I'm back! I know it's not really week 4 anymore but as I'm still planning to do 52 weeks worth of listening I've decided to keep the numbering going, I'll just have to go a little over an actual year.
I just listened to eight different pianists play the Op.74 preludes. There are five preludes in all, of short duration and without a key designation. The whole set lasts about seven and a half minutes. Hear are Scriabin's descriptors: I. Douloureux, déchirant (Pain, tearing) II. Very Slow, contemplative III. Allegro drammatico IV. Slow, vague, undecided V. Fier, belliqueux (Proud, warlike). I really can't do better in describing this music. It is music that pushes and pulls violently, that floats unanchored, that does not resolve or if it does, it does so uncomfortably. What a change in Scriabin's harmonic language from his early preludes! There are hints of this coming change in some of the earlier preludes but there are only two opuses of the preludes that don't designate a key; Op.67 and Op. 74.
The pianists I listened to were Chitose Okashiro, Lucille Chung, Emil Gilels, Evgeny Zarafiants, John Ogdon, Maria Lettberg, Roger Woodward and Vladimir Feltsman. As always, it is fascinating to hear different interpretations. I think for this music to really work and ignite the pianist must have a freedom of rhythm and be willing to push and pull and pause more so than he or she might do in another composers music. Gilels and Okashiro excel at this. Their rhythmic freedom plus wonderful voicing really make this music come alive. Of all the pianists they are my favorites. Odgon and Lettberg are also very fine. Chung's playing is too square for me and Zarafiants takes an approach more toward the middle. I found Feltsman rather unimaginative. This leaves Woodard, who I found perverse! His playing is clunky, with no feeling of the mystery, heat and passion that Okashiro and Gilels bring to the music.
I did listen to all the preludes and some of the highlights from that listening, weeks ago, were Kissin playing Op.15, Olli Mustonen playing Op. 16, and Okashiro playing Op.37, 39 & Op.59 No.2.
I would agree with all of your assessments. For my money, Okashiro is about the best Scriabin player going right now. Gilels has the Moscow Conservatory tradition, from a period when Scriabin was about the only "progressive/avant-garde" composer that Soviet-era students were permitted to perform. Ogdon's performances were a revelation in their time, and still hold up pretty well, IMO. I have a recording of the Op. 74 with Alexie Lubimov that is pretty fantastic as well. I haven't heard the Woodward in a long time so I'll go back and listen to that one again.
ReplyDeleteScriabin wasn't really played or recorded much until the end of the 1960s, apart from Horowitz, whose recordings I detest. I think Ruth Laredo was the first to record all the sonatas. I recently heard Glenn Gould's reading of the 5th Sonata, and it's pretty amazing, making me wish he'd recorded more Scriabin. Richter's Scriabin is also exceptional; he's probably my all-time favorite Scriabin interpreter. I think Scriabin was the only composer whose music he played for an entire recital program.
David - I'll have to listen to that Gould recording. That's a great piece and I'm interested to hear how he does it. I share your opinion of Horowitz. I once did a comparison of Liszt's second Ballad and the Horowitz was really dreadful. The Arrau, on the other hand, was fabulous. Richter is my piano god. I have quite a collection of his recordings including the wonderful Vers la Flamme. Richter did play all Beethoven recitals and all Liszt recitals, and I believe also Schubert though I'm not sure about that.
DeleteThanks for the Okashiro recommendation! Her playing is fabulous.