Luminous, unforgettable Scriabin!
Chip Hartranft | Arlington, MA | 04/09/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The piano music of Alexander Scriabin, like that of Beethoven, documents both an extraordinary spiritual journey and the emergence of an utterly original musical voice silenced by untimely death. As with Beethoven and also Scriabin's beloved Chopin, he was an incomparable pianist, and the instrument was the foundation of his soundworld. From the charms of his early preludes, etudes, and mazurkas, distinctive even as they evoke Chopin, to the blazing, ecstatic luminosity of his final oeuvre, Scriabin's music for the piano constitutes a kind of sonic autobiography more eloquent by far than words. It is not impossible to find a few excellent recordings in the catalog, mostly by celebrated Russian virtuosi like Ashkenazy, Horowitz, and Magaloff. But there has never been anything like this extraordinary new CD by the American pianist Christopher O'Riley. Fresh from his triumphant collaboration in New York with the Martha Clark dance company, in which much of this music was used to enact scenes from Chekhov, O'Riley has created the most satisfying Scriabin program on record. This generous collection weaves together shimmering threads from each phase of his creative and spiritual development into a seamless fabric. Everything fits, as if these pieces, composed over the span of Scriabin's career, were actually a single, hypnotic sonata culminating in the haunting enigmas of 'Vers la flamme'. At times, O'Riley's affinity for this music borders on the supernatural. Without calling attention to himself, he enters into an almost priestly communion with the composer, perfectly capturing each facet of Scriabin's sorcery, by turns febrile and serene, voluptuous and beatific. And the sound quality is also natural and sympathetic.'Vers la flamme' can take its rightful place among the most enthralling piano recordings ever made. It is also the perfect introduction to one of music's true visionaries. Don't hesitate to buy it!"
Something has happened
julmin | Segovia, Spain | 07/17/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I don't know who is O'Riley but now I know that he has been there. I use to hear this music almost every day . I have no less than 20 different versions and all play this musc with better or with poorer sight..... from here. O'Riley plays from there. This recording has reminded me what the great words mean. We assist to a exhibition of musical logic. Nor the logic of a player. Not the logic of a composer. There is no player, no composer here. It is too pure. It is as the life of an unknown, but powerful and misterious organism..This Vers la flanme is the real end of all musc. The rest is silence."
Track Listings (30) - Disc #1