Alexander Scriabin - Complete Études (Piers Lane)

Information

Composer: Alexander Scriabin

• Études in C sharp minor, Op. 2 No. 1
• Douze études, Op. 8
• Huit études, Op. 42
• Étude in E flat major, Op. 49 No. 1
• Étude, Op. 56 No. 4
• Trois études, Op. 65

Piers Lane, piano

Date: 1992

Label: Hyperion

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Review

Piers Lane, fresh from the success of his recordings of the Moszkowski and Paderewski piano concertos (also from Hyperion, 2/92), now turns his hand to the piano music of Scriabin—and a most persuasive and sensitive advocate of this composer he proves to be too. Hyperion's decision to allow him to present the complete Etudes on one CD is a sensible one, and, far from being an indigestible anthology makes enjoyable and satisfying listening from beginning to end—dipping into these sets, as so many other pianists have done in the past on disc, has always struck me as a curiously frustrating and unbalanced exercise.

Although these etudes can certainly be counted amongst the most digitally taxing and hazardous of their kind it should be remembered that they were also important sketches for Scriabin's gradually evolving harmonic language and poetic vision of thought. Lane, to his credit, is never tempted to use them as mere vehicles for virtuoso display, though make no mistake he is more than equipped to tackle some of their fearsome demands. It would be unnecessary to detail all the riches of the 26 etudes played here: suffice to say that Lane responds well to their fine expressive detail (Etude in C sharp minor Op. 2, Op. 8 Nos. 4, 8 and 11 and Op. 42 No. 4), that he possesses a keen rhythmical impetuous (Op. 8 Nos. 7, 9, 10 and Op. 42 Nos. 1, 7 and 8) and that he phrases with great subtlety and elegance (Op. 8 Nos. 6 and 11). The famous ''Mosquito'' Etude (Op. 42 No. 3) has rarely been captured with such delicate fragility as here, and Scriabin's highly individual brand of nervosity, most noticeable in Op. 8 No. 7 and predominantly so throughout Op. 42 and the two etudes Op. 49 and Op. 56 is also well caught. Perhaps at times a degree more bite and tempestuousness would have been preferable—Op. 8 No. 3 or Op. 8 No. 12 (Scriabin's own heaven-storming ''Revolutionary'' Etude) for example, and I also felt that the Op. 42 Etudes as a set could have been pushed to the edge of their limits a little more—Ogdon's EMI recording (7/73—nla) is scintillating in this respect (any chance of a Compact Disc transfer?). On the whole, however, Lane's approach to the late etudes is most impressive, leaving listener eager to hear what he might make of the late sonatas. The three Etudes Op. 65 fare extremely well in comparison with Woodward's Etcetera recording, with the tremulous, ghostly flutterings of No. 1 tellingly handled and delivered with an incredible lightness of touch, and although in the central section of No. 3 Woodward is closer perhaps to Scriabin's prescribed imperieux, in the outer sections Lane is more crisply articulated and breathless.

A thoroughly desirable issue then, that unfortunately arrived on my desk too late for inclusion in my ''Critics' Choice'' this year, but had it not it would certainly have taken pride of place alongside Woodward's very fine Scriabin recording on Etcetera. One final point: last month I felt compelled to take issue with an inappropriate choice of cover illustration for the EMI Eminence disc of Vaughan Williams Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4; an accusation that could hardly be levelled against Hyperion, whose covers are always meticulously well though out—full marks then for the colourful and eye-catching reproduction of Depression and Ideal by the symbolist painter Carlos Schwabe.

-- Michael Stewart

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Alexander Scriabin (6 January 1872 – 27 April 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist, renowned for his innovative contributions to classical music. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Anton Arensky, Sergei Taneyev and Vasily Safonov. Scriabin composed almost exclusively for solo piano and for orchestra. Initially influenced by Romanticism, his style evolved into more abstract and mystical realms, incorporating complex harmonies and unconventional scales. His most famous compositions include piano works like Etudes, Preludes, and Sonatas, as well as his symphonic work Prometheus: The Poem of Fire. 

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Piers Lane (born 8 January 1958) is an Australian classical pianist. Born in London and grew up in Brisbane, he graduated with a Medal of Excellence from the Queensland Conservatorium of Music, where his teacher was Nancy Weir. Lane first came to prominence at the inaugural Sydney International Piano Competition in 1977, at which he was named Best Australian Pianist. Since 2007, he is the artistic director of the Australian Festival of Chamber Music held annually in Townsville. Lane has an extensive discography on the Hyperion label and has also recorded for EMI, Decca, BMG, Lyrita and Unicorn-Khanchana.

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