At first glance, it appears to be an incongruous combination, with the interwoven piano works of Domenico Scarlatti and Aleksandr Skrjabin, but of course the German pianist Julius Asal (*1997) has thought carefully about it for his debut album. He has - it is crystal clear - brought those two completely different worlds together in an inventive and unique way in an unsurpassed manner. What flows from both the carefully chosen structure and - as can be heard - two concert grand pianos that differ considerably in sound, the choice depending on what the pianist is working with here: Skrjabin (darker, with more sonority) or Scarlatti (lighter, more transparent in tone). In the liner notes, I strangely found nothing about it.
The opening and closing fragment on this cd is not, as I read in a review elsewhere, the fourth movement from Skrjabin's Piano Sonata in f, op. 6, but merely the brief 'Quasi niente' from it, here in the dual role of prologue (shaped somewhat differently by Asal with respect to the original shown below) and epilogue (according to the printed score).
This 'almost nothing' should be played as softly as possible: pppp. It returns again, but this time without Asal's intervention, in the middle section of this recital, forming part of the closing section in the complete performance of the sonata (1. Allegro con fuoco; 2. [Adagio]; 3. Presto; 4. Funebre).
A connecting and logical element is the keys, with where the transition between the pieces would have led to a considerable and undesirable gap in style or emotion, the 'transitions' designed by the pianist himself.
Asal wanted to 'model' the program as a whole fluidly. This also explains why the varying characteristics of these pieces not only provide the necessary additional contrast, but also that they are both naturally embedded and have an adventurous execution: alternately contemplative, furious, warm-lyrical, dance-like, rhythmically pregnant, even mystical. In short, it is a performance of considerable stature from this young pianist.
This way of programming (or rather: interwoven with each other) means that the pieces individually know how to continually strengthen each other, with the exquisite transitions designed by Asal serving as bridging intermezzos. This is accompanied by equally magnificent piano playing in every respect: Asal proves himself not only a great virtuoso, but also a wonderful interpreter who seems to have assumed the role of extremely musical storyteller with ease and full conviction. The recording is equally brilliant.
A very special recital that deserves to be followed, if only because it breaks the deeply entrenched conventions in the programming of concerts and musical recordings. Of course, it should then be put together in an equally ingenious way!