Four Preludes Op 33 - Scriabin
Three Preludes Op 35 - Scriabin
Three Studies Op 65 - Scriabin
Variations on a Theme of Chopin - Rachmaninov
Two Polyphonic Pieces - Shchedrin
Four Preludes from Op 23 - Rachmaninov
Three Movements from Petrushka - Stravinsky
This concert, the last in the BBC's Scriabin Plus series, featured almost twice as much Rachmaninov (in terms of playing time) as it did Scriabin. To a large extent this fascinating composer has remained elusive in a series dedicated to him. Part of the reason is that so few of the earlier works are really characteristic (the C sharp minor Prelude, Piers Lane played as an encore, is admittedly one of them).
The Op 33 and Op 35 pieces date from a time when Scriabin was supported by a publisher who wanted a steady stream of saleable pieces and its only with the Op 65 Studies we encounter the real Scriabin, the ecstatic visionary and daring harmonic experimenter. Scriabin had no greater admirer than Stravinsky (at the time, at any rate), not that it is particularly obvious in the Three Movements from Petrushka.
Less perverse than some of the transcriptions to have featured in this series, much of the fun and display element nevertheless comes from hearing a solo piano attempt to render an orchestral texture. At times even Piers Lane seemed overmatched but then Stravinsky admitted he couldn't play the piece himself. The Shchedrin pieces were disappointing essays in the brittle idiom exploited more effectively by Shostakovich.