"The playing was highly praised, and it is spectacular; Markl’s soloists all have a strong personality. I heard the horns frack a few notes once, but that was my lone complaint. The sound, as Lawrence Hansen noted, is spacious but a little cool; the orchestra is balanced from top to bottom. I’m very happy to have such a superb set of Debussy recordings. The Sacred and Profane Dances for harp and strings are a pleasant end to the set."
Stephen Estep - American Record Guide - July 2012
"...An unqualified must-buy box for pianists, conductors and arrangers alike, especially at Naxos’ price."
Michael Round - International Piano magazine - November 2012
"...it’s a fascinating and extensive collection that I recommend both to collectors who want to explore some of the rarities and also to anyone wanting to hear Märkl’s impressively plated and imaginatively conducted performances of the major works."
Nigel Simeone - International Record Review - July 2012
Recording of the Month
"...The rarities which are included are most invaluable and make this collection highly desirable."
Paul Corfield Godfrey - MusicWeb-International.com - April 2012
"This fully comprehensive collection by the National Orchestre de Lyon and its superb pianist turned director Jun Markl truly provide one stop shopping for all of this wonderful music and in radiant, sensitive performances. I found it easiest to approach my listening to this massive collection in groups. First, the “big and familiar” are—of course—present and provide a good place to start. Prelude a l’apres midi d’un faune, La mer, Nocturnes and Images are all here and are quite impressive ... I enjoyed each of these performances and interpretations by Markl a great deal. There are also some wonderful and well known works for soloist and orchestra in this set that—again—I know well and was very pleased with. The Premiere Rapsodie for clarinet and orchestra…shows off his [Paul Meyer] beautiful tone and liquid technique quite well. In this performance [Rapsodie for alto saxophone and orchestra], Frenchman Alexandre Doisy plays beautifully and offers an accurate but not overly mannered performance ... soloist Emmanuel Ceysson gives a beautifully and idiomatic performance [Danses Sacree et Profane for harp and strings]. Renowned French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet gives a beautiful performance [Fantaisie for piano and orchestra]. One of the best reasons to acquire this smartly-packaged and historically significant set is the many, many orchestral transcriptions of Debussy piano works... La Boite a jouxjoux (The Toybox) ... is a very effective and charming orchestral set in four “tableaux” with a prelude, waltz and epilogue. This collection also contains a massive amount of orchestral arrangements ... all interesting and well worth listening to.I strongly recommend this set for Debussy fans who want some new and undiscovered gems as well for anyone who would like to have all of Debussy’s orchestral output—and then some—in one quite comprehensive, reasonably-priced package and with excellent performances." ****
Daniel Coombs - Audiophile Audition.com - March 2012
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