Gieseking plays… Scriabin
A man with a past. Those were the words used as the headline of an article about pianist Walter Gieseking’s controversial concerts at Carnegie Hall in the spring of 1953. Just four years earlier, he had been compelled to cancel his American tour in the face of fierce protests. During the Second World War, Gieseking had been a leading musician in Nazi Germany, performing in occupied territories and serving the purposes of Goebbels’s Ministry of Propaganda. Though never officially a member of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), his wartime record continued to haunt him.
Today, however, the focus is on a different aspect of Gieseking: his remarkable pianistic talent. He became particularly celebrated for his interpretations of Debussy and Ravel, but in this programme we hear him in a less familiar repertoire: the music of Alexander Scriabin.
A fascinating portrait of two uncompromising musical personalities: Scriabin, the visionary composer, and Gieseking, the pianist with a past equally fascinating and troubling.
Programme details:
Alexander Scriabin:
- 24 Preludes, Op. 11
- 4 Morceaux, Op. 51
- Sonata No. 5, Op. 53
- Sonata No. 7, ‘White Mass’, Op. 64
- Sonata No. 9, ‘Black Mass’, Op. 68
- Poème, Op. 32 No. 1 in F-sharp major
Walter Gieseking – piano
