Several months ago I submitted a glowing review of Steven Osborne's Debussy Preludes. That review stands but Pierre-Laurent Aimard's playing is even better. His is a more mainstream approach, but with plenty of mysticism and exoticism when called for. "Sensible" may not be the first compliment Debussy enthusiasts want to hear about the master's music but with Aimard the word suits. La Cathedrale engloutie and La Puerta del vino are the finestrenditions of those Preludes I've ever heard. Hard to describe what makesthem so excellent--they just sound authoritative, sensible, convincing. No complaints about any of this CD, for that matter. I've learned to be careful about pronouncing a performance as definitive. However, this is some awfully fine piano work. Another critic wrote that Book 2 of the Preludes is played more successfully than Book 1. Maybe, but if so, his ear is highly discerning.The one clear fault of the Osborne recording is dynamic extremes, which is, I assume, an engineering decision. The Aimard CD has plenty of dynamic range, just not the extremes.This makes for a much more satisfying listening experience.In summary, this is a wonderfully played, excellently recorded performance.