Scriabin: Early Works Russell Hirshfield

• Alexander Scriabin (1872 - 1915): 24 Preludes, Op. 11:
• 1 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 1 in C Major, Vivace 01:07
• 2 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 2 in A Minor, Allegretto 02:18
• 3 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 3 in G Major, Vivo 01:02
• 4 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 4 in E Minor, Lento 01:50
• 5 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 5 in D Major, Andante cantabile 01:25
• 6 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 6 in B Minor, Allegro 00:50
• 7 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 7 in A Major, Allegro assai 01:07
• 8 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 8 in F-Sharp Minor, Allegro agitato 01:57
• 9 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 9 in E Major, Andantino 01:32
• 10 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 10 in C-Sharp Minor, Andante 01:12
• 11 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 11 in B Major, Allegro assai 01:40
• 12 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 12 in G-Sharp Minor, Andante 01:35
• 13 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 13 in G-Flat Major, Lento 01:16
• 14 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 14 in E-Flat Minor, Presto 01:12
• 15 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 15 in D-Flat Major, Lento 01:54
• 16 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 16 in B-Flat Minor, Misterioso 02:36
• 17 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 17 in A-Flat Major, Allegretto 00:35
• 18 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 18 in F Minor, Allegro agitato 01:03
• 19 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 19 in E-Flat Major, Affettuoso 01:22
• 20 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 20 in C Minor, Appassionato 01:08
• 21 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 21 in B-Flat Major, Andante 01:17
• 22 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 22 in G Minor, Lento 01:02
• 23 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 23 in F Major, Vivo 00:46
• 24 24 Preludes, Op. 11: No. 24 in D Minor, Presto 01:03
• Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-Sharp Minor, Op. 19 "Sonata Fantasy":
• 25 Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-Sharp Minor, Op. 19 "Sonata Fantasy": I. Andante 08:26
• 26 Piano Sonata No. 2 in G-Sharp Minor, Op. 19 "Sonata Fantasy": II. Presto 04:47
• 2 Impromptus, Op. 14:
• 27 2 Impromptus, Op. 14: No. 1 in B Major, Allegretto 02:46
• 28 2 Impromptus, Op. 14: No. 2 in F-Sharp Minor, Andante cantabile 03:55
• 4 Preludes, Op. 22:
• 29 4 Preludes, Op. 22: No. 1 in G-Sharp Minor, Andante 01:35
• 30 4 Preludes, Op. 22: No. 2 in C-Sharp Minor, Andante 00:48
• 31 4 Preludes, Op. 22: No. 3 in B Major, Allegretto 00:55
• 32 4 Preludes, Op. 22: No. 4 in B Minor, Andantino 01:01
• 12 Etudes, Op. 8 (Excerpts):
• 33 12 Etudes, Op. 8 (Excerpts): No. 11 in B-Flat Minor, Andante cantabile 04:06
• 34 12 Etudes, Op. 8 (Excerpts): No. 12 in D-Sharp Minor, Patetico 02:37
• Total Runtime 01:03:45

Info for Scriabin: Early Works

Russian composer Alexander Scriabin is known to enthusiasts for his theory of musical colors, innovative piano works that pushed the boundaries of tonal writing, and for his untimely demise brought on by an unsanitary razor blade. American pianist and music professor Russell Hirshfield has now recorded an ambitiously-broad selection of the composer's early works which may well provide a novel talking point.

There are relatively few recordings of Scriabin's music these days, possibly because it's a daunting task: The compositions demand a high level of virtuosity, but also a natural musical expressiveness that few performers are able to capture. Often, as in the case of the 24 Preludes, the performer is required to condense the emotional depth of an entire sonata movement into one minute or less. It's a well-crafted but fragile kind of music: if any one component, say, the phrasing, is off-color, the whole piece can fall apart.

Luckily, Hirshfield is more than up to the challenge.

His pianistic sentiment, technical command and interpretive clarity is not only impressive, it's the perfect fit for Scriabin. The level-headed yet profoundly empathetic playing truly brings out the shine in Scriabin's idiosyncratic compositional voice. This rendition isn't drenched in pseudo-Slavic drama which often mars contemporary recordings of Russian composers: instead, it rightfully portrays the pieces as the works of the individual. And it's a success.

ALEXANDER SCRIABIN: EARLY WORKS couldn't be more aptly titled: Even though they constitute a selection, one would be hard-pressed not to imagine them as the sole recordings of the true, unadulterated Scriabin. Russell Hirshfield adds another exceptional merit to his great pianistic mastery: that to be a good musician is not only to be a performer, but to be an ambassador.

Russell Hirshfield, piano

Russell Hirshfield
has appeared in recital throughout the United States and in Brazil, China, Belgium, England, Serbia, Costa Rica, and South Africa, programming traditional and contemporary music. His recent programs include concerts at the Royal Academy of Music in Antwerp, the Holywell Music Room in Oxford, and the Royal Flemish Academy in Brussels. In 2017 Phaedra Records released Seeker – The Piano Music of Piet Swerts. The recording has been featured on Belgian Radio Klara and well-received by critics in Holland (Opusklassiek), Belgium (Flanders Art Magazine) and the United States (American Record Guide). In 2020 Navona Records released his program of the early works of Alexander Scriabin.

Hirshfield is Professor of Music at Western Connecticut State University. He has presented masterclasses and conference lectures throughout the United States and abroad. Hirshfield was a member of the Artist Faculty for the 2019 International Piano Festival in Bačka Palanka, Serbia, Guest Artist for the 2015 Piano Master Class Series at New York University, and a member of the piano faculty for the 2013 Oxford University Piano Festival in England.

Mad Dances - American Music for Saxophone and Piano, with saxophonist Dan Goble, was released by Albany Records in 2010. American Record Guide identified Hirshfield as “… a highly skilled and flexible artist who digs into the thorny passages, yet renders the handful of special moments with wonderful touch and sincerity” (ARG, September/October 2011). Hirshfield trained in New Haven and later studied at the Eastman School of Music, Boston University, and the University of Colorado. His teachers include Robert Spillman, James Avery, Anthony di Bonaventura, and Alvin Chow. His adventuresome programming was deemed “challenging even to the most ambitious pianist…” (Boulder Daily Camera).

This album contains no booklet.