropriate winsomeness; but everything here demonstrates the pianist's affection for the music as well as his keen intelligence. His booklet-note, too, is valuable, not least for the apt characterization of Debussy's earlier music—''its airiness, its feline grace, its mercurialness, its suppleness, its touching beauty, its polished surface on which the light dances''. These performances bear out what he writes.'