My name is Slava Poprugin. I am a pianist, a teacher, a sound engineer and the owner of the Steppenwolf studio. Let me tell you a few words about myself. I was born in Khabarovsk, Russia, in 1973. I started going to a music school from 6 years old. After my graduation from Khabarovsk Music College in 1992 I moved to Moscow to study at the Gnessin Music Academy, one of the top-rated music conservatoires in Russia. My teaching career started when I was still a student in Khabarovsk. From 1999 till 2015 I was a senior teacher at the Moscow State Conservatoire, and from 2018 I was appointed a professor at the Royal Conservatoire the Hague in the Netherlands. I am a concert pianist with a big repertoire. During the last decades my preferences have changed from a passionate dedication to contemporary music to a broader spectrum of styles and genres. It gives me enormous pleasure to play chamber music with many musicians, my friends and colleagues. I am very proud of my 15 year long collaboration with the great cellist Natalia Gutman. Sound engineering was my hobby from the early years, and when in 2006 I was invited to record an album for Live Classics label, it has officially become my other profession. Since then my activities in this field were continuously expanding, resulting in launching my own recording studio in the Netherlands in 2016.

The Complete Piano Sonatas, Vol.1 is the first volume of a new project that will see Mariangela Vacatello perform the entire cycle of Scriabin's piano sonatas.

Scriabin's Piano Sonatas (the ten to which the composer assigned an opus number) date from between 1891, during the last months of his studies at the Moscow Conservatory, and 1913, in his final phase dominated by the vast project of the "Symphonic Poem" Prometheus. They thus reflect the composer's entire artistic itinerary: from the fiery romantic gestures of Liszt to the dissolution of rationality in the more symbolic esotericism. And so it happens that the musical discourse, rather than being based on an orderly succession of different figures, is transformed into a sort of efflorescence of thematic recurrences between one movement and another (in the First, Third, and Fourth) and of self-quotations between the Fifth and the following Sonatas (becoming exacerbated in the Ninth and Tenth), with a network of cross references (of trills, fanfares, arpeggios, languid chromaticisms, etc.) that makes it possible to suggest the hypothesis of a single work (as such, monstrously intricate) that embraces the Sonatas from the Fourth to the Tenth as phases of a single spiritual experience, dominated by the mysteriosophic idiosyncrasies of the philosopher and mystic Vladimir Solovyov.

The enigmatic Alexander Scriabin, mystic and herald of new music, was taught composition by Arensky and Taneyev and piano by Safonov. His earliest works, presented on this album, belong to a stage of development much influenced by Chopin and Liszt. The Preludes, Op. 13, whether solemn or playful, contain explicit references to Chopin but also moments of visionary originality that presage his future modernity. Complex harmony can be heard in the famous Étude in C sharp minor, while the epic ardour of the Fantasie in B minor is another indication of the staggering advances to come.

Praised for her poetic and dramatic interpretation, New York-based Korean pianist Yoojung Kim is a versatile pianist, improviser, arranger, musical curator, educator, chamber musician and collaborator. Ms. Kim has appeared in recital and as soloist with orchestras throughout Europe, the United States, and Asia. Yoojung Kim is currently a member of the Artist Faculty in Piano Studies at NYU Steinhardt.

REVIEWS:

A lovely release of fine performances of this often intense but deeply satisfying music which deserves to be so much better known. Much of the music is on the grand scale but there are also more intimate movements including the first of the Deux poems, Op 32. Alongside further Poemes and Morceaus are Sonatas 2, 3 & 4. The CD is bookended by the adventurous Fantaisie in B minor and Vers la flamme.

-- Lark Reviews

Pianist Yoojung Kim gets highest marks for poetry and interpretive insights, qualities that are particularly critical when the subject is Russian pianist, composer, and musical symbolist Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915). She understands Scriabin to a degree that I am pleased to find remarkable among current pianists, and her feeling for color and expressiveness brings out the very best in an often-illusive composer.

-- Audio Video Club of Atlanta (Phil Muse)

Scriabin composed most of his single-movement fourth symphony The Poem of Ecstasy between 1905 and 1908 in Italy and France. He originally intended it to be called Poème orgiaque (‘Orgiastic Poem’) with its unprecedented raw sensuality and overpowering aesthetic, taking chromaticism beyond even Wagnerian voluptuousness. His earlier Symphony No. 2 in C minor adopts César Franck’s cyclical ideas to which Scriabin layered sweeping climaxes, majestic intensity and rich orchestral colour that enliven its five movements with ceaseless invention.

REVIEW:

The Poem of Ecstasy is an extremely effective piece. JoAnn Falletta’s sleek, graceful performance, at 19 minutes, is on the swift side of things, and well balanced for transparency and texture. The Buffalo Philharmonic paints in lovely light colors, and nothing drips. The electronic organ used by the orchestra supplies a fine weight for the conclusion of the piece. Falletta delivers the last apocalyptic chord after a slight pause, all the more effective given the fact that this has been a swift performance unencumbered by needless rubato. The Poem of Ecstasy emerges gleaming and appealing.

Falletta’s traversal of the Second Symphony is, if anything, even better, and almost relentless. This reading is ablaze with forward motion, bringing the piece home in 40 minutes. Scriabin has not provided many moments for the music to catch its breath, so it turns out that an effective counter to this is to speed one’s way through the score and gradually ratchet up the tension.

Falletta does not linger excessively over the slow movement. This is where conductors can get into trouble dwelling on atmosphere. In the propulsive last third of the symphony, Scriabin seems to tighten his compositional approach, as if aware of this pitfall, and the Buffalo Philharmonic is with him all the way, brass and percussion snarling through the whiplash winds of the Tempestuoso and ultimately hitting paydirt with the memorable march that brings the symphony to its powerful and optimistic conclusion. 

The Naxos engineers are to be congratulated throughout. The recorded sound is utterly natural and true to the hall. Falletta deserves kudos for daring to be brisk and for knowing how to build satisfying climaxes. This is the best version of the Second Symphony I have heard.

-- Fanfare (Steven Kruger)

During his auspicious career before winning the 2021 American Pianist Awards and Christel DeHaan Classical Fellowship, Kenny Broberg captured the silver medal at the 2017 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition and a bronze medal at the 2019 International Tchaikovsky Competition as well as prizes at the Hastings, Sydney, Seattle, and New Orleans International Piano Competitions, becoming one of the most decorated and internationally renowned pianists of his generation. Broberg is lauded for his inventive, intelligent and intense performances. Kenny Broberg, one of the most decorated and internationally renowned pianists of his generation debuts on the Steinway & Sons label with a program of virtuosic music by Medtner, Rachmaninov and Scriabin.

REVIEW:

Pianist Kenny Broberg's debut recording features three notorious Russian finger-crunchers, by Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Medtner. There is a lot to like here: the crisp, properly edgy tone in the Medtner sonata, the clean execution of the Scriabin, but really, the best news is Broberg’s careful structuring of the melodic material, even amidst the clatter of percussive, rapid runs. This is a major pianist to watch in the music of the Russian school, which hasn’t had a big champion in the U.S. lately.

-- AllMusic.com (James Manheim)

One of the boldest and most radical composers of all time, Alexander Scriabin had a lifelong obsession with occult and mystical ideas. Initially under the influence of Chopin, Wagner, and Liszt, his music later became more complex, taking on an expressive power which provoked extreme reactions from audiences – of adulation as well as repulsion. Not shying away from hyperbole, Scriabin once declared: ‘I am the apotheosis of creation – I am the aim of all aims – I am the end of all ends.’

The three works featured on this release belong to Scriabin’s final compositional period where the music seems to veer between voluptuous languor and striving energy. Composed back-to-back, the Poem of Ecstasy and the Fifth Piano Sonata are drenched in bitter-sweet harmonies and carefully constructed dissonances. The scores of both works make reference to the same poem – by Scriabin himself – which ends with the lines ‘thus the universe resounds with the joyful cry: I AM!’. In his last symphonic poem, Prometheus — The Poem of Fire, Scriabin aims even higher. Here he expresses the evolution of the world from formless chaos, through the appearance of mankind, fertilized by the divine spark, towards spiritual liberation and ultimate transcendence. The unusually large orchestra and a wordless choir produces a kaleidoscope of contrasts, colors and sounds caught up in an ecstatic whirl.

REVIEWS:

In Scriabin’s work, the Prometheus myth is focused less on the creative element of Prometheus and more on the theft of fire, which allows the composer to create ‘light-filled’ images. Lan Shui creates a very great tension from the very first bars, giving expression to the fantasy nature of the composition. We thus hear music with those detaching particles of sound that, like the flock of birds in flight, create effects from ever-changing forms. Shui thus proves to be an imaginative conductor who spurs his orchestra and choir on to an outstanding performance. Evgeny Sudbin blends perfectly into this feverish sound...A great performance!

-- Pizzicato

Lan Shui and his Singapore Symphony Orchestra...inflame the subject; they delight in lascivious sensualities, the better to suddenly cause volcanoes to burst. All this is of a dizzying control and a sonic refinement...

The pianist is none other than Yevgeny Sudbin...He touches on genius in Prometheus, but you also have to hear him burn his keyboard, all hammers and iron, for a 5th Sonata that sounds as if it had just come out of the forge. A great album - totally unexpected, and recorded with striking fidelity.

-- Artamag'

"• Played by Sviatoslav Richter 1952-55 • Richter shows all the needed skills and understanding of the composers mystical compositions. • Reference recordings!"

Also available: Scriabin: Symphony No. 2 & Piano Concerto / Petrenko and Scriabin: Symphony No. 1 & Prometheus / Petrenko

This CD release marks the start of a creative partnership between the Oslo Philharmonic and LAWO Classics. Alexander Scriabin’s deep immersion in esoteric philosophy and related spiritual awakening became integral to his art. The Russian composer’s initial conservative musical language evolved in the early 1900s and opened up to daring harmonic territories. His art was influenced in part by his reading of Helena Blavatsky’s The Secret Doctrine, a syncretic blend of ancient wisdom, occult practices, mysticism, and critical reactions to Darwin and modern "materialist" science.

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REVIEWS:

Petrenko shows an excellent grasp of each symphony's dramatic trajectory, and a broader than usual awareness of the creative legacy within which Scriabin worked.

– BBC Music Magazine

Petrenko’s debut disc with his new Oslo band should not be overlooked: Scriabin’s virtuosic writing holds no terrors for them, and they wallow in the “Voluptés” of No 3’s central movement with ravishing transparency. The Poem of Ecstasy is heady stuff, brilliantly played.

– Sunday Times (UK)

SCRIABIN: Symphony No. 1 / Reverie, Op. 24 / 2 Poems, Op. 32

As Scriabin's Preludes progressively leave their Chopin models behind and dig deeper into sensuous abstraction, Evgeny Zarafiants' probing, dark toned interpretations truly hit home. No skating over Scriabin's increasingly troubled waters for this pianist, whose wide dynamic range and multi-tiered palette of articulations add dramatic dimension and heft to these elusive scores. The real eye-openers, though, are four preludes written by Scriabin's eleven-year-old son Julian. They're quite extraordinary in their confident, fluent piano writing and harmonic sophistication, bearing hints of early Schoenberg alongside the elder Scriabin's musical style. Julian drowned at age 11 in 1919. We will never know if he would have grown up to take over the family business, so to speak, yet these remarkable pieces are no doubt worthy of the Scriabin name. --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

"Here is a beautiful young pianist with a superb Scriabin recital... Her performances are warm and intuitive and logical and completely non-rhetorical. The result is an extraordinary disclong journey into Scriabin’s increasingly sulfurous and mad world." -- Jeff Simon, The Buffalo News

"Wang manages to cut a diagonal path across Scriabin's output, largely drawing from lesser known pieces, including the waltzes, poems, and pieces in genres he visited no more than once or a couple of times. These are often treated as afterthoughts by pianists in the course recording of comprehensive Scriabin packages, in several cases that's all you'll ever find of such works on disc. However, Wang treats each as a distinct and separate case, and she spins the neglected Polonaise in B flat minor, Op. 21, into gold, relating it to the Russian tradition of the polonaise with its darker hues and more lumbering, rhythmic profile. She finds what's truly "satanic" about the Poème satanique, Op. 36, a work that often doesn't get very good performances because its uncharacteristically bright, major-key sound seems at odds with the title; however, in Wang's version it is clear that this piece comes from the dark side of Scriabin's musical universe. Speaking of which, her rendition of Vers la flamme — a piece Wang often plays in recital and is included on her debut — is everything one would want it to be: muted and gradually emergent at the start, white hot and ecstatic at the end." -- Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

"The booklet notes that Xiayin Wang provides for her Naxos Scriabin recital are as intelligent and insightful as her interpretations. The pianist's urbane, witty treatment of such Chopin-influenced fare as the D-flat and F minor Waltzes and the B-flat minor Polonaise convincingly transforms the younger composer into the ironist he never was and never would be. It makes me wonder how she'd enliven Scriabin's Mazurkas. Her taut, harmonically aware renditions of the Op. 32, Op. 34, Op. 36, and Op. 52 Poèmes fall agreeably on the ear, notwithstanding more drawn out, subjective, and sexy accounts to be savored (Pascal Amoyel on Calliope, for example). Appropriately fiery climaxes rivet attention in Flammes sombres and Vers la flamme, although much of the diffuse B minor Fantasie grows too loud too soon when compared to Alexander Melnikov's more diverse pacing and wider dynamic range. Overall, a fine disc that bodes well for future releases from this talented pianist." --Jed Distler, ClassicsToday.com

"Having listened to this new release from pianist Xiayin Wang, I simply cannot imagine how or why I have managed to avoid Scriabin’s solo piano œuvre for so long. The music here, and Wang’s playing of it are of an exquisite beauty beyond description...Xiayin Wang seems to have a very special affinity for Scriabin’s music....A beautiful recital by an up-and-coming young artist, captured in excellent sound by Naxos’s recording team. Highly recommended." -- Jerry Dubins, Fanfare

Scriabin: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1

Expressive allure and refined originality are the hallmarks of much of Alexander Scriabin's piano music. Miniatures such as teh Feuillets d'album and the Impromptus, draw on examples by composers including Chopin, Schumann and Tchaikovsky. The Fantaisie, Op. 28 is notable for its brooding opening, melodic abundance and virtuoso style, while the Opus 51 and 56 collections create a multiplicity of moods. The great Soviet pianist Sviatoslav Richter regarded Scriabin's music as "a poetical drug", and contemporary commentators described it as "full of fancy, delight and beauty".

Tolstoy described Alexander Scriabin’s music as “a sincere expression of genius” while Scriabin described himself as “all impulse, all desire...” His virtuosity rivalling that of Rachmaninov, the young and colorful musician and composer found inspiration in his idol, Chopin, while still touching his compositions with Russian darkness and sensuous passion. This album of his less-popular compositions also includes the child prodigy’s Canon in D Minor, composed when Scriabin was only 11 years old.