Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)
The Poem of Ecstasy, Op 54 (1907)
Piano Sonata No 5, Op 53 (1907)
Prometheus – The Poem of Fire, Op 60 (1909-1910)
Yevgeny Sudbin (piano)
Singapore Symphony Chorus
Singapore Symphony Youth Choir
Singapore Symphony Orchestra/Lan Shui
rec. 2017, Esplanade Concert Hall, Singapore; 2006, Västerås Concert Hall, Sweden (sonata)
Reviewed as a 24/96 download from eClassical
BIS BIS-2362 SACD [55]
Lan Shui, who retired as music director of the Singapore Symphony in 2019, did much to raise the profile of this comparatively young orchestra. He was aided and abetted in this enterprise by BIS, who’ve recorded forty SSO albums to date. Not only are these releases varied and interesting, they’re also of a commendably high musical and sonic standard. Indeed, Seascapes and the second volume of Debussy ballets were among my top picks for 2007 and 2019, respectively. As for the orchestra’s new MD, Hans Graf, I suspect he’ll add Austro-German rep to the mix; on the strength of his Houston performance of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde in 2009 (Naxos), I’d say that’s a most enticing prospect.
Under Lan Shui, the SSO have recorded the works of several Russian composers, so it was only a matter of time before they got to the large-scale orchestral music of Alexander Scriabin. And although the field isn’t as crowded as some, it’s still a very challenging one. The recordings that come to mind include boxes from Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia orchestra (Warner/Brilliant Classics) and the Stockholm PO under Leif Segerstam (BIS). Then there are individual releases from Igor Golovschin and the Moscow Symphony (Naxos), the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev (Deutsche Grammophon, Pentatone), and the New York Philharmonic under Giuseppe Sinopoli (DG), Valery Gergiev on LSO Live, and Vasily Petrenko, with the Oslo Phil, on Lawo Classics.
The Poem of Ecstasy is well represented here – it’s one of the composer’s signature pieces – with particularly fine performances from Pletnev (Pentatone), Sinopoli and Muti (in that order). The Poem of Fire doesn’t seem to be as popular so the choice of recordings in somewhat limited. That said, it’s a work that seldom lights my wick, which doesn’t help. However, a performance that does, is included in Prometheus – The Myth in Music, a themed collection curated by Claudio Abbado and the Berliner Philharmoniker (Sony). That is my benchmark for the piece.
At the risk of sounding churlish, I do wish BIS had been able to offer Scriabin’s First Symphony – or even his Third – as a coupling, rather than Prometheus. (Perhaps Lan Shui, now the SSO’s conductor laureate, could be persuaded to come back and record the rest of Scriabin’s oeuvre for orchestra.) I can’t complain about the instrumental filler, though, which is taken from an earlier release (BIS-1568) that my colleague, Jens F. Laurson praised to the skies in 2007. And rightly so, for this daunting rep finds the pianist at his dazzling, virtuosic best. Indeed, that album is a must for Scriabinites and pianophiles alike.
The sheer size and intensity of Scriabin’s Op 54 is an invitation to excess, a trap that Lan Shui and his engineer, Fabian Frank, seem determined to avoid. The performance is carefully shaped and sensibly paced – no hint of premature escalation here – and the tuttis all the more impressive for being properly scaled. As for the recording, it’s weighty and quite detailed, the moment of final release effortlessly caught. Although this is a very compelling performance, well recorded, it’s not in the same league as my top trio: Pletnev sounds both sensual and sumptuous, Sinopoli combines discipline with extraordinary levels of detail/nuance, and Muti’s at his big, bold best.
Lan Shui’s account of Op 60 displays many of the virtues I detect in his reading of Op 54 – a good feel for the work’s architecture, a strong sense of purpose and a refusal to indulge in expressive overload. Sudbin, who plays the piano part, is similarly discreet, Frank’s judicious recording most welcome. (I’d characterise this performance as a ‘controlled burn’; at the other extreme is Muti’s wild conflagration, the biggest disappointment in his otherwise splendid set.) Interestingly, the Golovschin and Segerstam versions make the music seem sparer, more uncompromisingly modern; alas, they are both let down by bright, often brittle sound, especially in the choral sections. Not surprisingly, Abbado’s Prometheus – forward looking, persuasively shaped and ideally balanced – remains my top choice for the work. That said, Shui’s isn’t far behind; indeed, anyone looking for an attractive all-Scriabin programme will find much to enjoy here.
Good, solid orchestral performances, very well recorded; the Sudbin sonata is a welcome bonus.
Dan Morgan
Previous review: Stephen Greenbank (November 2022)
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