Legendary Russian maestro Evgeny Svetlanov leads the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR in a complete cycle of Scriabin’s symphonic works. They begin with the composer’s first beautiful and adventurous foray into the symphonic genre, the Symphony No. 1.
Composed from 1889 to 1900, Scriabin’s First Symphony was the young Russian composer’s second large-scale symphonic work in an œuvre that so far included primarily solo piano works (inspired in particular by an early fascination with Chopin’s music). The First Symphony made waves because of its unorthodox finale—featuring vocal soloists and a chorus—as well as its six-movement structure. Though the movements are relatively short, for the work’s premiere it was considered better to perform only the first five movements. The influences of Wagner, Liszt, Franck, and Tchaikovsky all come to the fore at various moments in a work filled with wonderful musical ideas that point to the extraordinary evolution Scriabin’s art would soon experience.
The Evgeny Svetlanov Foundation has kindly provided this program to us as part of its celebrations of the maestro's 90th birthday.
