Harmonia Mundi’s “two for one” reissue series brings Robert Taub’s 1998/90 Scriabin sonata cycle back into the catalog. Its high points are well worth your consideration. The First sonata stands out for Taub’s impassioned, febrile sweep through the opening movement and his intensely protracted way with the strange Funeral March finale. While the Second sonata’s whirling finale may not sizzle with the incandescence of a Pogorelich or Richter, Taub’s telling melodic inflections justify a slightly slower basic tempo. Impressive linear clarity graces the Third, Fourth, and Fifth, and the remaining works fully benefit from Taub’s superb technical control and musical intelligence.
To be sure, Taub doesn’t command the extraordinary surface sheen distinguishing Marc-André Hamelin’s reference set, nor Vladimir Ashkenazy’s reserves of power, to say nothing of Vladimir Horowitz’s necromantic wizardry in the Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth sonatas. Sometimes Taub’s abilities as a colorist shine (the Sixth and Eighth); yet at others, blandness prevails, such as in the Tenth sonata’s cataclysmic trills. This repertoire also needs a warmer, richer, more dynamic ambience than Harmonia Mundi’s engineers deliver. Taub proves equally articulate away from the piano via his succinct and perceptive booklet notes.
