Valentina Lisitsa – Scriabin: Nuances (2015) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

The title Nuances is uncommunicative and has nothing to do with the ballet of that name assembled from Scriabin’s music by composer Alexander Nemtin. Instead, this recital by pianist and Internet marketing phenomenon Valentina Lisitsa represents a very specific kind of program, and it’s good to see her essay something like this rather than the mainstream repertory she has generally done thus far. What Lisitsa offers here is a recital that focuses on a composer’s youth, and the signs it may offer of that composer’s maturity. Much of the music here comes from Scriabin’s teenage years, and was never published. It’s heavily modeled on Chopin, but keep your ears pricked and you’ll hear all kinds of hints of the later Scriabin. It’s not a question of chromaticism, for Chopin at his most experimental outdid anything in all but the last few pieces here. Instead, Scriabin experiments with blocks of static texture, with decorations Chopin would not have used, with little unanswered harmonic questions. Sample the second of the Two Impromptus, Op. 14 (track 16), for a piece that’s right on the edge of what Scriabin would soon accomplish, some examples of which close out the program. Lisitsa doesn’t do anything spectacular here, but the originality of the concept is notable, and she conveys the just slightly inward atmosphere of the earlier pieces effectively. Decca’s Britten-Pears studio sound is very well suited to the project. ~~ Review by James Manheim

Tracklist:
1-1. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Waltz in F Minor, Op.1 (03:50)
1-2. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – 3 Pieces for piano, Op.2:No.2. Prelude in B (01:17)
1-3. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Nocturne in A Flat, WoO 3 (03:39)
1-4. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Scherzo in E Flat, WoO 4 (02:12)
1-5. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Scherzo in A Flat, WoO 5 (02:21)
1-6. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Valse in G Sharp Minor, WoO 7 (02:58)
1-7. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Klavierstücke in B Flat Minor, Anh 16 (03:37)
1-8. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Fugue in F Minor, WoO 13 (03:28)
1-9. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – 3 Pieces for piano, Op.2:No.3 Impromptu A La Mazur (01:46)
1-10. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Mazurka in F Major, WoO 16 (02:48)
1-11. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Mazurka in B Minor, WoO 15 (02:13)
1-12. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Fugue in E Minor, WoO 20 (02:50)
1-13. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand, Op. 9:No. 2 Nocturne in D Flat Major (06:16)
1-14. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – 12 Etudes For Piano, Op.8:No.12 – Alternative Version (WoO 22) (02:57)
1-15. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – 2 Impromptus, Op.14:No.1 (03:22)
1-16. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – 2 Impromptus, Op.14:No.2 (04:44)
1-17. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Allegro de Concert, Op.18 (06:32)
1-18. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Polonaise, Op.21 (06:22)
1-19. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Poème, Op.41 (05:07)
1-20. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Scherzo, Op.46 (01:21)
1-21. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Two Pieces, Op.59:No.1 – Poème (02:47)
1-22. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Three Etudes, Op.65:2. Allegretto (02:25)
1-23. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Three Etudes, Op.65:3. Molto Vivace (01:53)
1-24. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Trois Morceaux, Op.49:No. 1 Etude in E Flat Major (00:36)
1-25. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Makurka in B Minor, WoO 14 (00:38)
1-26. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Feuille d’Album in F Sharp Major, WoO 25 (01:07)
1-27. Valentina Lisitsa, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Piano – Anush Hovhannisyan, Associated Performer, Main Artist, Soprano – Alexander Scriabin, Composer – Scriabin: Duett in D minor, WoO 10 (03:53)