Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (6 January 1872 - 27 April 1915)
Waltz op. 38, A flat major (1905
In the beginning of 1872, Alexander Scriabin was born in to a noble family in Moscow. After the death of his mother, Scriabin was left with his grandmother, great aunt and aunt, so that his father could leave for turkey. He was frequently exposed to the piano, through his aunt, who was an amateur pianist. Scriabin started studying the piano at an early age recieving lessons from Nikolai Zverev, later studying at the moscow conservatory.
He made his debut in 1894, and his playing along with his compositions recieved positive reviews. He also secured a publishing deal with Mitrofan Belyayev, who also published works of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Alexander Glazunov. In 1897 he married Vera Ivanovna Isakovich with whom he had his first child Elena Scriabina. Between 1903 and 1909 Scriabin travelled a lot in Europa and the United States. It was in this period that he wrote the waltz that is the subject of this video. Scriabin returned to Russia in 1909 where he would remain until his untimely death in 1915.
Vladimir Sofronitsky was born in 1901 in st. Petersburg. His family moved to Warsaw in 1903 where the young Sofronitsky recieved his first piano lessons. From 1916 to 1921 he studied with Leonid Nikolayev at the Petrograd Conservatory, alongside Dmitri Shostakovich, Maria Yudina, and Elena Scriabina, Scriabins previously mentioned eldest daughter. Sofrinitsky met Elena in 1917 and the two married in 1920. Sofronitsky had already become interested in Scriabins music, but his marriage with Elena gave him a much deeper connection with the composer, whom he sadly never met. He gave his first concert in 1919. He played very few concerts outside of Russia which is likely part of the reason that he is not as well known outside of Russia.
In Russia, he was seen as one of the supreme pianist of the 20th century. Pianist like Richter and Gilels held him in incredibly high regard, Richter ones compared him to a god, and Gilels calling him the greatest pianist in the world, after hearing of his death. He is seen by many as the greatest interpreter of Scriabin. This is clear in the recordings he made, even though he did not like recording and thus might not have been playing his best whilst recording.
2 окт 2021
