Complete Piano Works of Scriabin [Box set, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Michael Ponti (Artist), Scriabin (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 10, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 5
• Format: Box set, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Vox (Classical)
• ASIN: B00007J4SI
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #132,631 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Etude

2. Prelude

3. Impromptu A La Mazur

4. F Sharp Minor

See all 41 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Allegro

2. Capriccio

3. Tempestoso

4. Piacevole

See all 33 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Prelude In C# Minor

2. Nocturne In D Flat Major

3. No. 1 In G# Minor

4. No. 2 In F# Minor

See all 34 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Polonaise Op. 21

2. Andante

3. Andante

4. Allegretto

See all 40 tracks on this disc

Disc: 5

1. No. 1 In F# Major

2. No. 2 In D Major

3. Poeme Tragique Op. 34

4. Poeme Satanique Op. 36

See all 41 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ponti's quick study of Scriabin, April 25, 2003

By 

Alex Serrano (Perrysburg, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Complete Piano Works of Scriabin (Audio CD)

Michale Ponti may well have recorded too much music in his career - the romantic piano concertos series, piano works of tchaikovsky, moszkowski, brahms, liszt - and also a series of live recitals. But this Scriabin set (and this review also accounts for the companion sonatas discs) may well be one of his most important contributions in regards to recordings. For once, we get a complete cycle of Scriabin's piano works played by a pianist who has the necessary technique and also at an unbeatable budget price - about US$ 25 for the 7 discs!
But not everything seems to work out here. The sound is very much substandard with predominance to the upper registers producing results that become strident at times - the recordings from the early 70's call for urgent remastering. And in regards to Ponti's intepretations, you do not get the feeling that he has all the music under his skin - a lot of extrardinary sight-reading seems to be going on and some inaccuracies are sadly exposed.
Yet, Ponti manages to create an improvisatory style that is very much in tune with the composer's style - and at his best, Scriabin's experimental nature finds a worthy medium in these recordings. Also, he commands all the bravura and cantabile effects of this music seemingly at will.
All in all, we must be happy this project has been released on cd (despite its flaws). You will find better interpretations of many of these works by ogdon, hamelin, horowitz, richter, etc - but as a group and an addition to any collector's library this is a great set.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Advice for Scriabin collectors, August 1, 2008

By 

Dace Gisclard (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Complete Piano Works of Scriabin (Audio CD)

Ponti's Scriabin IS complete. In fact, it's THE most complete set of Scriabin's piano music ever issued! True, VOX's labeling is confusing-as another reviewer stated, this set and Ponti's set of the sonatas should really be labeled "Vol.I and Vol.II." I don't blame other customers for being confused!

Ponti is a great Scriabin player, period. Unfortunately, his recording of the sonatas is one of the great tragedies of recorded music. The sound accorded his sonatas is virtually unlistenable-fryingly over bright treble and boomy bass--it sounds like it was recorded by someone used to recording rock. The recording engineer should be taken out and shot!

It's a tragedy, because the playing is marvellous. The other pieces in that set and the present set are much more listentably recorded. The sound of the present set is better, and not nearly so bad as some reviewers would have one believe. With some fiddling at the tone controls, it can be rendered quite listenable. I found that adjusting the tone controls to treble at 9:00 and bass at 10:00 renders everything except the sonatas much easier to take.

Unfortunately, if one wants Ponti's Scriabin complete (even if one chooses to supplement his sonatas with something in better sound) one has to buy both this set and his set of the "Complete Piano Music" on five CD's. That's actually not so bad--the sets are cheap enough.

However, if merely getting the complete Scriabin is your goal, there are alternatives.

1. There's a really excellent 8-disc set of all Scriabin works with opus numbers available on Capriccio played by Maria Lettberg. This is really first-rate, and can form the basis of your Scriabin collection Das Solo-Klavierwerk. The set can also be downloaded as MP3's from the NAXOS website.

2. Two possibilities here: Lettberg doesn't play any of the posthumously-published early Scriabin. Most of this is available on Coombs's CD, "The Early Scriabin," (The Early Scriabin.). Unfortunately, he omits the early "Albumleaves" in F-sharp and A-flat and the Fantasy for Two Pianos. All of the pieces Coombs plays plus everything he doesn't are in Ponti's set called "Complete Piano Music". The sound of this set can be rendered fairly listenable with the tone controls.

To sum up: Get Lettberg's set. Add the early works she doesn't play with Coomb's "The Early Scriabin", OR, (for absolute completeness) from the present set by Ponti. And oh, yes, you might want another set of the sonatas--these pieces are so multi-faceted that you might want more than one interpretation-my personal favorite is Hamelin.

RE the Sonata in E-flat minor: This work has come down to us unfinished. Although I personally prefer Ponti's completion of the unfinished slow movement to Glemser's or Coombs's, his recording is rather out of the running because he plays the wrong first movement--i.e., the revised version of the first movement as the "Allegro appassionato, Op.4"--how did THAT happen?

I hope this helps!

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The playing is great, but.., September 22, 2003

By 

Matthew N. Montag (Cedar Rapids, IA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Complete Piano Works of Scriabin (Audio CD)

After reading the other reviews here and subsequently purchasing this set, I feel that people should be warned about the audio character of the CD's. There's noise on the tracks - they were recorded in '74. And the piano has a dry "bite" that distracted me. I was hoping for a soft romantic sound. I couldn't fully appreciate the performances because of these issues. The price is nice; however, if you are just looking for Grade A recordings to fill the Scriabin gap in your collection, this set might not satisfy.