Deux préludes, Op 67 (Scriabin) - from CDA67057/8 - Hyperion Records

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)

The two preludes Op 67 (1912–13) come from the time of the last sonatas and with their rarified dynamic level provide a welcome contrast. The first circles mysteriously around the same few enigmatic harmonies; the second, with its rapid, velvety, chromatic left hand, led the early biographer A E Hull to write in 1916 of a vision of ‘hundreds of multi-coloured night moths fluttering about in the semi-darkness’.

De la même période que les dernières sonates, les deux préludes de l’opus 67 (1912–13) présentent avec leur niveau sonore raréfié un heureux contraste. Le premier tourne mystérieusement autour des quelques mêmes harmonies énigmatiques; le second, avec sa main gauche véloce, veloutée et chromatique, a conduit un des premiers biographes, A E Hull, à évoquer en 1916 une vision de «centaines de papillons nocturnes multicolores tournoyant dans le clair-obscur».

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

Die beiden Préludes op. 67 (1912/13) stammen aus der Zeit der letzten Sonaten und bieten mit ihrem besonderen dynamischen Niveau einen willkommenen Kontrast. Das erste kreist geheimnisvoll um wenige, immer gleiche änigmatische Harmonien; das zweite mit seiner flinken, samtweichen, chromatischen linken Hand hat Skrjabins frühen Biographen A.E. Hull veranlaßt, 1916 die Vorstellung niederzuschreiben, daß „Hunderte bunter Nachtfalter im Halbdunkel umherflattern“.

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

Other albums featuring this work

Scriabin: The Complete Préludes, Vol. 2

Piers Lane (piano)

CDH55451

Piers Lane’s performances of the complete Scriabin Préludes are bold and compelling, matching technical bravura with a rich vein of poetry and colour and communicating the composer’s vivid and exceptional imagination. Beautifully recorded and supe ...» More

Recording details: June 2000
Henry Wood Hall, London, United Kingdom
Produced by Amanda Hurton
Engineered by Tony Faulkner
Release date: February 2001
Total duration: 3 minutes 0 seconds

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