Peter Jablonski - Scriabin: Complete Symphonies / Piano Concerto, etc (2003)

I have spent a bit of time over the last few days comparing this recently acquired set of the Scriabin Symphonies with a similar set by Riccardo Muti/Philadelphia Orchestra Scriabin: Symphonies 1, 2, 3 (along with several other individual recordings). This has been tough as there are many points to consider and both have their individual strong and weaker moments. At the end, I have decided that this collection conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy gets the nod as the preferred one, though not by much. To begin, both are 3-CD sets, but this Decca release features somewhat more music, including the Piano Concerto (Peter Jablonski, soloist) and the short item "Rêverie" (making this set, basically, Scriabin's comprehensive output for orchestra -- at least all those for which he assigned an opus number, some rare odds and ends are missing; also missing is any trace of the sketches from his final work, "Mysterium", which has been produced for performance by others; see here Scryabin: Universe/Khatchaturian: Piano, or here Scriabin: Preparation for the Final Mystery). Overall, I find the Ashkenazy concepts to be tighter, fleeter, and better held together than the more spacious renderings under Muti. This is particularly noted in "Prometheus-the Poem of Fire" (Symphony No. 5) which gets one of its most stunning performances on disc. "The Divine Poem" (Symphony No. 3) also comes off a notch or two above Muti's, though the differences there are not as large. Both sets have great sound quality, though I find Decca's to be somewhat brighter and more to my liking.