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Lubimov Black Mass Shostakovich Prokofiev Stravinsky Scriabin (!)

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Igor Stravinsky
Serenade in A for piano

Dmitri Shostakovich
Sonata No. 2 op. 61 for piano

Sergey Prokofiev
Sonata No. 7 op. 83 for piano

Alexander Scriabin
Sonata No. 9 op. 68 for piano

Alexei Lubimov - Piano

This CDs title, Messe Noire, and its dark cover art may mislead some into thinking this album is filled with evil, forbidden things; but the only selection that suggests the diabolical is Alexander Scriabins macabre Sonata No. 9, Black Mass, and it comes at the very end, after Igor Stravinskys light, neo-Classical Serenade in A, Dmitry Shostakovichs sardonic Sonata No. 2, and Sergey Prokofievs witty but brutal knuckle-buster, the Sonata No. 7, which all have their dark moments, certainly, but not the same sinister mood found in Scriabin. If pianist Aleksei Lubimovs aim in bringing these Russian masterworks together points to some other unifying idea -- perhaps the significance of the piano in these composers thinking -- then some other title might have been more helpful. As it is, though, this album seems most unified in Lubimovs vigorous style of playing, brittle execution, and emphasis on the pianos percussive sonorities, evident in each performance. This spiky approach works best in Prokofievs sonata, and fairly well in Shostakovichs and Stravinskys pieces; but it seems too sterile in Scriabins music, which needs more languor and sensuous writhing than clarity or crispness. Other than that, Lubimovs playing is impressive, and he is well recorded by ECM, though in a rather dry acoustic.

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