Robin Ticciati, Magdalena Kozena - Debussy: La mer; Ariettes oubliees; Faure: Pelleas et Melisande (2017)

This marks the first release with Robin Ticciati leading the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, and it makes the requisite splash. There's a world premiere: even if you're not on board with the trend of enlarging the repertory through arrangements of works that are perfectly good in their original form, you will likely be seduced by mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená's ravishing reading of Debussy's voice-and-piano Ariettes oubliées, inventively arranged by Brett Dean. There's a little-known work: the opening one, Fauré's Prelude to Pénélope (a sparsely performed opera, with a slightly less sparsely performed prelude) is a lush and beautifully controlled arc. Controlled and detailed are two words that come to mind for Ticciati's interpretation of La mer, the warhorse work on the program; it may seem a bit deliberate, but there are many hues in his performance. The two Debussy works are balanced by two of Fauré's: the fourth work is the suite from Fauré's incidental music to Pélleas et Mélisande (in Charles Koechlin's version), also deliberate and lush. Linn recorded the performance in Berlin's Jesus Christus Kirche, which allows the full spectrum of orchestral colors to come through. Worth the money for Kozená fans for her turn alone, and a fine French program for all.

Review by James Manheim, Allmusic.com

If you’re used to hearing Robin Ticciati with the fleet-footed Scottish Chamber Orchestra, then the pure heft of this recording – his first as music director of Berlin’s Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester – might take a bit of getting used to. It’s exciting, and it bodes well. The orchestra has a powerful engine that always feels on the verge of breaking loose, but Ticciati harnesses the depth and drive of that energy and adds some gorgeously febrile stuff. Maybe some of the corners aren’t as nimble as they’ll become a few years into his new job, but Fauré’s Prelude to Penelope surges and sweeps, Debussy’s Pelléas and Mélisande suite has a rich, sombre beauty and La Mer sounds robust, brooding and vast. Magdalena Kožená sings Debussy’s Ariettes Oubliées (as orchestrated by Brett Dean) with a steely grandeur.

Review by Kate Molleson, The Guardian

Tracklist

Gabriel Fauré (1845–1924)

01. Prelude to Pénélope (8:09)

Pelléas et Mélisande, Op. 80
arr. Charles Koechlin (1867–1950)
02. 1. Prélude (6:14)
03. 2. Fileuse (2:41)
04. 3. Sicilenne (3:42)
05. Mort de Mélisande (4:39)

Claude Debussy (1862–1918)

Ariettes oubliées, arr. Brett Dean (b.1961)
06. 1. C’est l’extase langoureuse (3:32)
07. 2. Il pleure dans mon coeur (2:47)
08. 3. L’ombre des arbres (3:00)
09. 4. Chevaux de bois (2:55)
10. 5. Green (2:45)
11. 6. Spleen (2:57)

La mer
12. 1. De l’aube à midi sur la mer (9:22)
13. 2. Jeux de vagues (7:18)
14. 3. Dialogue du vent et de la mer (8:31)

Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano
Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin
Robin Ticciati, conductor