Skryabin Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1 – Håkon Austbø

Håkon Austbø interprets the extreme states of mind in Skryabin

Some 75 years after Skryabin´s death it is generally accepted that he was one of the important renewers of music at the outset of the previous century. Attempting to justify his attempts at creating a philosophical system through his music, Skryabin wrote several works steeped in mysticism, of which “Prometheus, Op. 60” is probably among the best known. His sonatas can therefore be seen as part of a pre-concept; the music should pave the way for a forthcoming transcendency.

In fact, these sonatas don´t sound like any other music. They obey to their own rules, rules made by the composer himself. They seem to vacillate in space; their struggles, however violent, are not of this world, they belong to some cosmic realm (White and Black Mass). Of course, this is not achieved without special musical means; the music is liberated from tonality by the use of “mystic chords” that generate scales for all melodic material; the rhythmic texture is extremely flexible and tends to float across the bar-lines; the flighty motives combine into a translucent web of lines. Performed by the much celebrated pianist Håkon Austbø, Skryabin´s works evokes extreme states of mind, being uncommon even in late romanticism.

This is the first album in a series of two, covering Skryabin´s Piano Sonatas. The second volume is also available from Simax Classics (PSC1056).