The 89 Preludes in Scriabinâs output illustrate his unique artistic evolution. The 24 Preludes Op. 11, dating from 1888, are clearly in the Romantic tradition and show much influence from Chopin and Liszt, although Scriabinâs own unique voice can already be discerned. The five sets Opp. 31, 33, 35, 37 and 39 were all written in the remarkably productive year of 1903, when Scriabin was moving ever closer toward atonality, while his personal life was marked by the deepening complexity of his theosophical ponderings. The extremely concentrated Five Preludes, Op. 74, of 1914 were among Scriabinâs very last works. By this time he was a radically changed musician, on the doorstep of complete atonality and, to his own mind, the representative of divine creative force in an increasingly complex mystical world-view.
