In the midst of beating up on the Scriabin-Nemtin `Humanity' thing, it was
good to hear (on NPR) from the Philips `Great Pianists of the 20th Century'
editor in charge of selecting material for 100 double CDs.  (Sorry, I
didn't catch his name.)

Of all that incredible amount of material, he picked a single performance
as the `best,' the most memorable -- and when he played it, I could see
why.

It's Scriabin's Nocturne for the Left Hand, recorded (on an LP) by Alexis
Weissenberg.  It is, in fact, a heartbreakingly beautiful performance of
a simple, good work, `empowering' it to a higher, glorious level.

Janos Gereben/SF
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