Is is ok to use the sostenuto pedal in Debussy's L'ilse joyeuse?

[peterw712]

To sustain the low A's while keeping the other notes clean?

[nanabush]

Do you mean in the left hand figure that repeats throughout the piece?  Or do you mean in the REALLY sustained part at the very ending?

I didn't use sostenuto, more because it's a little awkward for me to comfortably switch to it; but I think the ending could make use of it.  I'm not sure how it would work in the earlier sections of the piece, because I find the LH has this biting quality to the first sweep, and the second one kind of breathes a bit more.

Try it out! It's mostly how you like the sound of it; for me, it would have been just too tough making it comfy lol

[le_poete_mourant]

It's ok if no one ever knows that's what you're doing.