Scriabin: Étude Op. 2 No. 1 in C sharp minor

Although he wrote four symphonies and a small number of other orchestral works, the vast majority of Alexander Scriabin's (1872-1915) output was written for solo piano, and it is this aspect of his work that is presented on the two CDs in this set.

One of his early influences was the music of Chopin: the Piano Concerto that he wrote when he was just 24 years old is a perfect illustration of this. The effect of Chopin can also be detected in the early Preludes that begin the first CD.

It was during a six-year stay in western Europe, beginning in 1903, that his compositional style developed and became more individual and harmonically adventurous. The music that Scriabin wrote during the final five years of his life was all written for the piano and reflects his mature style, making his music some of the most advanced of the time. It was whilst on a visit to London in 1914 that Scriabin suffered a wound to his upper lip which eventually led to the blood poisoning from which he died a year later.

From nostalgic memories, the sound of bells, the winds of the steppes, to visions of a flickering future; Russian piano music, from Mussorgsky to Scriabin, finds its perilous equilibrium in a romantic past, beyond the immense, icy landscapes, with intimate confessions from heartbroken souls, with a virtuosity vying with the opera and the orchestra yet which retains the gentleness of a lullaby, of a child's laughter, of a disenchanted poem scribbled down one evening of drunken melancholy. From Tchaikovsky to Rachmaninov, by way of Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and Mussorgsky, it is a journey that takes us from St Petersburg to Moscow, across that vast country with its universal emotions. The piano is the instrument of kings, in the nineteenth century above all. Rachmaninoff, as we know from his recordings, was probably the greatest of them all: virtuosic and inspired, a visionary and a poet. Scriabin, before he injured his right hand (whence the Prelude for left hand op.9), also planned a solo career. Mussorgsky, too, was an excellent pianist. Only Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and Tchaikovsky were no more than competent amateurs on the piano, but that did not prompt them to give up composing for the instrument - far from it, in fact.

A warm welcome to Alexander Gavrylyuk on Piano Classics!

At only 26, Russian pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk can already boast of an impressive international career. After having won several prestigious competitions (first prize Hamamatsu in Japan at 16, the First Prize A. Rubinstein Competition in 2005) he played with such orchestras as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Russian National Orchestra.

His last recital in the International Piano Series in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw was a triumph and was recorded red hot by Piano Classics immediately after the event.

Gavrylyuk’s technique knows no limits, as is proven in the virtuoso Russian repertoire on this disc, but there is so much more than technique...his shaping of phrases, his boundless palette of pianistic colours, the characterisation of both the melancholic and brutal elements in this music: Gavrylyuk is a true artist.