Dmitri Alexeev - Scriabin: Complete Preludes (2018) [Hi-Res]

The 90 preludes composed by Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915) span the entirety of the three periods into which his musical career is usually divided. His fastidious habit of indicating the date and location of compositions allows us to trace groups of roughly contemporary pieces. Consequently, it can be seen that around half of the preludes fall into the ‘first period’ (1888–1900), in which the composer’s music was heavily influenced by Frédéric Chopin’s work.

Scriabin’s music evolved over the course of his life, and in 1900, he completed the 2 Preludes Op.27. These compositions exorcised the spirit of Chopin which had hovered over their predecessors, therefore marking the end of the so-called ‘first period’. Whilst more harmonically adventurous, his ‘middle period’ works still mostly adhere to traditional functional tonality.

In the third period (1910–14) Scriabin composed his final works, the Preludes Op.74. Stable tonality and key signature disappear completely. However, Scriabin’s interest in symmetrical patterning is highly evident. They raise the tantalising question of where Scriabin might have taken 20th-century music had he not tragically died the following year.

Dmitri Alexeev is one of the foremost Russian pianists of today. He played with all important orchestras and conductors, and extensively recorded for EMI. His previous Scriabin recording for Brilliant Classics include the Complete Sonatas and the Complete Études, both were hailed enthusiastically by the international press: “He emphasizes the music’s lyrical beauty without sacrificing energy or forward mobility…few recordings are so intrinsically beautiful as Alexeev’s.” Jed Distler on Classicstoday.

"Scriabin fans today have a much wider selection of complete recordings of the piano sonatas than in years past, and the growing number of sets not only shows how these works have been accepted as standard repertoire, but also that more pianists have mastered their difficulties. While the first three sonatas have ready familiarity with listeners, cast as they are in the Romantic mold of Chopin and Liszt, the remaining seven have had a checkered career, not only because they display Scriabin's increasing complexity of textures, rhythms, and dissonances, but also because they are among the most technically demanding to play. Dmitri Alexeev's 2012 twofer on Brilliant Classics offers proof that all the sonatas are now mainstream, because his interpretations diverge very little from the norms established by such brilliant pianists as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Roberto Szidon, Robert Taub, Maria Lettberg, and Marc-André Hamelin, and the facility with which he performs them reflects the supreme virtuosity that has become expected of major pianists. When collections of the sonatas are placed side by side, it can be excruciating to select just one, but knowing that this one is a worthy competitor makes it a reasonable choice, especially for beginners just learning the mysteries of Scriabin's music. Brilliant's reproduction is quite good, but be aware that it sometimes picks up the pianist's breathing." (Blair Sanderson, AMG)

Dmitri Alexeev, piano