Debussy: Preludes, Volume 1

Though he is without a doubt one of the mad genius pianists of the century, Michelangeli's reputation is sustained essentially by two recordings (or groups of recordings): his Rachmaninoff and Ravel piano concerto disc on EMI, and his Debussy series for DG. Renowned for his fanatical keyboard control and crystalline tone, his interpretations of Beethoven and Mozart often seemed inhuman in their steely precision. But in Debussy, he found a composer whose acute sensitivity to detail and phenomenal ear for the coloristic possibilities of the piano really matched his own artistic philosophy. This recording simply blew the critics away when it came out in 1978, and it hasn't aged a bit. A classic. --David Hurwitz