A good running order represents half the battle when it comes to anthology-type recitals such as Christopher O’Riley’s all-Scriabin survey. He must have spent serious hours mixing and matching various Preludes, Etudes, and sundry short pieces, as well as determining just the right spots for the Fourth and Tenth Sonatas. Intriguing juxtapositions result, such as pitting two utterly different C-sharp minor Preludes together: the burly, impassioned Op. 11 No. 10 followed by the fragile, otherworldly tonality of Op. 45 No. 2. The latter, in turn, provides a bridge to the Op. 74 No. 2 Prelude’s willowy necromanticism. More importantly, O’Riley’s lusty sonority (full of body at all dynamic levels), pearly passagework, and poetic phrasing are positively addictive.
O’Riley keeps the Tenth Sonata’s busy textures in perspective, sustaining the melodic argument without letting the thickets of trills overpower the listener. It’s a slightly warmer version of Marc-André Hamelin’s unruffled, super-controlled prowess that in turn differs from Horowitz’s febrile, jackhammer intensity. Similarly, the so-called “Mosquito Etude” Op. 42 No. 3 morphs into a gentle butterfly in O’Riley’s sensitive hands, while the feverish final pages of the Fourth Sonata and the disc’s title work are luminescent and joyous rather than percussive and shattering. The resonant engineering befits the music, and occasional blurred sonic edges don’t bother me a bit. A release to savor.
