Scriabin: Albumblatt, Op. 58 (Feuillet d'album)

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.

Numbered among the musical elect of her generation, the multi-award-winning Xiayin Wang presents a recital of piano music that virtually spans Scriabin’s career.

The mysterious impressionism of Vers la flamme (Towards the Flame) builds to an exhilarating intensity that is matched by the two contrasting Poems.

From his early Waltzes and Polonaise, with their echoes of Chopin, via the rhapsodic abandon of the Fantaisie, to the Two Dances, composed shortly before his death, these works chart an almost mystical trajectory through the composer’s life.

“Scriabin’s Fantaisie in B minor Op. 28 was a luscious wash of colour, infused with big swirls of sound. [Yang’s] soon-to-be released recording of the composer’s music should be a dandy.” The Washington Post