COMPOSERS: Scriabin
LABELS: Philips Duo
WORKS: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 2; Symphony No. 3; Le poème de l’extase
PERFORMER: Frankfurt RSO/Eliahu Inbal
CATALOGUE NO: 454 271-2 (1980)
This is a useful compendium of the three numbered symphonies by Scriabin, plus The Poem of Ecstasy (‘No. 4’). It’s a pity there isn’t room for Prometheus – Poem of Fire (occasionally dubbed his ‘Symphony No. 5’) to make this a truly complete symphonic survey, since these are performances to stand alongside many more recent accounts. There’s plenty of sultriness in the languid passages, but occasionally too little fire and rhythmic bite in the energetic ones, and the remastered sound reveals a few rough edits. Yet these caveats are not enough to detract from the undoubted value of the whole. Matthew Rye
Scriabin: Symphony No. 1; Symphony No. 2; Symphony No. 3; Le poème de l'extase
This is a useful compendium of the three numbered symphonies by Scriabin, plus The Poem of Ecstasy (‘No. 4’). It’s a pity there isn’t room for Prometheus – Poem of Fire (occasionally dubbed his ‘Symphony No. 5’) to make this a truly complete symphonic survey, since these are performances to stand alongside many more recent accounts. There’s plenty of sultriness in the languid passages, but occasionally too little fire and rhythmic bite in the energetic ones, and the remastered sound reveals a few rough edits. Yet these caveats are not enough to detract from the undoubted value of the whole.
Our rating
4
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:38 pm