ABSTRACT
Analyses of Alexander Scriabin’s recordings make it abundantly clear just how much the fundamentals of his performing style are incompatible with modern playing. Rhythmic dislocations; incessant tempo shifts, including accelerations during crescendos and approaches to culminations; free chord arpeggiations; and willful changes of the printed text-these qualities are now frowned on, snickered at, and strongly discouraged by piano teachers, music critics, and competition adjudicators alike. Breaking melodic lines under long slurs into a series of short motifs alternating with detached or even staccato notes instead of long melodies marked by uninterrupted legato is practically unheard of today. Modern pianists, with few notable exceptions, apply the pedal far more generously than did pianists of yore, thus drenching articulational finesse, dulling the edges of tone production, and limiting the variety of sound.
