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Track(s) taken from CDA67057/8

Cinq préludes, Op 16

composer
1894/5

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: 8 minutes 39 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)
With Op 16 we reach an elevated plane: this is the Scriabin idolised by the young Pasternak. Characteristically, Op 16 No 1 sustains one dominant harmony for much of its length, supporting an aspiring, soaring melodic line. No 2 is built on obsessively repeated polyrhythmic figures. lts tonality has already been remarked on in connection with Op 11 No 12. No 3 is serene in its recurring pattern of sixths, around which a filigree solo line is spun. The twelve bars of No 4 stand all under one slur: Scriabin is obsessive in his construction of four-bar phrases, but this despairing page is constructed of four phrases each three bars long, which have to sing in one breath. No 5 is an exquisite, elegant dance miniature.

from notes by Simon Nicholls © 2001

Avec le recueil opus 16, nous atteignons des sphères élevées: voici le Scriabine que le jeune Pasternak portait aux nues. De manière tout à fait caractéristique, le no1 s’illustre par la place accordée à la dominante qui prévaut durant une bonne partie du morceau et sur laquelle s’envole une ligne mélodique ambitieuse. Le no2 est élaboré sur des répétitions obsessives de motifs polyrythmiques. On a déjà souligné sa parenté tonale avec l’opus 11 no12. Serein, le no3 dévoile une phrase récurrente de sixtes autour de laquelle une ligne solo s’inscrit en filigrane. Les douze mesures du no4 figurent toutes sous une seule liaison: si Scriabine faisait montre d’une propension à l’obsession dans sa construction de phrases de quatre mesures, cette page désespérée est constituée de quatre phrases de trois mesures qu’il faut chanter en un seul souffle. Le no5 est une miniature de danse, exquise et élégante.

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

Mit op. 16 gelangen wir auf eine Ebene: Dies ist der Skrjabin, den der junge Pasternak so bewundert hat. Op. 16 Nr. 1 hält bezeichnenderweise über weite Teile seines Verlaufs eine dominante Harmonisierung durch, die eine emporstrebende, hoch auffliegende Melodielinie stützt. Nr. 2 ist auf zwanghaft wiederholten polyrhythmischen Figuren aufgebaut. Von seiner Tonalität war bereits im Zusammenhang mit op. 11 Nr. 12 die Rede. Nr. 3 ist heiter, und um sein wiederkehrendes Sextakkordschema wird eine filigrane Sololinie gesponnen. Die zwölf Takte von Nr. 4 sind unter einem einzigen Bindebogen versammelt: Skrjabin konstruiert in der Regel zwanghaft viertaktige Phrasen, doch dieses Blatt voller Verzweiflung ist aus vier Phrasen von je drei Takten Länge aufgebaut, die in einem Atemzug singen müssen. Nr. 5 ist eine erlesene, elegante Tanzminiatur.

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

Other albums featuring this work

Scriabin: The Complete Préludes, Vol. 1
CDH55450Download only
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