Scriabin seems to be an "in" composer all of a sudden, what with numerous new recordings of his youthful Piano Concerto and late tone poems/symphonies. In the past few months, we've had new recordings by some real "heavyweights", including Boulez and Pletnev on Deutsche Grammophon, Rozdestvensky on Chandos, and Ashkenazy on Decca. This budget-priced production from the composer's compatriots certainly holds its own against all comers. Konstantin Scherbakov plays the concerto with steel and sensitivity in equal measure, and he's particularly successful in knitting together the loose architecture of the outer movements, while at the same time making the filigreed piano writing sound like real Scriabin, rather than Chopin on steroids. The performance of Prometheus is predictably less smooth than the recent Boulez/Chicago, and not as sumptuously recorded. But despite the slower overall tempo, the performance is much more physically exciting and has a naturalness of flow that Boulez doesn't quite match. The couplings, orchestrations of various short piano pieces, are also captivating and unique. In all, the disc is definitely worth a listen, even if you think you've had enough of this music.

--David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday.com

SCRIABIN: Etudes (Complete)

Alexander Scriabin is popular among modern pianists, as is seen in the numerous recordings made since the 1970s. With a revolutionary compositional style, Scriabin remains one of the most original musicians in the history of music. His earliest works show a romantic language. Soon, however, he began pushing dissonance and tension to the point of completely disintegrating tonality, achieving effects similar to that of Schoenberg, but with a style all his own. “A pianist with remarkable insight, maturity and artistic imagination… his keep intelligence, impeccable musical taste and refined technique allow him to realize interpretations of great beauty and emotional strength…” (Lev Natochenny)

The 21 Mazurkas Scriabin penned over a period of some 15 years (from 1888 to 1903) are musical treasures from one of the most remarkable tone-poets Russia ever produced. Long neglected by pianists, they were for the most part relegated to the limbo of early efforts, or often regarded as inferior ñ albeit interesting ñ imitations of Chopinís more ìauthenticî creations. Doubtlessly, the mystery and melancholy of Chopinís Mazurkas found a sympathetic echo in the hypersensitive soul of the young composer, whose affection for the Polish master began in boyhood and was indeed never to wane. Yet, in adapting the dance most indigenous to Poland and most closely associated with Chopin, Scriabin, even at the early age of 16, by his very nature, could do no less than transform it into something striking and original. It could not be helped: his vision was unique, a way of apprehending the world very much estranged from commonplace notions of reality, where angels, dark imaginings, intense nostalgia, and imitations of unseen realms were the norm. Refracted through the prism of an extraordinary sensibility, his mazurkas would become essentially mazurka-fantasies. They would take on an allure of pieces improvised in the bleakest hours of the night, where subterranean, atavistic passions unexpectedly surge forth and an eerie desolation sets in. At other times, they would beguile by sheer charm and sensuality, often self-indulgently so. The American pianist and critic John Bell Young, himself a noted exponent of Scriabinís music, wrote on hearing an advance copy of this recording: ìTerrific! He is a Scriabinist to the manor born.î Le Vanís recording of Brahmsí Sonatas no. 1 & no. 3 has been acclaimed internationally as was his release of Lisztís Complete Cello/Piano Works with cellist Guido Schiefen for Arte Nova (BMG), awarded best chamber music disc for the year 2000 in the Neue Musik Zeitung. Le Van has resided for several years in France where he is Artistic Director of the International Franz Liszt Festival.

Extase, Michèle Gurdal's 2014 album of the etudes for piano by Alexander Scriabin, is a fascinating survey of these demanding pieces, which were composed between 1888 and 1912, showing Scriabin's development as a virtuoso pianist and composer. Profoundly influenced by Chopin, Scriabin's Etude No. 1 in C sharp minor, Op. 2, is the closest in style and expression, and the 12 Etudes of Op. 8 share much of the Romantic master's displays of technical brilliance blended with poetic melancholy. But by the time Scriabin wrote the 8 Etudes, Op. 42, he had cultivated a feeling for atmospheric and nearly impressionistic sonorities, similar to Debussy's, and in the Études of Op. 65, he had ventured beyond conventional piano writing into a mystical and increasingly atonal idiom, entirely identifiable as his own visionary music. Many crowd-pleasing pianists favor Scriabin's early, more approachable pieces, but Gurdal's thorough understanding of Scriabin's three stages gives her more authority and persuasiveness, and she is communicative and convincing in the whole oeuvre. This exciting debut on Challenge Classics promises great things to come, and if Gurdal records more Scriabin, particularly the sonatas and the preludes, there will be many appreciative listeners.

-- All Music Guide

Shot in various venues in Vincenca, Vienna, Turin, Padua between 1986 and 1987.

Picture format: NTSC 4:3
Sound format: PCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Running time: 101 mins
No. of DVDs: 1 (DVD 9)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



CHOPIN Piano Sonata No. 2, “Funeral March.” Polonaise in f?, op. 44. Prelude in B?, op. 28/21. BEETHOVEN Piano Sonatas: No. 27; No. 32. SCRIABIN Etude, op. 8/2. 2 Poems, op. 32 • Ivo Pogorelich (pn) • C MAJOR 701308 (DVD: 101:00)


This video was filmed in 1987, when Pogorelich was in his late-20s. The locale is an ornate Italian villa with excellent acoustics. The sound engineering has held up very well, and the camerawork is unobtrusive. There is no showmanship. Pogorelich simply plays the music, without jumping about or making faces. He has one of the most compulsively watchable pairs of hands I’ve ever seen. I haven’t been this taken with the physical act of a pianist’s playing since I saw Earl Wild play the Gershwin Concerto in 1986. There is a balance of form and function in Pogorelich’s hands that is just enthralling. Pogorelich performs the Chopin and the Scriabin in a black tunic, switching to a plain blue shirt for the Beethoven. Perhaps there’s something revealing in that. The video footage was originally divided into five separate television programs, which simply are played here in succession. I didn’t find this distracting.


I believe Chopin’s Second Piano Sonata was one of the works Pogorelich performed in the 1980 International Chopin Competition in Warsaw. That was where Martha Argerich resigned from the jury after Pogorelich’s elimination, calling him “a genius.” This video contains a great rendition of the sonata. Even the brief introductory chords are dramatic and arresting. In the first movement, Pogorelich has a beautiful response to the second subject, varying it with richness and nobility on each of its appearances, the third time giving it beautiful tone coloring. The scherzo features a dynamic left hand, while its second subject is highly rhapsodic. The opening of the Marche funèbre is grand, even triumphant, whereas its second subject is shaded nocturnally. The return of the Marche is terrifying, leading to the finale’s splendid virtuosic chaos. Throughout the sonata Pogorelich’s conception is bold, dynamic, and vivid.


The remaining Chopin works are equally impressive. The polonaise is freely shaped, colorful, and propulsive. The return of its main theme at the end is immense and thrilling. Pogorelich’s interpretation of the prelude is slow and stately. He brings the same ingratiating talents as a miniaturist to the short works by Scriabin. They highlight his craftsmanship as a subtle colorist and superb technician. The étude is languorous. As for the Two Poems , the first is dreamy, while the second is torrential.


Pogorelich’s Beethoven is more provocative, owing to his preference for slow tempos. In the first movement of Sonata No. 27, I prefer to think of his tempo not as slow but as spacious. The music’s structure always is apparent. In the final movement, Pogorelich offers a truthful representation of Beethoven’s cantabile marking. This issue, however, bedevils the last sonata. In its first movement, Pogorelich’s concept of maestoso is assisted by his ability to clarify voices. This movement’s contrast of virtuosity and repose seems here to prefigure Liszt. Things bog down, unfortunately, in the last movement. There Pogorelich takes the adagio molto marking too literally, interfering in his slowness with the other instruction for cantabile playing. His phrasing becomes choppy. Beethoven did offer the instruction semplice , but that doesn’t mean to proceed so slowly as to be simple-minded. I watched this DVD four times before writing this review, and the last movement of Sonata No. 32 was the only performance I grew weary of.


If you are collecting these works on CD, I can make some recommendations. In the Chopin sonata, I like Cécile Ousset (whose muscularity recalls Pogorelich), Leif Ove Andsnes, and Idil Biret. Richard Goode and Bernard Roberts are interesting in both of the Beethoven sonatas. For No. 32, there also are fine recordings by Bruce Hungerford, Jerome Rose, and, on a Graf fortepiano, Peter Serkin. Scriabin’s Two Poems appears in a lyrical presentation by the Russian-American pianist Dmitry Paperno, on a lovely collection of shorter works titled Through the Years . As for Pogorelich’s DVD, it is fascinating and compulsively watchable almost all the way through. If you can overlook some rather zany Beethoven, it might be for you.


FANFARE: Dave Saemann

Classical Music

As pianist Andrei Hoteev puts it, Vladimir Sofronitzki's interpretations included an "improvisatory style", which corresponds with what musicologist Sigfried Schibli has noted as a characteristic of Scriabin's own playing, going on to say Scriabin "developed his own style of playing the piano" with "alertly varied rhythms and dynamics...combined with a delicate touch and spontaneous agogics." Indeed, Sofronitzki's Scriabin performances have often been praised for their idiomatic, "poetic" rubato together with a flair for musical architecture and rhythmic precision. In his desire for fidelity to the original, Sofronitzki's highly sensitive use of the pedal reflects his striving to abide by the composer's expressive markings as closely as possible. His affinity with Scriabin's oeuvre may derive from the fact that both the composer and the pianist himself were influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Having spent his childhood in Warsaw, where his family had settled when he was two years old, Sofronitzki came to be regarded as setting new standards for Chopin interpretation - an artistic focus that goes back to his first piano tuition in the Polish capital. In 1949, the centenary of Chopin's death, Sofronitzki performed all his piano works on five successive days at the great hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow.

REVIEWS:

The flow of melody and the highest transparency of musical events were top priorities for Vladimir Sofronitzky, whom Emil Gilels called the greatest piano player in the world and of whom the famous Heinrich Neuhaus said, « He plays like a god and looks like a god. » Let’s look closely at these two statements: Gilels speaks of the piano player not of the pianist. Consciously or unconsciously? And Neuhaus speaks of the god. God, is that power? Mightiness? Because Sofronitzky’s playing is powerful. It is dramatic and sonorous. This is Sofronitzky’s individualism: his feelings are those of sovereignty, of control. Poetry and tenderness are not his thing. And so the recordings of this edition impress me more than they touch me.

However, those who are intoxicated by consummate piano technique will be happy with this. In addition to the Etudes, Mazurkas, Preludes, Impromptus, Nocturnes and Poèmes, this box includes the legendary near-complete recording of the piano sonatas with Vladimir Sofronitzky. Only the first three movements of the 1st Sonata and the 9th Sonata, which the pianist never recorded out of respect for Scriabin, are missing and replaced by recordings by other pianists. Sofronitzky’s interpretations are phenomenal: he literally chisels the music into sculptures, relentless, accented, yet often very restrained and labored for nuance. Nevertheless, it is the enormously powerful playing that dominates and captivates the listener[.]

-- Pizzicato

These are historical recordings from 1946 to 1962, played primarily by Sofronitski; all the others are listed as guests. Profil celebrates Scriabin’s 150th birthday with a nearly complete collection of his solo piano works. This remastered collection has cleaned things up to today’s standards.

"Historical Recordings 1946-1962" is correct for all the recordings here except Scriabin’s tracks. There is not a bad performance in this collection. A few choices were made that I didn’t agree with, but, by and large, this is spectacular Scriabin...I was amazed at the musical concentration Sofronitsky summoned to play such beautifully shaped phrases on such an instrument. Anyone who enjoys Scriabin’s piano music will find exceptional performances on each disc here.

-- American Record Guide

Horowitz Plays Scriabin

This album marks Peter Jablonski’s debut for the Ondine label. Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915) created an impressive catalogue of works for the piano and became one of the great innovators in 20th century music. In his early works, the listener can sense the composer’s great admiration for the art of Frédéric Chopin. This is especially manifested in the over 20 Mazurkas that Scriabin wrote for the solo piano, the very same form of music that Chopin followed throughout his active years as a composer. Jablonski's album includes all Scriabin's Mazurkas with an opus number as well as two early Mazurkas.

REVIEW:

Peter Jablonski reaches in an brings out this music's opium-laced perfumes and colors, and projects their intoxicating essence very well. The music of Alexander Scriabin is not concerned with notes, but rather with what these notes can evoke. Jablonski's got this covered.

– Classical Music Sentinel (Jean-Yves Duperron)

Classical Music

The composer Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a controversial figure: his original and innovative works are, in fact, cloaked in spiritualism and mysticism, and inspired by a synaesthetic concept of art. The Russian musician had a crucial importance, not yet fully recognized, in the evolution of 20thcentury music language and his ten Sonatas, indeed, are noteworthy both for their aesthetic value and historic importance. In Scriabin’s last five Sonatas the characteristic imprint of the composer’s music is fully accomplished through innovative writing techniques. Sonatas six to ten were conceived as studies or fragments of that multisensory mystic work (sounds, perfumes, lights and dances), left unfinished because of the composer’s premature death. The Sonata No. 7 Op. 64 was is entitled it White Mass, because the composer deemed that its bright and heavenly character – as opposed to the darkness of the preceding work – represented the spiritual cleansing of mankind. Different moods alternate in the Sonata No. 8 Op. 66: serenity, anxiety, agitation, impetuosity. A complex work, difficult to perform. The last two Sonatas, No. 9 Op. 68, known as Black Mass (a title not given by Scriabin) and No. 10 Op. 70 are also characterized by a strong expressive density, and share the experimentalism and mystic yearning of the three, preceding sonatas. Original, surprising and visionary works, they lead the interpreter and the listener into a dizzying dimension, in a sound world that is exciting, rich in suggestions and multiform images.

This new release is the last installment in Petrenko's fortunate survey of Scriabin's symphonic output. Gramophone writes: “Kirill Gerstein is just the sort of 'thinking pianist' to take it on [Scriabin’s Piano Concerto] and he does a terrific job, and Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Phil are highly sympathetic partners.” The multifaceted pianist Kirill Gerstein has rapidly ascended into classical music’s highest ranks. With a masterful technique, discerning intelligence, and a musical curiosity that has led him to explore repertoire spanning centuries and styles, he has proven to be one of today’s most intriguing and versatile musicians. His early training and experience in jazz has contributed an important element to his interpretive style, inspiring an energetic and expressive musical personality that distinguishes his playing.

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) began his compositional career by imitating the works of Chopin. His earlier works exude the conventional Romantic style, similar to that of Chopin and Liszt. Scriabin was a masterful pianist. After Chopin, no other composer has captured the refined piano technique that Scriabin utilizes in his compositions. A native of Mumbai, India, Pervez Mody lives and works in Germany. After studying piano in Moscow and Karlsruhe, Mody has won a great deal of prestigious piano competitions. This release is the fifth volume in a series by Pervez Mody compiling all of Scriabin’s piano works.

The present release is the sixth volume in Pervez Mody’s Scriabin series. Pervez Mody Concert pianist, is known for his spirited and thrilling performances with deep emotions and an individually access for music. He enjoys a big reputation on the concert circuit and participated in "Martha Argerich & friends" and Martha Argerich certified: “He is an extraordinary musician and performing artist of a very unique kind. I was fascinated by his powerful emotions... it was an unforgettable experience!“ Now he records the complete work of Alexander Scriabin under the label THOROFON and the professional musician world is full of praise for his Scriabin Interpretation. Vol. 4 of "Pervez Mody plays Scriabin" was listed for the "Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik".