Vladimir Sofronitsky plays Scriabin Sonata No.10 Op.70

[YakkaFoobMog]

@abidoful If you mean terrifying, then yes.

[darkblueangel1956]

Tra il sogno, l'incubo e i deliranti effetti della droga, questa musica evoca le magie da negromante nella creatività di Skryabyn nell'ultimo periodo, ma anche, purtroppo, che Sofronitsky, verso la fine della sua vita, ha voluto provare l'esperienza delle droghe. Una delle ultime testimonianze di una ricerca di nuove dimensioni, fuori dal mondo, per i due Artisti. Emozioni forti, a fior di pelle, in questa interpretazione. Si sa che non piace a tutti !!!

[TheF1PinkVoltaDream]

first comes scriabin getting "bugs" in his sonata then zez confrey with his "kitten on the keys".... whats next, a horse playing the piano?

[Sylvain894]

Scriabin : what have you done ???? Creeps; creatures; frogs on the piano !

[88alan8800]

I love sofronitsky, and i love this work. This music is really in a world of its own... I often imagine a person secluded on some lonely cold dark planet, where he acts out poetry, making contorted movements and ugly faces. Overwhelmed by the vastness of the universe and the pinprick intensity of each star as he searches the heavens for an answer to his loneliness.

It is quite amazing how many different characters are suggested in this piece.

[essencenigel]

I've been playing this for 30 years. Forget the insects. Hear the melodies. I think he over rubatos the main melody, but the faster passages are great. The trills shouldn't even be heard as trills, just a touch of extra colour....

The rubato gets a bit repetitive, to be honest daaaah di da daah when it should be daah di da daah.

[Lukecash12]

In your opinion, which is apparently different from that of Sofronitzky. Would it be an great art form, if not for more than one interpretation to enjoy?

[werq34ac]

AGHHH!! I try not to think of insects during those trills but...

[dsm2240]

Around 6:50 it reminds me of Vers la Flamme

[larchmontmark]

Funny......I have a recording of the 9th Sonata on here and someone likened that to Vers la Flamme too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not likening myself to Sofronitsky.......just saying. :-)

And of course it's no accident......Late Scriabin is a real style and language of its own, and so most of the pieces are reminiscent of one another.

[Lukecash12]

Masterpiece!

[Chopinco]

0 2 4 6 9 10 :o

[dizozza]

Beautiful performance of a brilliant Sonata! Thank you for posting.

[babyGirlKelli]

Sofronitsky is second to none when he plays Scriabin ...plays it as if he composed it...amazing~:)

[Schubermann]

waow extraordinary!!! it's really my favourite interpretation of this sonata!!! I've been waiting for years to listen an interpretation which would be close to emotionnal and lyrical feelings... composers have written very atonal pieces later, so many pianists forget that this music can also be tonal and modal, even if it is strange... and Sofronitsky plays it with all the modal and tonal coulours, wich really gives a powerful meaning to this extatic masterpiece! :)

[pjioayncoe]

Insect sonata? The trills and the mood of this piece remind me of Gregor's little legs waving in the air in The Metamorphosis and him crawling on the walls and hiding under the couch. If this indeed can be called an insect sonata, then Scriabin was more of a genius than I thought before. He might had much more to say than the apparent mystic qualities that seem to overshadow most of his later compositions.

[AulicExclusiva]

The trills in Skryabin are there for the same reason as in Liszt: they represent a Heavenly Hovering, something transcendental and intangible, like the beating of angels' wings. They come in diferent speeds and intensities and are pedalled differently.

Sofronisky (who was Skryabin's son-in-law) understood such colourations in the music perfectly and had the supernatural technique to realise them. He was, indeed, the supreme Skryabin interpreter.

[gerryrains]

It's true that Sofronitsky was his son-in-law, but they never met. Scriabin was dead before Sofronitsky met his daughter. Still, Scriabin's widow always said that Sofronitsky played Scriabin better than anybody else. Could be - if he's better at Scriabin than Richter the difference is minuscule.

[Lukecash12]

@AulicExclusiva Even though Sofronitsky absolutely exuded musicality, there is much to be said for his technique.

[alexongcs]

The best I have ever heard. So original!!!

[horses1]

If you consider Scriabin's "mysticism" and interest in tonalities corresponding to colours and light, this turns out to be quite an essay. That is is in C Major, all the more so.

[phoxee]

This may be someones favorite, but I think the music was forced. I think Scriabin was trying too hard to create and it just wasn't his night. I love (almost worship) Scriabin's music, but everyone has to have their favorites and their least favorite. I wouldn't even call this one of my least favorites.( all those ridiculous trills !!????!)What that means to me is that the man was human. He couldn't please all the people, all the time. Bet you loved it, huh? I'm going to regret posting this.

[BreuschPagan]

Trills are an important part of Scriabin's music. They ran the emotional gamut from emotional ecstasy (Sonata No. 7) to demonic satanism (Sonata No. 9) to the apocalyptic frenzy of Vers La Flamme.

Who know what it meant? Maybe he was searching for quarter tones in those trills, making him a visionary ahead of his time.

A book i read put it perfectly when it described the trills in Sonata 10 as "a grotesque reminder of Beethoven and a demented vision of Messiaen".

[Lukecash12]

I definitely don't think his trills were pointless, they were poignant, however harsh the tone was the theme benefits from it.

I personally think this song is just awfully gorgeous, even for Scriabin.

[georgecziffra]

Scriabin's 10th is referred to as the "Insect Sonata" so I think the trills give the effect of little insects scurrying about.

[phoxee]

I must confess that it was not Scriabin having an off day of composing. It was me having an off day of listening.I listened to it again and loved it. Go figure. Thanks for the info, guys.

[BreuschPagan]

It's not so much of having an off day. Scriabin's music is bizarre not just because it sounds bizarre..but because sometimes one can't make head or tail of it without having some kind of imagery or idea in one's mind. You cannot intellectualise Scriabin. He is a spontaneous flight of colour and smell and ecstacy, one minute violent, mischievious, and satanic, the next mysterious, ethereal, and fragrant.

kudos to you! enjoy scriabin.. :)

[chad410]

insect sonata. i see why exactly

[Starwalker6978]

Listening with the ears of a true simpelton! Pitty you miss Scriabin's true genius sense of beauty, for it can be found in this very work!

[AlexShulhan123]

This sonata is just as good as any Scriabin sonata. This was my least favorite as well, once u listen to it a few times i hope it will grow on u

[chad410]

so differnt to Volodos. This is more creepy. Russian pianists are so diverse i think due to a vigorous technical grounding early on. according to rachmaninov this was the way. put on the metronome and play hanon. but what joy when then music can then flourish.

[bafr1]

5*****