Alexandre Scriabine : intégrale des sonates pour piano

Description

Two hours of the most intense, unsettling, and erotic piano music ever written, recorded by a pianist renowned for his mastery of the most demanding late Romantic piano repertoire. Scriabin's cycle of ten piano sonatas traces an intense and unpredictable journey, from the peak of Romantic piano writing in the first two sonatas, through tales of stars, sky, light and darkness, desire, fire and flight, and the artist's tormented yearning in the works of the middle period, to a state of visionary grace in the tenth and final sonata. Relatively concise works, several of which consist of a single movement under ten minutes, each nonetheless constitutes a sonic universe both discreet and intoxicating, to which great pianists of the last century have lent their authority and personality. Now it is the turn of Italian pianist Vincenzo Maltempo, already acclaimed by critics for his concert performances and his discography on Brilliant Classics. Maltempo contributes a personal and profound essay to accompany this new recording, revealing the full importance he places on Scriabin the mystic, this composer who sought to apprehend the entire universe through his compositions. He savors the dark and unsettling qualities of works such as the Sixth Sonata, so rich in languorous themes, sudden flashes, and atmospheres of disturbing violence that the composer himself never dared to play it in public. Maltempo has made a name for himself as an interpreter of Alkan, with an impressive discography for Piano Classics, including the collection of short works (PCL0083), "highly recommended" by Fanfare magazine, as well as the more monumental collections of Études and Préludes by the composer. But the pianist's sympathies are not limited to Alkan: they extend to Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies, PCL0108 ("Maltempo, throughout this recital, meets the challenge brilliantly: not only the mastery of the notes themselves - a daunting task to say the least! - but above all the ability to bring these works to life") and Schumann's early works, PCL0074 ("This impressive young Italian pianist shows great love and deep devotion for this music"). All Scriabin collectors will want to pay particular attention to this recording of the sonata cycle.