Dmitri Alexeev has been working his way back onto the discographical radar, notably with cycles respectively devoted to Chopin Mazurkas and Scriabin piano sonatas. As with the latter, Alexeev’s survey of Scriabin’s Etudes (plus a few etude-like short works) downplays the composer’s febrile, necromantic persona, rounding off the sharp edges, emphasizing the music’s lyrical beauty and potential for color without sacrificing energy or forward mobility.
The opening Op. 2 No. 1 C-sharp minor Etude hints at what’s up ahead in its poignant melodic pointing, bardic rolled chords, and texturally differentiated inner voices. In contrast to Horowitz’s incisive, rapier thrust, Alexeev casts more rhetorical and wistful light on the Op. 45 No. 5 C-sharp minor, Op. 8 No. 2 F-sharp minor, and No. 10 D-flat major selections.
While most pianists concentrate on projecting the Op. 8 No. 11 D-sharp minor’s big tunes, Alexeev generates more rhythmic tension by bringing the left hand accompaniment’s assymetrical undulation to the fore. He does something similar in the lesser known Op. 45 No. 6 Etude in D-flat major, whose swirling surface style easily would befit a Rachmaninov Etude-Tableau.
If Alexeev’s three Op. 65 etudes in ninths, major sevenths, and fifths don’t quite match Piers Lane’s fire and brimstone, one cannot help but respect his effortless finger work and seamless legato. The engineering captures Alexeev’s piano from a resonant vantage point that conveys both concert hall realism and sufficient detail. There are edgier, more emotionally engaging Scriabin Etude cycles available (Andrei Korobeinikov and Garrick Ohlsson, for example), but few so intrinsically beautiful as Alexeev’s. If that appeals to you, then go for it.
