Alexander Scriabin Roberto Szidon - Scriabin Complete Piano Sonatas +Album Reviews

ABSOLUTELY THE FINEST COMPLETE SCRIABIN SONATA CYCLE.

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 08/08/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"

Since Glenn Gould unfortunately did not record for posterity Scriabin's Sonatas Nos. 6-10, (he did record the very best realization of No. 5), Szidon's set here is absolutely the finest cycle available.

Recorded in the 1970s, DGG has here re-released Szidon's performances with crystal clarity in a very inexpensive 3 disc set: great bargan! Great Art!!

There are a couple of cycles available out there; but you can believe: this is the best."

Solid, but outclassed

SRS | Ohio | 04/08/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have quite a few sets of the Scriabin sonatas, and I've heard a number of recordings from pianists who didn't record the complete cycle. Here are my suggestions:

G# minor post. - Hamelin

Eb minor post. - Glemser or Coombs

1st - Kocyan and Ashkenazy

2nd - Koycan and Glemser

3rd - Laredo and Horowitz. Also Taub and Sofronitsky

4th - Taub, Sofronitsky

5th - Horowitz, Taub, Hamelin

6th - Richter, Taub

7th - Glemser, Laredo

8th - Ashkenazy, Szidon or Laredo

9th - Sofronitsky, Horowitz, Glemser

10th - Horowitz, Taub

Avoid: Ogdon and Ponti.

Szidon's set is solid generally, but if I were to get only one sonata set, I'd get Taub's and supplement it with disc 1 of Glemser's Scriabin sonatas."

An over-rated set

T. S. Fox | 02/16/2006

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I have had these records for many years. I bought them because, in the 90s, they were recommended as the best available. Being unfamiliar with Scriabin's music, I hoped I would get to appreciate that composer. I never did, until recently I thought maybe it was the interpretation that did not do justice to them.

How right I was! Browsing through a few clips on Amazon, I came across Ruth Laredo. I was captivated. Here the important notes came to the fore, and the accompanying figures receded. I still wonder that I could have ever tolerated Szidon's "herds of charging elephants", which muddied the waters whenever the music became turbulent or passionate. Laredo, by contrast, gives us a flowing and beautiful line, always clarifying and not obscuring the composer's intent.

Buy this set only if you're a "completist": it contains some early work missing from the Laredo set and this - to be fair -Szidon plays well enough

Stephen Fox (UK)

"

Oh Lordy Lord, My Poor Ears!

Hamilton Carver | 01/24/2009

(1 out of 5 stars)

"It must have been a spur of the moment decision I made when I saw this complete set of Scriabin Sonatas and thought, I'll just give it a try and see how it turns out. Somewhere into CD2, I regretted getting this set and started using it as a frisbee.

Musically, Szidon's tone is very hard and harsh, I don't think it's the piano, but the piano possibly contributed as it is an ADD recording. His running passages are amateurish, and the pieces are riddled with mistakes. If you haven't actually learnt any of Scriabin's sonatas, you wouldn't realize there were mistakes because his sonatas are very atonal, especially those from 6 to 10.

The Fantasie Op.28 was very hesitantly played, very jerky and retarded, it wasn't smooth and it didn't feel like a Fantasie at all, more like a nightmare!

Sonata No.4 was played so harshly that it couldn't possibly take flight like it was suppose to, more like weighed down with brick and stones trying gather momentum but ultimately come crashing down.

Strange that Szidon tackled all of Scriabin's sonatas the same way, because they all sound the same. If I were new to the sonatas, I couldn't possibly tell when 1 ended and the other began.

I highly recommend you mix and match your favorite pianists when listening to Scriabin, however, do turn to the more obscure pianists first.

Sonata No.1 - Hamelin

Sonata No.2 - Bernd Glemser, Hamelin

Sonata No.3 - Joseph Villa, Sofronitsky

Sonata No.4 - Joseph Villa

Sonata No.5 - Simon Trpceski, Richter

Sonata No.6 - Bernd Glemser, Ashkanazy

Sonata No.7 - Joseph Villa, Bernd Glemser, Hamelin

Sonata No.8 - Sofronitsky, Ashkanazy

Sonata No.9 - Bernd Glemser, Horowitz

Sonata No.10 - Glemser, Volodos, Horowitz

Fantasie Op.28 - Glemser, Hamelin

A word of advice, Hamelin is aptly fast and able when interpretting Scriabin, but lacks the soul and musicality involved in most of his Scriabin sonatas, they mostly sound like a fast piano roll. And following the earlier reviewer's advice, avoid John Ogdon's and Michael Ponti's sets completely, they are the most hideous interpretations ever recorded!

This Szidon CD set is highly NOT recommended even to Scriabin fans. Do NOT buy this for the sake of collecting the complete set, as it is completely overrated!"

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	Alexander Scriabin, Roberto Szidon Scriabin: Complete Piano Sonatas Genre: Classical
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