Piano Sonatas No.2 "Sonata Fantasy", No.3, No.4, No5, No.6, No.8 & No.10

Released in 1978 on the Swiss label Tudor, this recording features the French pianist Evelyne Dubourg performing a significant selection of Alexander Scriabin’s piano sonatas. The collection captures a period in the late 1970s when Scriabin’s complex, mystical, and evolving harmonic language was undergoing a notable revival in European concert halls and academic circles. Dubourg, known for her rigorous technique and disciplined interpretation, was tasked with navigating the transition from Scriabin’s early Romantic influences to the highly chromatic and idiosyncratic style of his later works.

The design of this Tudor release adheres to the label’s characteristic minimalist aesthetic of the era, focusing on clear typography and high-fidelity production values intended for the serious classical listener. Scriabin’s sonatas, particularly the later numbered works like the sixth and tenth, are notoriously challenging to record due to their dense textures and shifting tonal centers. Dubourg’s interpretation was received by critics as a precise and cerebral approach, emphasizing the architectural structure of the music rather than the purely transcendental elements that other interpreters often highlight.