LDV92

Don’t you feel ready to climb that mountain? I don’t know, maybe – I’m looking for repertory ideas at the moment. I’m currently working on the Fantaisie op.28, an absolute marvel that doesn’t seem as hard as Rachmaninoff, and yet . . . If that works out, I’ll look at other pieces by him. Why not the Études op.42 or the three of op.65? The one in ninths is especially hallucinatory. It could easily drive you mad; you have to be wary of those works. And how do you fit them into a programme? That’s a problem too. Many of Scriabin’s pieces appear to be nothing special when you read through them, but in concert they take on another dimension. The sonic result is light years away from the basic material presented in the score. The elusive textures are hard to capture: everything is suspended, the harmonies and the phrases are in constant elevation. These colossally difficult pieces from the composer’s final period flit by like fireflies when you play them in concert. Perhaps that’s what discourages me the most. 22 ALEXANDER SCRIABIN ∙ NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV