As a sampler of Alexander Scriabin's piano oeuvre, this BIS album by Dag Achatz and Roland Pöntinen is intelligently laid out and easy to follow, mostly because every aspect of the visionary composer's development is represented, and clear distinctions are made in the way early, middle, and late works are played. For his program, recorded in analog in 1978, Achatz presents an even mix of etudes and preludes from Scriabin's youthful Romantic phase: a handful of character pieces and the Sonata No. 5 from the transitional, ...
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As a sampler of Alexander Scriabin's piano oeuvre, this BIS album by Dag Achatz and Roland Pöntinen is intelligently laid out and easy to follow, mostly because every aspect of the visionary composer's development is represented, and clear distinctions are made in the way early, middle, and late works are played. For his program, recorded in analog in 1978, Achatz presents an even mix of etudes and preludes from Scriabin's youthful Romantic phase: a handful of character pieces and the Sonata No. 5 from the transitional, quasi-impressionistic middle period; and the two Poèmes, Op. 69, along with Vers la flamme, Op. 72, which represent the final stage of harmonic and textural complexity, as well as the emotional extremes and transcendental moods that dominate Scriabin's late music. The care and imagination Achatz displays in his execution and characterization of each piece make the first part of the CD quite interesting to study, especially if the listener is approaching Scriabin's music for the first...
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