alone
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), Etude in F-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 2 (1894); Ivo Pogorelić (1958-, piano), published 2014
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lagniappe
musical thoughts
Music is a means of rapid transportation.
—John Cage (1912-1992)
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random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill. (Oak Park Conservatory)
another take
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 (1894)
Vladimir Horowitz (1903-1989), live, New York (Carnegie Hall), 1968
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Chicago
alone
Nikolai Lugansky (1972-, piano), live, Ivanovka (Russia): Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), Etudes, Op. 8 (1894-95), Nos. 2 (F-sharp minor), 4 (B major), 10 (D-flat major), 11 (B-flat minor), 12 (D-sharp minor)
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
alone
One-word review: Wow!
Pierre-Laurent Aimard (1957-, piano) plays Etudes by Debussy, Ligeti, Chopin, Bartok, Scriabin; live, England (Aldeburgh), 2014*
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lagniappe
random sights
other day, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
*Program (courtesy of YouTube): 0:00-, Debussy: Étude 1 pour les cinq doigts d’après Monsieur Czerny L. 136; 03:42-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 3: White on white (1995–2001); 07:56-, Debussy: Étude 9 pour les notes répétées L. 136; 11:16-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 2: Der Zauberlehrling (1988–1994); 13:40-, Debussy: Étude 3 pour les quartes L. 136; 18:57-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 2: Fém (1988–1994); 22:08-, Chopin: Trois nouvelles études: I. in F minor (1839); 24:29-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 2: En Suspens (1988–1994); 26:35-, Chopin: Trois nouvelles études: III. in A major (1839); 28:50-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 1: Arc-en-ciel (1985); 32:20-, Chopin: 12 etudes: II. in F minor (Op. 25); 34:03-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 1: Touches bloquées (1985); 36:14-, Bartók: 3 etudes: I. Allegro molto Sz. 72; 38:45-, Bartók: 3 etudes: II. Andante sostenuto Sz. 72; 42:17-, Bartók: 3 etudes: III. Rubato-Molto sostenuto Sz. 72; 44:25-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 2: Entrelacs (1988–1994); 47:20-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 1: Fanfares (1985); 50:56-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 1: Automne à Varsovie (1985); 55:39-, Scriabin: 3 etudes: I. Allegro fantastico Op. 65; 59:25-, Scriabin: 3 etudes: II. Allegretto Op. 65; 01:01:44-, Scriabin: 3 etudes: III. Molto vivace Op. 65; 01:03:30-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 2: Galamb Borong (1988–1994); 01:06:30, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 1: Cordes à vide (1985); 01:10:03-, Ligeti: Etudes: Book 2: L’escalier du diable (1988–1994).
alone
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), Piano Sonata No. 9 (1913); Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997, piano), live, England (Aldeburgh Festival), 1966
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lagniappe
random sights
this morning, Oak Park, Ill.
Want to be swept away?
Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915), Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 (1894); Daniil Trifonov (1991-, piano), live, Berlin, 2019
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lagniappe
random sights
yesterday, Oak Park, Ill.
*****
reading table
And I Was Alive
by Osip Mandelstam (1891-1938),
translated from Russian by Christian Wiman
And I was alive in the blizzard of the blossoming pear,
Myself I stood in the storm of the bird-cherry tree,
It was all leaflike and star shower, unerring, self-shattering power,
And it was all aimed at me.
What is this dire delight flowering fleeing always earth?
What is being? What is truth?
Blossoms rupture and rapture the air,
All hover and hammer,
Time intensified and time intolerable, sweetness raveling rot.
It is now. It is not.
sounds from the other side of the moon
Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915), Piano Sonata No. 5; Dmitry Rachmanov, live, San Francisco, 2015
*****
Here’s another take.
Sviatoslav Richter (1915-1997), live recording, Prague, 1972
riveting
Alexander Scriabin, Etude in D-sharp minor, Op. 8, No. 12 (1894)
Vladimir Horowitz, live, New York (Carnegie Hall), 1968
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