Michael Ponti, Scriabin - Scriabin: Complete Sonatas
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Artist: Michael Ponti, ScriabinEdition: Music CD
Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
CD Release Date: 2002-12-10
Music Label: Vox (Classical)
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Sonata-Fantasy In G-Sharp Minor Op. Posth.
- Allegro Appassionato
- Andante
- Presto
- Allegro Con Fuocoso
- Presto
- Funebre
- Andante
- Presto
- Drammatico
- Allegretto
- Andante
- Presto Con Fuoco
- Alegro. Impetuoso. Con Stravaganza - Languido - Presto Con Allegrez
- Andante
- Prestissimo Volando
- Modere
- Allegro
- No. 1: Allegro Fantastico
- No. 2: Allegretto
- No. 3: Molto Vivace
- Lento - Allegro Agitato
- Moderato Quasi Andante
- Moderato - Allegro
- Poeme No. 1
- Poeme No. 2
- Vers La Flamme Op.72
- No. 1: Guirlandes
- No. 2: Flammes Sombres
- No. 1: Douloureux Dechirant
- No. 2: Tres Lent 'Contemplatif'
- No. 3: Allegro Drammatico
- No. 4: Lent, Vague, Indecis
- No. 5: Fier Belliqueux
Free Music Notes for Scriabin: Complete Sonatas
Free Music Review: Advice for Scriabin collectors
Hit: 3 Stars
This set is one of the great tragedies of recorded music. Ponti is a great Scriabin player, despite the occasional side-swiped notes. Unfortunately, the sound of the sonatas in this set is virtually unlistenable-fryingly over bright treble and boomy bass--it sounds like it was recorded by someone used to recording rock. The performances aren't coarse and harsh, but the sound IS, and the recording engineer should be taken out and shot!
It's a tragedy, because the playing is marvellous, if a little lacking in finish (I suspect this set was recorded very quickly). The other pieces in the set are more listentably recorded. I found that adjusting the tone controls to treble at 9:00 and bass at 10:00 renders everything except the sonatas much easier to take.
Unfortunately, if one wants Ponti's Scriabin complete (even if one chooses to supplement his sonatas with something in better sound) one has to buy both this set and his set of the "Complete Piano Music" on five CD's. That's actually not so bad--the sets are cheap enough.
However, if merely getting the complete Scriabin is your goal, there are alternatives.
1. There's a really excellent 8-disc set of all Scriabin works with opus numbers available on Capriccio played by Maria Lettberg. This is really first-rate, and can form the basis of your Scriabin collection.
2. Lettberg doesn't play the early sonatas in E-flat minor and G-sharp minor (not to be confused with No.2). One can get these either by Ponti (in this sonata set) or Roberto Szidon (in HIS set of the sonatas, with better sound). Again, both are fairly cheap.
3. Two possibilities here: Lettberg also doesn't play a great deal of posthumously-published early Scriabin. Most of this is available on Coombs's CD of "The Early Scriabin," although he doesn't play the early "Albumleaves" in F-sharp and A-flat and the Fantasy for Two Pianos. All of the pieces Coombs plays plus everything he doesn't are in Ponti's set called "Complete Piano Music". The sound of this set can be rendered fairly listenable with the tone controls.
To sum up: Get Lettberg's set. Add the two early sonatas she doesn't play either from Ponti or Szidon (better sound than Ponti). Add the early pieces from Ponti (which will make your collection absolutely complete) or just Coombs's (better sound, but incomplete). And oh, yes, you might want another set of the sonatas--these pieces are so multi-faceted that you might want more than one interpretation-my personal favorite is Hamelin.
RE the Sonata in E-flat minor: This work has come down to us unfinished. If you're interested, see my comment on Glemser's and Ponti's different solutions attached to "SRS"'s review.
I hope this helps!
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