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Track(s) taken from CDA67057/8

Quatre préludes, Op 33

composer
1903

Piers Lane (piano)
Recording details: June 2000
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Amanda Hurton
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: February 2001
Total duration: 4 minutes 36 seconds

Cover artwork: Halos (1894) by Louis Welden Hawkins (1849-1910)
 

Reviews

‘Everything about this two-disc set is ideal. Few pianists could show more sympathy and affection for such volatile romanticism, or display greater stylistic consistency. This new set of the Preludes should be in any serious record collection’ (Gramophone)

‘Lane certainly knows how to tease out the music's textural subtleties; his emotional commitment is undeniable, as is his grasp of the poetic/virtuosic dichotomy inherent in Scriabin's music’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Lane is the perfect guide to Scriabin’s shimmering miniature masterpieces’ (The Independent)

‘To find contemporary performances that convey … aspects of the music more vividly and with greater sympathy, as well as with a good deal more technical refinement, one need look no further than Piers Lane’s recent traversal’ (International Record Review)

‘Lane's technical brilliance and assurance captures the most elusive qualities of this music, as one dream-vision dissolves into another … [his] control and balance of their veiled sonorities is wonder-filled’ (The Times)

‘Piers Lane is easily the master of all this … you get the sense this music is in his blood. The preludes have been well worth waiting for’ (Amazon.co.uk)

‘Lane's flawless finger and inspired brain are totally attuned to Scriabin's hyper-expressive sound world. Gorgeous, flattering sonics help elevate this recording to reference version status among complete Scriabin cycles. Bravo!’ (Classics Today)
Op 33 starts with a limpid E major and a dreamy F sharp major (a key central to Scriabin’s consciousness), but the mood is shattered by an alarming outburst of anger in No 3 (‘con collera’), and Scriabin’s burgeoning ego shows itself further in the ‘daring, warlike’ No 4. Scriabin did not live long enough to reassess the idealistic illusions besetting that era; musically, the prelude’s impetus is increased by its 5/4 time signature, a feature shared with Op 11 Nos 14 and 16.

from notes by Simon Nicholls © 2001

L’opus 33 débute par un mi majeur limpide et un fa dièse majeur rêveur (une tonalité essentielle de sa sensibilité), mais l’atmosphère est bouleversée par un éclat inquiétant de colère dans le no3 («con collera») et l’ego bourgeonnant de Scriabine se dévoile un peu plus dans le no4 «ardent, belliqueux». Scriabine ne vécut pas assez longtemps pour réexaminer les illusions idéalistes qui foisonnaient à cette époque; musicalement, l’impulsion du prélude est accentuée par la mesure à 5/4, à l’image des nos14 et 16 de l’opus 11.

extrait des notes rédigées par Simon Nicholls © 2001
Français: Isabelle Battioni

Op. 33 beginnt in klarem E-Dur und verträumtem Fis-Dur (einer Tonart, die in Skrjabins Bewußtsein eine zentrale Stellung einnahm), doch die Stimmung wird in Nr. 3 („con collera“) durch einen beunruhigenden Wutausbruch verdorben. Skrjabins aufblühendes Ego zeigt sich erneut in der „kühnen, kriegerischen“ Nr. 4. Skrjabin hat nicht lange genug gelebt, um die idealistischen Illusionen neu zu beurteilen, von denen diese Epoche heimgesucht wurde; musikalisch wird der Impetus des Préludes durch seinen 5/4-Takt erhöht, ein Merkmal, das es mit op. 11, Nr. 14 und 16 gemeinsam hat.

aus dem Begleittext von Simon Nicholls © 2001
Deutsch: Anne Steeb/Bernd Müller

Other albums featuring this work

Scriabin: The Complete Préludes, Vol. 2
CDH55451
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