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13 - Playing Scriabin: Reality and Enchantment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 October 2022

Vasilis Kallis
Affiliation:
University of Nicosia, Cyprus
Kenneth Smith
Affiliation:
University of Liverpool
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Summary

Scriabin as Pianist

Several contemporaries of Scriabin have left us theiraccounts of his playing, but the most vivid andinformative of these is Leonid Sabaneev's memoir. Inclose contact with Scriabin over a period of fiveyears, Sabaneev recorded his impressions of thecomposer in detail and even reproduced conversationsat length. The memoir displays the deep admirationneeded to motivate such an enterprise, but theauthor was also capable of standing back to take acooler critical view, yielding a source that is bothrich and persuasive. Scriabin enchants him almostagainst his will, and Sabaneev often exposes thetension between the pianist as heard by his coterieand the pianist as he actually played.

Sabaneev first heard Scriabin play at his famousconcert of 21 February 1909 at the MoscowConservatoire Grand Hall. Scriabin performed hisFifth Sonata between two huge symphonic works, hisThird Symphony (The DivinePoem) and his Poemof Ecstasy. The size of the hall and thecontrast with the powerful orchestral sound workedagainst the pianist: his ‘nervously-refined’ tonefailed to carry or communicate. The sonata ‘causedonly perplexity’, and the audience was uncertainwhether the piece had ended or if the performer wasovercome by some unknown problem. This iscorroborated Anatoly Drozdov's memoir, where theperformance was ‘confused and unconvincing’.

Sabaneev also gives us his first impressions ofScriabin playing in a private setting, which is again amixture of enthusiasm and critical detachment. Atfirst, he was sceptical: Scriabin's eyes, he tellsus, were half-closed, and he seemed to be directinghis gaze at some distant space. Sabaneev could nothelp but think that this was just a sentimental,effeminate pose. The music that evening was a seriesof extracts from the as-yet-unfinished orchestralwork, Prometheus. Atone point, he realised his playing lacked sufficientpower for the bold orchestral sound he wanted, andto convey his intentions, he suddenly rose a fewinches from the piano stool. But Sabaneev was soonwon over. The music, he explains, was wildly new,and the performance mannerisms seemed to enhancethese ‘convulsions of sound’.

Sabaneev describes another concert, in an unidentifiedlarge hall, where Scriabin's playing was ultimatelyenchanting. But there were many obstacles placed inthe listener's way. Before he had even begun toplay, there was Scriabin's lack of stage presenceand his nervous demeanour.

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Demystifying Scriabin , pp. 247 - 268
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer
Print publication year: 2022

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