[f_minor] Scriabin

[Jörgen Lundmark]

Hello Fred,

I can understand your initial reactions to the 5th. It is a very 
aggressive and in many ways uncomfortable piece. It took me some time to 
come to grips with it, but there is a sonata structure to be heard and a 
truly amazing intensity at its high-point. In my personal opinion, it's 
a bit strange that Gould did choose the most violent of Scriabin's 
sonatas. Still it is, as far as I can tell, the most often played of the 
10 sonatas.

It's important to understand that when Gould recorded the work there was 
-- as far as I understand it -- no complete cycle recorded. 
Unfortunately he seems to have lost interest in the proposed complete 
sonata project, as with other romantic repertoire, after a very short 
time. It would have been very interesting to hear him play all the later 
sonatas.

Regards,
Jorgen


> GOOD Heavens, I seem to have set the GG forest afire!!!!   Well, my 
> reaction to the Scriabin was a first impression and what I was paying 
> attention to were the melodic elements, not the structures.   I've 
> heard lots of Scriabin and find him attractive, but this particular 
> Sonata, on first encounter, I found, now that I think of my initial 
> metaphor, like a forest devoid of all its leaves.  Stark, blank and 
> empty are the first things that come to mind.  To honor the strong 
> responses that my small post has elicited I will revisit the sonata 
> and give it another listen......
> I still lament GG's lack of Debussy and Faure for that matter.  I can 
> only imagine how he would have launched a frontal attack on some of 
> Rach's more treacherously ponderous technical moments.....
> Kind regards,
> Fred Houpt
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