Every major competition that Mikhail Pletnev took part in the Soviet Union he emerged winner - in 1977 he won the All Union Competition and then went on to become winner of the Sixth Moscow Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition. He was also a Gold medalist in 1975 for the Grand Prix which took place in Paris. He has performed everywhere in the world (we await your Asian tour though) and reviewers have described him as the "Devil from Moscow... [who] uses such colours that have never been drawn out of the piano before."

A gifted musician, composer, conductor and pianist, his recordings of the Tchaikovsky Symphonies and Rachmaninov Symphonies on DG, where he is conductor, have won him the great praise of his fellow compatriots. As pointed out before in previous reviews of Russian pianists (Vladimir Ovchinnikov in Singapore; Boris Berzovsky's Teldec piano recital ), my respect for their special class has never diminished and I think it never will.

Firstly it is the rigours of schooling that puts them in the forefront. Most graduate with an impeccable and immaculate technique, tremendous vitality, strength and composure. While the so-called average Russian pianist who may not even make it to their local finals may trounce a foreign competition, it is ultimately this echelon of performers that the world is given the privilege to listen to.

This Scriabin recital disc contains 37 miniature pieces for solo piano recorded 'live' at St George's Brandon Hill, Bristol, on 29-31 January 1996. The longest piece on this disc is the Sonata No.10, op.70 which is about 13 minutes long. Scriabin's description of this sonata is rife with "mystery", it is said that it is a "sonata of insects". (The composer had some funny and warped ideas about the caresses of insects and said that these ideas manifested themselves in feelings which he learnt from identifying with them... absolutely queer).

Anyway it was a time when his piano works took on a rather devilish stance as well. This sonata is brooding in darkness and unlike the other sonatas it is full of melancholy and a sense of dismal loss. Pletnev's understanding of the composer's intentions are clear and the Tenth Sonata takes on, as the notes in the booklet remark, "density, dazzling energy and eroticism". An equally good recording would be Kun Woo Paik's recording of the Tenth Sonata on Dante (PSG 9115). Paik takes it slightly slower but his understanding of Scriabin is equally daunting.

One interesting member of Scriabin's miniatures is the whole set of 24 Preludes, op.11. It is said that Scriabin has written music which is indecipherable to all but a few (not that it was unplayable but that it was not understood as Scriabin never made his intentions clear). The pianist who comes to mind for the championing of his music is none other than Vladimir Horowitz, who enjoyed playing the ghastly difficult Etudes and Preludes. But here, Pletnev makes a fine case.

The Preludes in the black keys are the most interesting, notably Nos.13-18 written in 1895. Hardly two minutes in length, these short works take the pianist through the whole keyboard with cross hands, accentuating chords requiring all ten fingers to run across the black keys with great intensity. No.13, which starts off in a slow manner, is rich with sustained chords in the left hand and gliding arpeggios in the right which just end on a hanging note.

No.14 in E-flat minor was a signature piece of Horowitz. In this piece, the pianist is put into a frenzy as the abundance of notes are made to look as if it is for three hands - this ends in a grand forte. In the next Prelude (No.15), we dive back into introspection in D-flat major, which I think for a pianist doing it 'live' can be very taxing mentally and physically. But Pletnev is always totally composed and stoic throughout.

The Preludes in some aspects have connections to Chopin's preludes - Scriabin's teacher was a student of Chopin. The influence is subtle but very real. Pletnev, as a true Russian national, seems to be so at one with Scriabin that one might believ he had known the composer personally. Being in the country where your fellow countrymen write on matters close to your heart, the environment undoubtedly links you to these composers from your native culture - one thinks of Lyadov, Rosvalet and of course Rachmaninov. This is why despite Scriabin having some thoughts and ideas which may be rather abstract, to the Russians, it is part of many (Russian) factors and life experiences which they have met along the way, all which brings to them a better understanding of their compatriot's music.

Scriabin's desire to reach new heights surface in works like the Three Morceaux ("pieces"). The first work, Feuillet d'album, is extremely slow and looks so playable by an average pianist. However, it is full of expressivity that extends beyond just the fingers and a lot of thought has to be put in.

This was clearly seen in a performance at the recent Singapore International Piano festival played by Igor Zhukov (reviewed here), who gave a really memorable performance of a work that was hardly 1½-minutes long. Zhukov literally threw his whole body into the work; Pletnev on the other hand tends to give you a more cerebral reading. And yet, Scriabin is in some ways a rather aloof character, like Rachmaninov, and therefore cerebral readings are sometimes equally effective.

The technique of Mikhail Pletnev is never questionable in the slightest in this 'live' recital, as seen in the Sonata No.4 in F-sharp major, op.30. It starts with an Andante which does not in any way give you a premonition of what's coming in the second movement. The music shifts suddenly in the ferocity of the Prestissimo volando, which only accentuates the calibre of Pletnev's playing. Truly here is a magnificent exponent of Scriabin.

This Sonata also calls for tremendous swings in mood and tension which Pletnev is very apt at, and yet all is done in a very composed manner. He was never too erratic such that the music sounded too flamboyant, something which performers like Horowitz have often been accused of in the past. While it is rumoured that Scriabin had been possessed in his youth and played as if he was "driven by divine impulse, unshackled by aims", one tends to get this feeling hearing Pletnev as well, as he tears through the difficult chords, reaching new heights in virtuosity.

There are not many recordings of Scriabin's piano music around. Besides Pletnev's recital disc, I highly recommend Kun Woo Paik's disc on Dante (PSG 9115) and John Ogdon's recital on EMI (Forte CZS5 72652-2). These two discs consist of mixtures of Etudes and Preludes which make good introductions to those who would love to explore Scriabin's works.

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