The young pianist James Kreiling has recently issued the first of two CDs which will contain all the late piano music of Scriabin, which James defines as starting from the Fifth Sonata, op. 53. The disc issued contains the Sonatas nos. 5, 6 and 7, Two Poèmes op. 73, Poème-Nocturne op. 61, Two Pieces op. 59, Two Poèmes op. 63, Two Poèmes op. 71, Five Preludes op. 74, Vers la Flamme op. 72.

To launch the release of the 2nd CD James will perform a recital of most of the late Poèmes, as well as the rarely performed 8th Sonata. The event will take place on Friday, March 18th, 6.30pm at ‘The Asylum’ in Peckham (nearest station is Queen’s Road, Peckham). Entry £10.

James writes for the Scriabin Association:

‘I first encountered Scriabin’s piano music at the age of fourteen when I was given a book of preludes and etudes by my piano professor at the time. I worked my way through a number of the early preludes, as well as works such as the famous D# minor Etude. I remember also reading through many of the later works and being captivated by the harmonies I was playing, and intrigued by some of Scriabin’s unusual performance descriptions. This early intrigue resulted in me starting my study of the sixth piano sonata, one of the works on the disk, and this has since become the focus of my doctoral dissertation that I am currently coming to the end of now, studying at the Guildhall school of music. Since that first encounter, my interest in Scriabin’s music, life and philosophy – and the connections between these three things – has grown to near obsession. This disk, volume one of two which will encompass the complete piano music from the fifth sonata onwards, aims to present these works in a way which is accessible to those new to the music, and interesting to those already familiar with this extraordinary sound world. My liner notes, as well as the artwork, hopes to compliment the music in similar fashion, the ultimate aim being to bring Scriabin’s music to a wider audience and celebrate his musical output for the extraordinary expression of musical genius it is. The CD was funded through crowdfunding and can currently be purchased on my fundraising page here:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/recording-scriabin-s-complete-late-piano-music#/

Click the CD ‘perk’ on the right hand side, provide your address and pay through paypal or by credit card. All money raised from CD sales will go towards the second volume, which I hope to record in the autumn of 2016.’