Prokofiev/Scriabin Piano Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Alexander Scriabin, Sergey Prokofiev
Label: Classics
Magazine Review Date: 8/1991
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 73
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: CDCF204
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (20) Visions fugitives |
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer
Nikolai Demidenko, Piano Sergey Prokofiev, Composer |
| Sonata for Piano No. 2, 'Sonata-fantasy' |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| Sonata for Piano No. 9, 'Black Mass' |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| Vers la flamme |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (4) Pieces |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (12) Etudes, Movement: No. 2 in F sharp minor |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (12) Etudes, Movement: No. 4 in B |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (12) Etudes, Movement: No. 5 in E |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (8) Etudes, Movement: No. 3 in F sharp minor |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (8) Etudes, Movement: No. 4 in F sharp |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (8) Etudes, Movement: No. 7 in F minor |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
Composer or Director: Alexander Scriabin, Sergey Prokofiev
Label: Classics
Magazine Review Date: 8/1991
Media Format: Cassette
Media Runtime: 0
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: MCFC204
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| (20) Visions fugitives |
Sergey Prokofiev, Composer
Nikolai Demidenko, Piano Sergey Prokofiev, Composer |
| Sonata for Piano No. 2, 'Sonata-fantasy' |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| Sonata for Piano No. 9, 'Black Mass' |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| Vers la flamme |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (4) Pieces |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (12) Etudes, Movement: No. 2 in F sharp minor |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (12) Etudes, Movement: No. 4 in B |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (12) Etudes, Movement: No. 5 in E |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (8) Etudes, Movement: No. 3 in F sharp minor |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (8) Etudes, Movement: No. 4 in F sharp |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
| (8) Etudes, Movement: No. 7 in F minor |
Alexander Scriabin, Composer
Alexander Scriabin, Composer Nikolai Demidenko, Piano |
Author: Michael Stewart
This is special—very special. Demidenko clearly has an extraordinary affinity and affection for the music of Scriabin and this is nowhere more apparent than in his extraordinarily beautiful performance of the Second Piano Sonata (Sonata-fantasy, Op. 19). The first movement (surely one of the most gorgeous movements Scriabin ever wrote) lives and breathes in the hands of this young virtuoso. His tone gradation and dynamic nuances are perfectly judged, and the ebb and flow and surging climaxes of what Scriabin called ''a vision of the sea remembered'' are superbly crafted. The Scriabin scholar Donald Garvelmann has described the tender lyrical second subject as expanding ''from bud to full bloom like time-lapse photography''—a poetic simile brought unerringly to life in Demidenko's exquisitely tender and spine-tingling performance. His breathtaking account of the second movement, an exhilarating Presto in 3/4 time, is a subtle blend of precision and poetry, and one constantly marvels at his delicate and expressive pedalling.
The six etudes and the Four Pieces, Op. 51 that follow confirm just how consummate a Scriabin interpreter Demidenko is; each miniature being beautifully crafted and jewelled to perfection. The Ninth Sonata is given a spacious though tightly controlled and cogent performance. Perhaps Demidenko doesn't quite achieve the satanic thrill as some performances—Ponti's Vox recording from the 1970s (nla) or Horowitz's 1965 CBS recording come to mind—but here there is greater subtlety and wider nuance coupled with an impressive overall conception of the work. The remaining Scriabin item Vers la flamme (musically perhaps Scriabin's most extraordinary work) is described marvellously in the excellent accompanying notes (by Ates Orga and Nikolai Demidenko) as ''a single emotional crescendo without pause from the first note to the last''. Indeed, it is an extraordinarily intense and elevating experience that places immense demands on the pianist's resources during its relatively short duration. Again, I could sight pianists who play this with more demonic frisson—Gordon FergusThompson for one in his splendid recording for Kingdom—but Demidenko plays with a burning inner intensity I find hard to resist.
With barely time to recover from the all consuming flames of the Scriabin we are confronted with a performance of Prokofiev's Visions fugitives that I can only describe as magical and compelling. In February I had the pleasure of reviewing Boris Berman's stunning performance on Chandos, but I have to admit that Demidenko's performance stands in a class of its own. Each flighting vision is irridescent with inspiration, and for sheer sonority, colour and tonal variation quite simply the finest on disc.
The recording, made at The Maltings, Snape is immaculate and faultless. A remarkable debut recording.'
The six etudes and the Four Pieces, Op. 51 that follow confirm just how consummate a Scriabin interpreter Demidenko is; each miniature being beautifully crafted and jewelled to perfection. The Ninth Sonata is given a spacious though tightly controlled and cogent performance. Perhaps Demidenko doesn't quite achieve the satanic thrill as some performances—Ponti's Vox recording from the 1970s (nla) or Horowitz's 1965 CBS recording come to mind—but here there is greater subtlety and wider nuance coupled with an impressive overall conception of the work. The remaining Scriabin item Vers la flamme (musically perhaps Scriabin's most extraordinary work) is described marvellously in the excellent accompanying notes (by Ates Orga and Nikolai Demidenko) as ''a single emotional crescendo without pause from the first note to the last''. Indeed, it is an extraordinarily intense and elevating experience that places immense demands on the pianist's resources during its relatively short duration. Again, I could sight pianists who play this with more demonic frisson—Gordon FergusThompson for one in his splendid recording for Kingdom—but Demidenko plays with a burning inner intensity I find hard to resist.
With barely time to recover from the all consuming flames of the Scriabin we are confronted with a performance of Prokofiev's Visions fugitives that I can only describe as magical and compelling. In February I had the pleasure of reviewing Boris Berman's stunning performance on Chandos, but I have to admit that Demidenko's performance stands in a class of its own. Each flighting vision is irridescent with inspiration, and for sheer sonority, colour and tonal variation quite simply the finest on disc.
The recording, made at The Maltings, Snape is immaculate and faultless. A remarkable debut recording.'
Prokofiev/Scriabin Piano Works
Prokofiev/Scriabin Piano Works
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