CD Reviews (The Straits Times, July 2015)

SCRIABIN The Complete Works

Decca 478 8168 (18 CDs) / *****

To commemorate the death centenary of Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), the Decca label has assembled this handsome box-set of every note he wrote and more. Scriabin was primarily a pianist-composer, whose pieces ranged from early Chopin-influenced miniatures to phantasmagorical dances, poémes and single-movement sonatas which characterised his dissonant, mystical and orgiastic late style. New recordings by Vladimir Ashkenazy and Valentina Lisitsa have been commissioned to complement those by Gordon Fergus-Thompson, Sviatoslav Richter, Roberto Szidon and others. These are laid out on 9 discs in order of Opus numbers and one can trace his progression from naive to carnal.

Scriabin composed five symphonies, represented by recordings conducted by Ashkenazy, Eliahu Inbal and Valery Gergiev. The last of these, Prometheus, The Poem Of Fire was scored for piano, chorus and large orchestra, which laid the groundwork for his ultimate composition, Mysterium, which was to involve multi-media and be performed in a Hindu temple overlooked by the Himalayas. He died from septicaemia before these dreams could be fulfilled. It was left to Alexander Nemtin (1936-1999) to create a 160-minute long Prefatory Action, in three parts, based on Scriabin's sketches. Ashkenazy's sumptuous recording, spread over 3 discs, gives a clue to Scriabin's narcissism and megalomania. Here is a worthy portrait of an eccentric and self-absorbed visionary, no doubt about it.    

BRIGHT SHENG The Blazing Mirage

Hong Kong Philharmonic

Naxos 8.570610 / ****1/2

Bright Sheng (born 1955) belongs to the generation of Chinese composers who lived through the ravages of the Cultural Revolution, spending time in exile in China's Far West where he absorbed and assimilated the cultures of its indigenous peoples into his compositions. This album is devoted to works inspired by the ancient trade routes linking East with West. The Song and Dance of Tears (2003), revised in 2013, is the composer's impressions of a visit to the Silk Road with substantial solo parts for pipa (played by Hui Li), sheng (Tong Wu), piano (Sa Chen) and cello (Trey Lee). If parts of its 23 minutes sound familiar, it is because Sheng shares common musical inspirations as Bartok in his Concerto for Orchestra. 

Colors of Crimson (2004) was written for percussionist Evelyn Glennie, a meditation on a love song from Qinghai province which finds a mellow but passionate voice on the marimba, performed by Pius Cheng. The Blazing Mirage (2012) for solo cello (with well-known Hongkonger Trey Lee) and strings portrays the diverse cross-cultural heritages of Dunhuang and its ancient cave temples in a dizzying display of virtuosity. All the recordings here are world premieres, and one will not find more authentic or authoritative performances than these by Chinese soloists conducted by the composer himself. A more absorbing listen of contemporary Chinese music would be hard to find.    

CD Reviews (The Straits Times, May 2015)

SCRIABIN Piano Concerto

MEDTNER Piano Concerto No.3

YEVGENY SUDBIN, Piano

Bergen Philharmonic / Andrew Litton

BIS 2088 / *****

This is a most apt coupling of piano concertos by two Russian pianist-composers who were contemporaries of Rachmaninov yet trailed him considerably in terms of popularity. Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) was Rachmaninov's classmate and rival at the Moscow Conservatory. His Piano Concerto of 1896 was an early but transitional work, revealing Chopinesque influences yet gradually finding a voice of his own. It is in the finale, the longest movement, where his flight of fantasy finally takes wing with an impassioned climax that would please any Rachmaninov fan.

Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951) was a junior but close friend of Rachmaninov. His Third Piano Concerto (1940) is arguably the best of three he wrote. Cast in three movements played without a break, it exhibits a mastery of the sonata form but does not reveal its secrets on first acquaintance.   More Germanic than Russian, it nevertheless is imbued with the lush Romanticism and scintillating piano writing for which Rachmaninov was acclaimed.  

The young St Petersburg-born pianist Yevgeny Sudbin is a true successor of the great Russian pianists Dmitri Alexeev and Nikolai Demidenko, going one further having recorded all three Medtner concertos. His playing is incisive and brimming with vigour, matched by his own thoughtful programme notes. He quotes Horowitz who once asked, “Why nobody plays Medtner?” The answer is simple: Medtner’s music is often too difficult and cerebral to pull off convincingly. On those counts, Sudbin at least proves him wrong. 

SOLO

ALISA WEILERSTEIN, Cello

Decca 478 52962 / *****

Young American cellist Alisa Weilerstein's first solo album has an underlying theme based on folk music and dances from around the world. The Hungarian nationalist composer Zoltan Kodaly's Sonata Op.8 is the longest work at over a half hour, with three concentrated movements of impassioned laments and soul searching, typical of deep Slavic melancholy. She launches headlong into the music and does not flinch at its myriad complexities.

Hispanic fire lies at the heart of both contemporary Argentinian Osvaldo Golijov's Omaramor and Spaniard Gaspar Cassado's Suite. The former is a set of variations on Carlos Gardel's My Beloved Buenos Aires, with the melody revealed at the very end. The latter incorporates three dances, a Zaraband, the Sardana (a Catalan dance) and an infectious Jota to close.

Chinese-American Bright Sheng's Seven Tunes Heard In China was dedicated to and premiered by Yo-Yo Ma. Its short movements include the popular song Little Cabbage (Xiao Bai Cai) from Hebei, the onomatopoeic train song Diu Diu Dong from Taiwan and a Tibetan Dance. Weilerstein's outsized cello tones tempered by sensitivity and a variety of timbral colours is joy throughout this magnificent recital. Highly recommended.