Alexander scriabin 18721915 symphony no 1 in e major, op 26 18991900 symphony no 2 in c minor, op 29 1901 valery gergiev london symphony orchestra ekaterina sergeeva mezzosoprano alexander timchenko tenor simon halsey chorus director london symphony chorus. Russian national orchestra, svetlana shilova, mikhail gubsky, vladislav lavrik, norbert gembaczka, alexander scriabin, mikhail pletnev, chamber choir of the moscow conservatory scriabin. Jan 07, 20 scriabin aleksandr nikolaevic 18721915 symphony no. Lso0770 scriabin symphony no 1 and no 2 albums lso live. As a composer of orchestral music, alexander scriabin is best known for his last two idiosyncratic symphonies, the poem of ecstasy and prometheus. This ravishing disc is probably the finest performance of this piece to date not that theres much competition. Luttes struggles, voluptes pleasures, and jeu divin divine play. The ambitious work consists of six movements, the last of which features a chorus and two vocal soloists, beautifully sung in this recording by. Epic in scope, scriabin s highly original first symphony was composed at the turn of the twentieth century.
Oboe concerto moderato poco andante poco allegro eugene izoto v first chicago symphony orchestra performances intermission scriabin symphony no. By contrast, this scriabin first symphony both whispers and fulgurates. Honestly, i dont know that much about scriabin i only have 1 cd from him, all piano music. Valery gergiev,london symphony orchestra valery gergiev conducts revelatory performances of scriabins symphony no 3 the divine poem and symphony no 4 the poem of ecstasy. The sombre initial theme of the first movement is developed to a triumphant hymn functioning as the main subject of the finale. The sonata consists of four movements, typically spanning 18 minutes in performance. A wouldbe grandiose statement about art and scriabins own creative sensibility, much of the symphonys effect is undermined by an inept choral finale, whose apotheosis involves a quasibach fugue presumably a hangover from scriabins studies with taneyev plus pompous imperialstyle coda. One hun dred twentysecond season chicago symphony orchestra.
For scriabin aficionados these cds form an essential appendix to the modern recording of choice. It is the most structurally conventional of all scriabins symphonies. It is an ambitious first symphony, consisting of six movements, the last of which has a chorus and two vocal soloists. One hundred twentyfourth season chicago symphony orchestra. Epic in scope, scriabins highly original first symphony was composed at the turn of the twentieth century. The poem of fire, which are essentially symphonic poems, not symphonies in the conventional sense. While relatively more restrained in style than scriabin s other symphonic output, over the course of its five movements there are sweeping climaxes, swirling colors and passages of. This marks the first in a new cycle of scriabin symphonies, and one of the most significant of all valery gergievs projects with the london sym. The scherzo has nice lilt, while the finale starts off beautifully with fine singing from the mezzosoprano and tenor soloists. Valery gergiev,london symphony orchestra valery gergiev conducts revelatory performances of scriabin s symphony no 3 the divine poem and symphony no 4 the poem of ecstasy. Scriabin sometimes referred to the poem of ecstasy as his fourth symphony, although it was never officially called such and avoids the traditional division into separate movements. It is an ambitious first symphony, consisting of six movements the last of which has a chorus and two vocal soloists. The literary program of this work, devised by tatiana schloezer, with whom he had formed a relationship after abandoning his wife, was said to represent the evolution of the human spirit from pantheism. This recording brings back to me the enthusiasm that i felt when i first started to listen to scriabin.
In later years scriabin felt that hed somewhat missed the mark in the finale hed aimed at radiant. Leonid sabaneyev mentions that this symphony is much clearer when performed on the piano. With its sixmovement, hourlength duration, incorporating a grandiose choral finale, complex chromatic. The symphonys opening theme now reappears, gathers power, and is gradually transformed into a brilliant march which provides the main material of the c major finale. Andante valeri polyansky russian state symphonic cappella russian state. The second symphony is still grounded in the spirit of the nineteenthcentury masters scriabin reveredit reflects what scriabin, a conservatory professor at the time, spoke of as the difficulty of teaching other peoples music while writing his own. Scriabin had prevaricated over the definitive text of the choral finale, which he himself had written, but even worse, the artistic committee which presided over the acceptance of works to be published by the publishing house headed by no lesser figures than rimskykorsakov, glazunov and lyadov himself then declared. Yeah, but i also think of rachmaninov as a piano guy, but love his 2nd symphony. The tempestoso and maestoso strike me as the most tchaikovskian segments of the symphony.
Russian national orchestra, mikhail pletnev scriabin. From his youth, when he interpreted the signifi cance of his birth on christmas day as a sign that he should do great things, scriabin believed he would play a decisive role in the history of music. Mar 28, 2014 russian composer alexander scriabin wanted his music to bring about the apocalypse. Aug 23, 2011 yeah, but i also think of rachmaninov as a piano guy, but love his 2nd symphony. Golovanov conducts scriabin music skip to main content. Excerpt of the words in the final movement of alexander scriabin s symphony no. Apr 05, 2017 russian national orchestra, mikhail pletnev scriabin. Only pletnevs account of the ecstasy can rival the grandeur. Premiered two years after symphony no 1, the second symphony contains echoes of strauss, tchaikovsky and wagner, alongside scriabin s own deeply personal sound. Im not sure why this symphony is so seldom performed, since the long melodic lines are easy to like, and the rapturous final movement, although perhaps a bit harmonically straightforward at the end i. This results in a near perfect performance of both works.
Lwc1160 scriabin symphony no 1 op 26 symphony no 5 op 60. Scriabin s first symphony, in six movements with a vocal finale in praise of the supremacy of art, is a remarkably sensual piece that really does demand dedicated interpreters. As valery gergiev and the lso start a cycle of his symphonies, heres a selection of his scores that might well. The generously proportioned six movement symphony no. Although played as a single movement, there are traces of the classical sonata keyscheme that scriabin had employed previously, but it is no longer structurally important. Select from a wide range of models, decals, meshes, plugins, or audio that help bring your imagination into reality. Even the composer admitted hed misjudged the finale, which he described as a military parade. The poem of fire one of his final works, commenced in brussels and first performed on his return to russia following a period of exile in western europe. A second melody follows in the oboes and cellos against the harmony of. The adelaide symphony orchestra played all the scriabin symphonies and orchestral works at a festival a few years ago.
Scriabins first symphony, in six movements with a vocal finale in praise of the supremacy of art, is a remarkably sensual piece that really does demand dedicated interpreters. Over a lively movement in the strings, the trumpets sound a variation of their call. Aleksandr scriabin, russian composer of piano and orchestral music noted for its unusual harmonies through which the composer sought to explore musical symbolism. Ive listened to it countless times, including a live performance earlier this year. Lso0770 scriabin symphony no 1 and no 2 albums nativedsd. To the orchestras characteristically opulent tone muti brings to this music a healthy and much needed dose of rhythmic discipline and dynamism. Symphony 1, 2, 3, poem of ecstasy, prometheus by alexander scriabin, riccardo muti, stefania toczyska, philadelphia orchestra, dmitri alexeev, michael myers, westminster choir, philadelphia choral arts society from amazons classical music store. The symphony consists of five movements, although the first two and the final two are connected to each other without a break. Scriabin doesnt really show up on any lists of great brass writers like mahler, wagner, strauss, etc. Blessed by the orchestras warm, vibrant playing, this cd is a real pleasure for everyone who adores the esoteric and unorthodox work of scriabin. The work still reflects the influence of the traditional fourmovement formal scheme. Oct 14, 2014 first, let me say that the choral finale is one of my absolute favorite moments in music. Even just the finale here i like the oslo recording. The titles appended to each movement are as colorful as the music itself.
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