BaL 2.05.15 - Scriabin: Prometheus (Poem of Fire)

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30am
Building a Library
William Mival explores the available recordings of Scriabin's symphonic poem 'Prometheus' (Poem of Fire).


Martha Argerich, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado
Martha Argerich, Berliner Philharmoniker, Claudio Abbado (DVD/Blu-ray)
Peter Jablonski, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Anatol Ugorski, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
Alexander Toradze, Kirov Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
Konstantin Scherbakov, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Russian State TV and Radio Choir, Igor Golovschin
Valery Kastelsky, USSR Academic Russian Choir, State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Moscow State Philharmonic, Sveshnikov Valery, Konstantin Ivanov
Vladimir Ashkenazy, London Philharmonic Orchestra, The Ambrosian Singers, Lorin Maazel
Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, Dimitri Mitropoulos
Alain Lefèvre, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Kent Nagano
Viktoria Postnikova, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Alexei Lubimov, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, Jukka-Pekka Saraste
Love Derwinger, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir, Leif Segerstam
Sviatoslav Richter, The USSR Symphony Orchestra, Evgeni Svetlanov
Evelyne Dubourg, City of Bratislava Chorus, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava, Nicholas Uljanov
Roger Woodward, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Edo de Waart

[visualnickmos]

Highly interesting - I don't know this piece at all - (not even heard of it, in fact )

I'm looking forward to Scriabin with croissants, next week!

[umslopogaas]

R3 has just announced a forthcoming recital of Scriabin's piano music, which will be the first Scriabin I've heard for a very long time, he does seem to be out of favour. I'm looking forward to the BAL. I have four versions of Prometheus, all on LP, only one of which (Maazel) is on the list. I havent played them for so long I cant recall a note of any of them, so will be interested to hear the presenter's comments on the work. I dont ever remember hearing it on the radio.

[gurnemanz]

What a shame the marvellous Muti/Philadelphia EMI 3CD set (which I got a few years ago very cheaply on Brilliant) is not sensibly available.. It contains a very good Poem of Fire with Dmitri Alexeev as well as the Symphonies and William Mival's 2008 BaL recommendation for The Poem of Ecstasy.

[Serial_Apologist]

R3 has just announced a forthcoming recital of Scriabin's piano music, which will be the first Scriabin I've heard for a very long time, he does seem to be out of favour. I'm looking forward to the BAL. I have four versions of Prometheus, all on LP, only one of which (Maazel) is on the list. I havent played them for so long I cant recall a note of any of them, so will be interested to hear the presenter's comments on the work. I dont ever remember hearing it on the radio.

Once heard, never forgotten, I would have thought...

[umslopogaas]

S_A, my memory is quite good at remembering that a piece of music, or a particular performance, is interesting, but very bad at remembering what it actually sounded like, particularly in the case of something like Prometheus, which never seems to get played to remind me. I recall that it was worth hearing, but what it sounded like I really cant remember. Hopefully, the BAL will help fix it more clearly.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

What a shame the marvellous Muti/Philadelphia EMI 3CD set (which I got a few years ago very cheaply on Brilliant) is not sensibly available.. It contains a very good Poem of Fire with Dmitri Alexeev as well as the Symphonies and William Mival's 2008 BaL recommendation for The Poem of Ecstasy.

I hope that the reason it's been withdraw by Brilliant is because Warner have their own plans to reissue it.

[gurnemanz]

R3 has just announced a forthcoming recital of Scriabin's piano music, which will be the first Scriabin I've heard for a very long time, he does seem to be out of favour.

The last (and only) time I heard a Scriabin solo piano was a concert over 40 years ago at York University Music Department with Roger Woodward. He also did some Takemitsu and finished off with the Hammerklavier, with the novel idea of using different colour lighting for each composer. I think Scriabin was green. I was only at York for a year doing a post-graduate teaching qualification in modern languages and remember the Music Dept there had a really interesting programme, including Prof Wilf Mellers on the Beatles and an evening with John Cage.

[BBMmk2]

I love Scriabin's music but in the works of his I have, it seems it's just the Ashkenazy, LPO/Maazel recording on Decca. I didn't know that Martha Argerich recorded this work! that must be a must have recording!

[Black Swan]

I love Scriabin's music but in the works of his I have, it seems it's just the Ashkenazy, LPO/Maazel recording on Decca. I didn't know that Martha Argerich recorded this work! that must be a must have recording!

BBM

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Sony/SK53978

Presto has the disc and it is available from ITunes as a download.

[BBMmk2]

BBM

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Sony/SK53978

Presto has the disc and it is available from ITunes as a download.

Hiya Black Swan I havn't ordered from presto Classical before. Are they reliable etc. looks like a good buy!

[Black Swan]

BBM,

I regularly order from Presto and they have been very reliable.

[Barbirollians]

I have the Argerich and it strikes me as a fine performance but it is not one of my favourite works of Scriabin.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

In view of the relative lack on interest in this thread, perhaps this will be an opportunity to become familiar with a work many of us (and I include myself) do not know.

[Bryn]

Sorry to say my two favourites, Muti and Kitaenko. are out of consideration due ti having fallen out of the current catalogue.