Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915)
Con eleganza
Piano Sonata No. 3 in F sharp minor, Op. 23
Impromptus, Opp. 7,10,12,14
Fantasie in B Minor, Op. 28
2 Poèmes, Op. 32
Waltz in A flat, Op. 38
Clément Lefebvre (piano)
rec. 2024, Cité de la Musique et de la Dance de Soissons, France
Reviewed from a download
La Dolce Volta LDV141 [73]
Born in 1989, French pianist Clément Lefebvre has recorded before for the Evidence label but this, his first solo recital for La Dolce Volta, is his finest so far. He has programmed an interesting selection of Scriabin from his early period, including one of my favourites of the sonatas and almost all the neglected Impromptus. The performances are full of care and insight.
Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 is the last one of his so-called first period which up to 1903 sees Scriabin’s music rooted mostly in the late Romantic tradition of Chopin. After this date, a certain dissonance creeps into the music and his harmonisation becomes more daring. The early piano works are no mere imitations, however, but heartfelt pictures of real skill and beauty that sing in a voice of their own.
We will all have our own preferences for the sonatas. Complete sets are commonplace these days. One of my favourites for the cycle is Roberto Szidon, originally on two double LP sets from the early 70s, with those funky oil-slick rainbow covers. Connoisseurs will likely pick and choose their sonatas, however, which is usually the best plan with such diverse works as these. For Sonata No. 3 there is only one choice for me, and, I would bet, for many others reading this.
In January 1955 a team from RCA Victor knocked at the door of Vladimir Horowitz’s New York City home and were ushered in. They were there to record him in Scriabin. Horowitz had met the composer as a schoolboy in 1914 and played a great deal of his music throughout his career. On this side of the Atlantic, the record – mono only, I’m afraid – was issued on HMV ALP 1429 coupled with sundry Preludes on side 2. It is a towering performance, passionate and broody yet infused with such sensitivity and pathos. The old magician works his magic on it and for me it might be my favourite of all his Scriabin performances on record. How is anyone going to match that?
Lefebvre tells us in his notes he has known Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 3 since he started playing. He talks about its narrative irrepressible force and the epic journey it makes. He admits to being addicted to it. This worried me a little, as I don’t see the piece in quite so dramatic terms. I was concerned Lefebvre would over-stress things and go for an accentuated Heathcliff-like portrayal. I didn’t need to fret. Lefebvre is a stylish player. He had some great mentors and teachers in his development (a list that includes Roger Muraro) and this performance is a class-act.
There is a programme for this sonata called “States of the Soul”, but I tend to steer away from those kinds of things in Scriabin and just enjoy the music, its language, the form of its construction and the influences I hear. In this work, I hear Chopin, Schumann, Brahms and Liszt the most. Lefebvre plays in a big style, but he can refine his tone down to a touching caress which he does marvellously at various points in the work. The sound La Dolce Volta provide is appropriately close and deep. Pianophiles will be impressed with it. He finds the dreamy quality in the slow movement magically and maintains pulse and tension in the impassioned finale. This is an account of the sonata to rank with some of the finest out there.
The eight impromptus are less played, although included in the many complete sets of Scriabin’s piano music that have been issued. Actually, there are nine examples of this genre as Scriabin wrote one as part of his Opus 2 set, a tiny piece often overlooked. They are charming and mostly light. Lefebvre plays them through in chronological order making a thirty-minute sequence of refined, appealing and intimate music which contrasts well with the preceding heavier work. He has clearly thought about these works and understands their moods and expressivity very well. He plays a Steinway-D with a rich bass, lovely sustain and a woody dark colour I love. His use of pedal is well judged and in the best taste (try his Op. 7/2). His nimble articulation of Op. 10/2 is charming. If being ultra-critical, perhaps in Op. 12/1 he could have been a bit less foursquare rhythmically. In that opus’s twin, however, he is strong and coveys the music’s intensity effectively. His readings of these works leave very little to be desired and point to repertoire his label may try to steer him toward in future recording projects.
After the idyllic impromptus we hear Scriabin’s Fantaisie, Op. 28, a ten-minute, serious piece breathing the same air as the sonata. A stormy opening subdues into a gorgeous theme at 1:52. The work is constructed in proper sonata form with development. recapitulation and coda. Much of the writing is tempestuous and the performance of it here is superbly realised. When that theme comes back at 5:05 we hear Scriabin exhibit pure grandeur. Funnily enough, he forgot all about this work later in life and once, hearing it played in another room asked, “Who wrote that?” When told it was his fantaisie, he replied, “What fantaisie?”
Lefebvre ends his Scriabin recital with the two Poèmes, Op. 32 and the Waltz, Op. 38. Both date from 1903; beyond these works, Scriabin treads new paths. You can already hear it very well in the second poem. I am curious to hear what insight Lefebvre would bring to these middle period works but equally crave to hear him in Chopin and my personal greatest love, Schumann.
This is a very satisfying recital, intelligently compiled and exquisitely played. Let’s hope there is more to follow.
Philip Harrison
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