Mark Cannon plays Scriabin Sonata #9 ("Black Mass ")

[pianistboy2000]

This is so amazing!

[marian444]

Wonderful sound and playing

[OrangeSodaKing]

Why don't you post more videos?

[larchmontmark]

@OrangeSodaKing -- Huh.......you mean you don't want to just watch this one over and over? :-)

[OrangeSodaKing]

@larchmontmark Oh silly me, how could I be so rude? ;)

What I meant is, I want to see a video of you playing Tchaikovsky 1 with an orchestra. Hopefully sometime I'll be able to play Brahms' 1 with an orchestra and show you! :)

[TheAtma]

Well done.

How long have you been playing?

[larchmontmark]

Thanks for asking and being interested!

How long? All my life!!

I think you need to be playing that long to play this piece! :-)

[TheAtma]

@larchmontmark

Hmm, understandable. I've been playing for years. Only recently have I taken it a bit more seriously than usual.

On a side note: my German friend said that Boesendorfer means "the naughty people from the village".

I found that fairly amusing.

[larchmontmark]

LOL! I'd never thought of that, and it never occurred to me to wonder what it might mean, despite 3 years of German in school. :-)

And yeah -- that's sort of what it would mean. I think some different translations would be possible, but none of them are real desirable :-) and anyway what you said is pretty close.

Amusing indeed. (Good job!)

[WilfriedHLingenberg]

@TheAtma :-))) Never thought of that either, despite 41 years of being German ... :-) Even more close would be: "person from the village of the evil people".

And Mark: I am constantly coming back to your marvellous Scriabin, as you see ... :-)

[pcma1970]

Dear Mark! I was amazed with your performance of the sonata. It is one of the most expressive performances I've heard here! You give life and drama to music something rare in certain pianists. you can hold and captivate the soul that will listen.

[ashatondenver]

Amazing performances

[HjalmarGuitarMaster]

this was really great!!

[pianovirus]

Hi Mark, I just saw this video of yours as you linked from Piano World. Great playing, very sensitive! I'm currently working on the 4th as my first Scriabin sonata, but I love the late ones as well and as I'm listening to you, I can't wait to play the Black Mass, too, one day. Cheers, Tobias

[chu71]

You do qualify, Mark C! Fantastic!

[larchmontmark]

Gracias, bueno!

[nancyella]

Wow! Terrific playing, and a really ambitious piece! I followed the link her from your CMG signature. I'm looking forward to seeing more of your posts.

[larchmontmark]

@nancyella -- Thanks so much for coming over!! I'm glad that this youtube contest is getting some attention on CMG and thrilled to have begun participating there. I think you'd like many of the other Cliburn amateur videos also. Too bad there could only be 1 "winner"!

[nancyella]

I'll try to listen to some others when I get a chance, and learn more about this competition. It is amazing (and wonderful) to me the number of really fine amateur pianists there are kicking around, doing their "day jobs" and keeping up their piano skills somehow in the off hours.

[bubblyking]

Good luck!

Tough choice for Cliburn competition...

[ChrisMoonmadness]

Just saw a post of yours over on CMG about Paderewski and noticed the link in your signature. Have posted this at CMG before? Finally somone who took the effort of recording himself very well. My first real exposure to Scriabin's piano music and I am liking it a lot. Thanks

[larchmontmark]

@ChrisMoonmadness ....Thank you, Chris! I just joined CMG yesterday (Classical Music Guide) and was thrilled to see material such as that about Paderewski. I'm highly impressed at the level of discussion there and would guess that actually quite a few others could do something like this too!

[edwardweiss]

Sublime.

[Biffer5]

Mark, fantastic playing!! You played it like you wrote it. You OWNED it!

-Peyton

[cebukid70]

Very nice job! I'm not familiar with this piece but it sounds like there needs to be varying emotion and dynamics for the different sections of the piece. I'll have to listen to it a few more times to figure it out. :-) It sounds very difficult, technically, and you seem to have nailed it! 5-stars.

[wildejag]

Well done. Black Mass was always a thriller!

[beachwoodcrony]

Hello Mark, once again, just wanted to congratulate you on this wonderful presentation of Scriabin's Mass. You did an amazing job on a very challenging and difficult piece of music. So pleased we've connected and looking to working with you sometime in the future. Always with great Respect and Gratitude -- Michael Mollura (friend of Dr. Orlean and son of Dr. Mollura in Los Angeles)

[larchmontmark]

Hey MIchael! What a great surprise. Thanks so much --- and please see the comment that I wrote on your "channel." BTW......why not put some of your own music on youtube?

[beachwoodcrony]

Mark, what a wonderful rendering of this very difficult Scriabin piece of music. So happy we know one another and looking forward to working with you in the future. You're an excellent pianist. Always with great respect! -- Michael Mollura (ph.d psychology student in LA)

[AmeliaaMae]

hi mark, met you in calvin klein of lee a few days ago, and wanted to tell you i really admire your playing this piece.

i like the intensity of it a lot. great work, i'll be sure to send it along and come visit again sometime!

[DrRobertBalaban]

Mark, this is Scriabin that gives the listener what he wants and that is power but still watching out to employ persuasion over force, Youve done a fine in charge of this work, oh,thank you for your critique on mine, I need to get deeper into the listining experience, (and Im also going to brush up some hanon excercises to get the scales articulate and coordinated. Ihope to see you at Ft,Worth, Best of kuck and skill to you

[larchmontmark]

Thanks very much, and I feel like you "found me out" -- I do indeed 'exaggerate' some effects for the sake of "listenability," and actually I feel that I didn't do it enough. Maybe there's no need to feel self-conscious about it, though, because when performing, we SHOULD be conscious of not just doing some "pure" musical experience but projecting in an appropriate way, whether it's in a small hall, a large hall, or youtube.

And thanks for being so open-minded about your own video.

[bobekelund]

Mark: I'm enjoying this again -- in the middle of the night! Really terrific!

[larchmontmark]

(Don't let it keep you awake, though.......it's really SPOOKY, y'know -- goblins and stuff, especially near the end......) :-)

[bobekelund]

Yes, like "Paranormal Activity"!

[larchmontmark]

Since we have the *economist* visiting, I ought to tell what this piece is about, IMO:

ECONOMICS.

I'm only 20% kidding.

This was written 1912-1913, just a few years before the Russian Revolution. To me, this is about the chaos and unrest of the growing industrialization/urbanization­, plus everybody vs. the czar. If you think about it, you can hear the factory machinery......

[bobekelund]

Mark -- this makes perfect sense. Do you know if Scriabin was a czarist? Sometimes is has the "romantic" quality of Rachmaninoff but more often not (as this sonata clearly shows). Love it.

[larchmontmark]

I can't give a direct or comprehensive answer right now......I have a 2-volume bio of Scriabin but because it's 2 volumes, I haven't gotten through it yet. :-)

But I can offer these quotes from him, which I think give us the idea: "There should be no money!" "There must be no beggars!" "Each must work at what he loves!"

[larchmontmark]

P.S. Regarding the piano: Since a few people have asked about it.........

This is one of the "house pianos" at the Westchester Conservatory of Music (White Plains, N.Y.), where this recording was done.

[littorine]

Un pianiste !

[larchmontmark]

Thank you for the nice comments, and thank you for making me review some of my French.

And of course the piano thanks you too! :-)

I LOVE that piano.......it's a little weak in some of the upper treble, but everything else makes up for it.

[littorine]

Un Bösendorfer en plus...Excellent!

[ultracoolhomies]

This is quite a performance of a fantastic piece by Scriabin. I enjoyed this.

[larchmontmark]

Thank you -- and I take that as a great compliment, since it seems you're really into Scriabin.....

[jhm1313]

A reflective performance of pure music. The technical proficiency goes without saying. Choosing this piece was itself a master stroke. It is time you won an international piano competition, Mark!

[larchmontmark]

LOL.......I think we better explain.....that last part is a joke. :-)

It's a reference to an extremely informal "competition" that was very barely "international," where I came in 2nd. I won't say how many participants there were, except that it was less than 3. :-)

JHM1313 himself was 1st -- and he deserved it.

[smfierros]

Wonderful performance. I don't think I would ever have the courage to tackle its intricacies.

[ThePianoamateur]

Great job! Congratulations.

Hope you remember our good time in Paris-

Your friend from Lithuania.

[larchmontmark]

Sigitas!

Absolutely I remember, including your D major Prelude/Fugue and your Chopin Etude.

Good to "see" you here -- and thanks very much.

By the way......I even remember what you said about attending that final dinner: "Maybe next year." :-)

There must have been some intrigue that I was not aware of.....but I think that I have since learned what it might have been.

I send you my regards......and maybe it is not too late for you to enter a video in this!

[jes9015]

I'm blown away by this piece and by your rendition. You have an amazing presence with it. And, I hope we get to speak, psych(ologist) to psych(iatrist)!

Best, Jeremy

[larchmontmark]

We will! :-)

[equitater]

I can't imagine even reading this music, it would take me years! You are very dedicated. Judy

[melaniejsnow]

Hi Mark,  I love your musical interpretation of this challenging piece! Wonderful job! Best wishes to you.-Melanie

[scottjmc]

Great job, Mark! I played this piece over 30 years ago and I remember spending a lot of time unraveling the rhythmic complexities. Seems like you've got it figured out!

Scott

[rsfpiano]

Congratuations Mark You play this extremely well. This piece reminds me of Vers La Flamme in places,. Good to see you playing on Youtube.

[larchmontmark]

Thanks very much, Robert. I LOVE your Chopin video and I'll be putting a comment on there too.

[endoscoper]

Great job Mark! This is the first time I've actually heard you play. You've really captured the essence of this piece.

[larchmontmark]

The champ! :-)

Thank you very much Chris -- I really appreciate your taking a look......and it's great that you're lending your presence to this year's contest in this way. I feel like you'll be right there to help crown the new winner.

[bobekelund]

This is thrilling! Wonderful.

[larchmontmark]

Thank you! I appreciated your video too, just haven't gotten around to start doing comments yet.

And BTW, as they say "I believe I've heard of you!"

I had no idea you PLAYED in addition to all else.....

[larchmontmark]

I wasn't a student of yours, except in the broader sense of being a student of life as a whole. :-)

I think I knew of you from textbooks.......I never took an eco course but I see what the kids carry around.....

[larchmontmark]

Thank you!

And BTW.......I owe you an e-mail or two......First of all, do you know WHEN your "victory recital" in Colorado will be?

Plus, a funny question about your IVES.......

Look for it soon. :-)

[hbasarab]

Mark, it takes a courageous pianist to play this wonderful, terrifying piece of music! You wholeheartedly dive right in, and the result is a performance with loads of emotional intensity. I loved hearing it.