London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Scriabin: Symphony No. 1 (2016) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Scriabin: Symphony No. 1 (2016)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 50:08 minutes | 951 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © London Symphony Orchestra

Scriabin’s Symphony No 1 first saw the light of day in a two piano version, which was used to premiere the piece to various important musical figures of the day. These included the composer Lyadov, a member of the Russian committee that decided which music might or might not be published. Unfortunately for Scriabin, the choral finale of his symphony did not find favour, and though Lyadov conducted the symphonic premiere soon after, the finale was omitted from the first performance in 1900. It would be five months before the work was performed complete.

The symphony is in six movements and runs for almost fifty minutes. It owes something to Mahler and Wagner with its languid Largo opening, slow moving harmonies and lush orchestration. There is, however, something unusually dramatic about the concentrated solo violin at the start, and the primacy of the melodic line which threads its way through is oddly modern. The second movement marked Allegro drammatico enters more complex territory. There is greater interplay between instrumental parts, with the mobility of the bass line evoking other late romantic music of the period.

The music oscillates between slow and fast movements and culminates in the choral finale Lyadov didn’t care for. Here Ekaterina Sergeeva and Alexander Timchenko are the vocal soloists, Scriabin combining mezzo-soprano and tenor to interesting effect (anticipating Mahler’s combination of singers in Das Lied von der Erde). It would have taken quite an imagination to detect a work this colourful in the original piano score Lyadov heard.

This recording was made from performances given in the spring of 2014 in London. As with all the LSO’s recent Scriabin releases, the work is played with the kind of intensity and assurance one would expect from a world-class orchestra under the authoritative direction of Valery Gergiev.

Tracklist:
01. London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 26: I. Lento (06:51)
02. London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 26: II. Allegro drammatico (10:56)
03. London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 26: III. Lento (07:59)
04. London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 26: IV. Vivace (03:22)
05. London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 26: V. Allegro (07:17)
06. Ekaterina Sergeeva, Alexander Timchenko, London Symphony Chorus, London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev – Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 26: VI. Andane (13:41)

Personnel:
Ekaterina Sergeeva, mezzo-soprano
Alexander Timchenko, tenor
London Symphony Chorus
Simon Halsey, chorus director
London Symphony Orchestra
Valery Gergiev, conductor

Download: