Kar-Ming Chong wrote:

>John Bell Young wrote:
>
>>Nor should one ignore Richter's phenomonal contributions here - though
>>reretably, he never recorded them all.
>
>Richter has recorded Scriabin's 12 Etudes in the 60s (?), which can be
>found in the Melodiya Richter's Edition (10 CD edition?).

Though Richter did record various Scriabin etudes throughout his career,
your statement here, juxtaposed with my own comments, is misleading, in
that it suggests, by the way it is phrased (though this may not be what you
meant at all) that Scriabin composed only 12 etudes, and thus, that Richter
recorded them all.

Not so, Scriabin wrote several sets, including the 12 etudes Op. 8; the 8
etudes, Op. 42; 3 etudes op. 65; and several brief etudes, such as the
early Op. 2 no 1; he charming Op. 49: no 1 and Op 56 no. 4.  The
recording to which you refer, Melodiya 29460, which is part of the BMG
Richter Edition in fact includes only an assortment of etudes from Op. 8,
Op. 42, as well as Op. 2 no 1, and the complete Op 65.  There I am
unaware of a complete set of any particular opus of the Scriabin etudes
recorded by Richter, withthe exception of Op. 65, if you have specific
information to the contrary I would certainly like to know about it.  I
never came across such a recording in all the time I've spent in Russia,
nor anywhere else.  I am inclined to think that he recorded only some of
the Op. 8 etudes, along with others that collectively added up to 12.  It
would be gratifying to discover otherwise, so if you have explicit details,
by all means, do let me know.  Even in my extensive collection of Richter
discs - both studio and live - nothing of the sort is extant.  What's more,
Of particular interest, by the way, is a recording on the Music and Arts
label of a Scriabin recital he gave in Warsaw that includes several etudes.

John Bell Young