Scriabin: Symphony No 3; Poem of Extasy. Russian National Orchestra/Mikhail Pletnev (DG)
Scriabin's Third Symphony (the Divine Poem), and Poem of Extasy, both completed in the first decade of the last century, tell of the composer's obsession with eroticism and divinity (his own, effectively). The background, not to mention the heady atmosphere of the instrumentally luscious and increasingly chromatic music, has led many a conductor into the temptation to overload the pieces in performance. Mikhail Pletnev is decidedly not such a musician. He places a high value on linear clarity, projecting the works in finely-gauged trajectories. You might think this was an approach guaranteed to cramp Scriabin's style. But, no, the intoxication remains as potent as ever in readings which beautifully balance the conflicting demands of ecstasy and poise.
- Michael Dervan
Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze; Sonata No 1. Anton Kuerti (piano). (Analekta Fleur de Lys)
Of Schumann's two romantically-conceived alter egos, the passionate Florestan is the one more likely to be respected in performance today; the sensitivities of the dreamy Eusebius often call forth responses which result in flabby rubato and sagging tension. But the Austrian pianist Anton Kuerti, a long-time resident in Canada, is someone who seems to be on good terms with both facets of Schumann's character - if anything, it's his exceptional sensitivity to the harmonic glowing of the Eusebian Schumann which sets him apart from the rest of the pack. The short, clearly-defined sections of the Davidsbundlertanze suit him best, but the elusive F sharp minor Sonata still casts quite a thrall in his hands.
- Michael Dervan
Schubert: Winterreise. Roman Trekel (baritone), Ulrich Eisenlohr (piano) (Naxos)
There seems to be no end to the ambitious projects being launched at under a fiver a disc by Naxos. This new recording of Schubert's Winterreise is labelled Deutsche Schubert-Lied-Edition 1, and heralds a complete survey, due for completion in 2005. As a first instalment, Roman Trekel's account of the forlorn Winter Journey is a promising one, made in partnership with one of the project's lynchpins, the pianist Ulrich Eisenlohr. The recording, which places the piano well behind the voice, catches rather more intonational lapses than some listeners will be comfortable with. But Trekel has a flexible, sometimes beautiful, and often persuasively intimate voice, and responds well to the demands of this particularly demanding cycle.
- Michael Dervan
