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24 Preludes, etc.

The first of Alexander Scriabin's works I heard were some of his heady, mystically-inclined, later piano sonatas - of those, I developed a particular fondness for the 'White Mass' Sonata (no. 7). After those, encountering his earlier, delicately Chopinesque compositions took me by surprise. Side A of the present LP contains Scriabin's set of 24 Preludes (Op. 11, 1896) which are obviously inspired by Chopin's famous Op. 28 set.

Despite the likenesses of form and style, there are, meanwhile, enough dissimilarities to prevent their seeming mere pastiches. Even if they're collectively not quite up there with Chopin's pieces, they make for absorbing and enjoyable listening. Side B kicks off with the op. 28 'Fantasie' written in 1900, which is still determinedly "Romantic", albeit with as much of Liszt in its heavily sonorous chords as Chopin. The remaining works on the disc (the two Poèmes, Op.32 and eight Études, Op.42) date from 1903, when Scriabin was beginning to step away from Romanticism toward his idiosyncratic and esoteric later style.

The performer is the powerful virtuoso John Ogdon, the recordings dating from 1972, the year before that pianist's debilitating breakdown. Either the recording itself isn't the best, or something went slightly amiss in the mastering or pressing, as the sound is a tad woolly. On my copy, the sleevenotes, by Ateş Orga, have been marked up in pencil by a previous owner of the LP, who evidently had taken a shine to the fifth of the Op. 42 'Études', wrting "SUPER!!!" next to its title.

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