A decade or so ago, Giuseppe Sinopoli and the New York Philharmonic recorded these Scriabin works for Deutsche Grammophon. The results were a classic example of an intelligent conductor dealing with music for which he had no perceivable affinity. The yellow label does it again, this time with Mikhail Pletnev (mis)leading the Russian National Orchestra. As a pianist, Pletnev is a commanding personality, whose fingers execute whatever his mind requires of them. His conducting, however, tells a different story, at least here. There’s nothing remotely divine, ecstatic, or comprehending about these perfunctory read-throughs. The Third Symphony’s overwrought sensuality and soaring lyricism sparkle like flat seltzer water in Pletnev’s listless, four-square non-conception. Scriabin’s over-the-top harmonic sequences chug along without a trace of the urgency or disquieting passion other conductors bring to this music. The Poem of Ecstasy fares no better, from its static, heavily accented opening to the enervated climaxes and oodles of ill-balanced, unfocused solo playing in between. Stick with the balletic angularity of the Kondrashin/Concertgebouw live Scriabin Third (Etcetera) or, better still, Riccardo Muti’s sexy, opulent version with the Philadelphia Orchestra (EMI). And Stokowski’s bracing, transparent Poem of Ecstasy with the Houston Symphony (Everest) belies its late 1950s vintage. With these riches in mind, Pletnev cannot be recommended.
