The titles appended to each movement are as colorful as the music itself. 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. To the orchestras characteristically opulent tone muti brings to this music a healthy and much needed dose of rhythmic discipline and dynamism. Premiered two years after symphony no 1, the second symphony contains echoes of strauss, tchaikovsky and wagner, alongside scriabin s own deeply personal sound. Lwc1160 scriabin symphony no 1 op 26 symphony no 5 op 60. In later years scriabin felt that hed somewhat missed the mark in the finale hed aimed at radiant. 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. Russian national orchestra, svetlana shilova, mikhail gubsky, vladislav lavrik, norbert gembaczka, alexander scriabin, mikhail pletnev, chamber choir of the moscow conservatory scriabin. Leonid sabaneyev mentions that this symphony is much clearer when performed on the piano.
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. Over a lively movement in the strings, the trumpets sound a variation of their call. With its sixmovement, hourlength duration, incorporating a grandiose choral finale, complex chromatic. It is an ambitious first symphony, consisting of six movements, the last of which has a chorus and two vocal soloists.
Even the composer admitted hed misjudged the finale, which he described as a military parade. Andante valeri polyansky russian state symphonic cappella russian state. Honestly, i dont know that much about scriabin i only have 1 cd from him, all piano music. Yeah, but i also think of rachmaninov as a piano guy, but love his 2nd symphony. Russian national orchestra, mikhail pletnev scriabin. 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. 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. The sonata consists of four movements, typically spanning 18 minutes in performance. Golovanov conducts scriabin music skip to main content.
Apr 05, 2017 russian national orchestra, mikhail pletnev scriabin. 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 ambitious work consists of six movements, the last of which features a chorus and two vocal soloists, beautifully sung in this recording by. Jan 07, 20 scriabin aleksandr nikolaevic 18721915 symphony no. Even just the finale here i like the oslo recording. Mar 28, 2014 russian composer alexander scriabin wanted his music to bring about the apocalypse. Epic in scope, scriabins highly original first symphony was composed at the turn of the twentieth century. This ravishing disc is probably the finest performance of this piece to date not that theres much competition. 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. Oct 14, 2014 first, let me say that the choral finale is one of my absolute favorite moments in music. As valery gergiev and the lso start a cycle of his symphonies, heres a selection of his scores that might well. This results in a near perfect performance of both works. The symphony consists of five movements, although the first two and the final two are connected to each other without a break.
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. The adelaide symphony orchestra played all the scriabin symphonies and orchestral works at a festival a few years ago. Epic in scope, scriabin s highly original first symphony was composed at the turn of the twentieth century. One hun dred twentysecond season chicago symphony orchestra. In 1899, scriabin began writing his most ambitious composition to date. 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. As a composer of orchestral music, alexander scriabin is best known for his last two idiosyncratic symphonies, the poem of ecstasy and prometheus. Excerpt of the words in the final movement of alexander scriabin s symphony no.
Scriabin was trained as a soldier at the moscow cadet school from 1882 to 1889 but studied music at the same time and took piano. 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. The scherzo has nice lilt, while the finale starts off beautifully with fine singing from the mezzosoprano and tenor soloists. The tempestoso and maestoso strike me as the most tchaikovskian segments of the symphony. The sombre initial theme of the first movement is developed to a triumphant hymn functioning as the main subject of the finale. 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. It is an ambitious first symphony, consisting of six movements the last of which has a chorus and two vocal soloists. 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.
One hundred twentyfourth season chicago symphony orchestra. However these are in mono and some people may object to the sound which dates back 19461952. Only pletnevs account of the ecstasy can rival the grandeur. Lso0770 scriabin symphony no 1 and no 2 albums nativedsd.
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. Aug 23, 2011 yeah, but i also think of rachmaninov as a piano guy, but love his 2nd symphony. A second melody follows in the oboes and cellos against the harmony 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. 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. Oboe concerto moderato poco andante poco allegro eugene izoto v first chicago symphony orchestra performances intermission scriabin symphony no. The generously proportioned six movement symphony no. This recording brings back to me the enthusiasm that i felt when i first started to listen to scriabin. By contrast, this scriabin first symphony both whispers and fulgurates. Lso0770 scriabin symphony no 1 and no 2 albums lso live. 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. Scriabin doesnt really show up on any lists of great brass writers like mahler, wagner, strauss, etc. The work still reflects the influence of the traditional fourmovement formal scheme.