Search - Scriabin, Muti, Philadelphia Orchestra :: Symphony 1

Heady perfume

Bruce Hodges | New York, NY | 09/26/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This ravishing disc is probably the finest performance of this piece to date -- not that there's much competition. I'm not sure why this symphony is so seldom performed, since the long melodic lines are easy to like, and the rapturous final movement, although perhaps a bit harmonically straightforward at the end (i.e., dull, to some ears), has some beautiful passages for the two soloists and chorus.Some may quibble with the overall ebb and flow seeming endless; perhaps in the long haul Scriabin makes too much out of too few ideas. But there is a lot of alluring music here, especially if you're inclined toward the composer's florid, swooning romanticism. (This work is not as adventurously chromatic as some of his later piano works, for example.) Listening to this disc is like being in a steamy greenhouse full of gently swaying orchids. The two vocalists, Michael Myers and Stefania Toczyska, sing vividly but with a warmth and a simplicity that suit the material. Great work from the Westminster Choir, also, although Scriabin saves them until the very end. And conductor Riccardo Muti seems so at home with this piece! His pacing gets the most out of a score that could probably, in the wrong hands, sound either a bit dull or repetitive. But for Scriabin's luxurious orchestrations to take flight, a velvety sound like Philadelphia's is just what's needed. Plush, warm sound makes this just a highly enjoyable experience all around."