Alexander Scriabin
Poems and Miniatures

About Alexander Scriabin's Poems and Miniatures

With the Two Poems, Op. 32, Scriabin launched a long list of compositions in this new genre. Dmitri Alexeev writes that "it is plausible to indeed see nearly every composition of his as a poem – poetic content is the essence of his music". He extended the title not only to his miniatures, but also to great symphonic works like the Third Symphony, with the subtitle the Divine Poem, or Prometheus – Poem of Fire.

In the same epoch-making year of 1903, Scriabin produced his Fourth Sonata and several other works, including the Poème Tragique Op.34, the Poème Satanique Op.36, and the Poème Op. 41. Poème tragique is one of the most distinctive works of Scriabin’s mature period. It can be hard to grasp the tragedy, but it's easy to sense that grand events are going on. Poème satanique ushers in a new programmatic realm of Scriabin's creativity. The piece is apparently meant to represent the devil laughing at love. According to the composer himself: “Everything in it is hypocritical and false”.

The very names of many of these sophisticated miniatures suggest that we are entering a strange new world: Poème fantastique, Fragilité, Poème ailé, Danse languide, Énigme, Ironies, Étrangeté... In Énigme, for example, the composer saw something akin to a ‘winged, slight being - part woman, part insect'.

Some of Scriabin's very last works belong to this collection – the Two Poems Op.71, the poem Vers la flamme, and the Two Dances Op.73. Here, Scriabin’s application of his harmonic and rhythmic systems becomes all the more intricate, and the texture more ethereal. Guirlandes brings crystal figurations – a kind of ‘music of the spheres’. Flammes sombres has the same dark imagery as the Poeme satanique and the Ninth Sonata. Finally, the undisputed masterpiece Vers la Flamme, ‘Towards the Flame’, notorious for its difficulty and the physical demands it places on the performer, describes the world’s inexorable slide toward death and destruction by fire.

ID:307
Preview TitleKey Year Level
Poème Op. 32 No. 1 in F-sharp Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAB Poème Op. 32 No. 119 F-sharp Major 1903 8+
Poème Op. 32 No. 2 in D Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAC Poème Op. 32 No. 27 D Major 1903 8+
Poème tragique Op. 34 in B-flat Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAD Poème tragique Op. 34 33 B-flat Major 1903 8+
Poème satanique Op. 36 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAE Poème satanique Op. 36 N/A 1903 8+
Poème Op. 41 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAF Poème Op. 41 N/A 1904 8+
Poème Op. 44 No. 1 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAG Poème Op. 44 No. 1 N/A 1904 8
Poème Op. 44 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAH Poème Op. 44 No. 2 N/A 1904 8
Feuillet d'album Op. 45 No. 1 in E-flat Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAI Feuillet d'album Op. 45 No. 111 E-flat Major 1905 7
Poème fantasque Op. 45 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAJ Poème fantasque Op. 45 No. 2 N/A 1905 8+
Scherzo Op. 46 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAK Scherzo Op. 46 N/A 1905 8+
Quasi Valse Op. 47 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAL Quasi Valse Op. 47 N/A 1905 8+
Rêverie Op. 49 No. 3 in C Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAM Rêverie Op. 49 No. 31 C Major 1905 8
Fragilité Op. 51 No. 1 in E-flat Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAN Fragilité Op. 51 No. 111 E-flat Major 1906 8+
Poème ailé Op. 51 No. 3 in B Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAO Poème ailé Op. 51 No. 335 B Major 1906 8+
Danse languide Op. 51 No. 4 in G Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAP Danse languide Op. 51 No. 423 G Major 1906 8
Poéme Op. 52 No. 1 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAQ Poéme Op. 52 No. 1 N/A 1907 8+
Énigme Op. 52 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAR Énigme Op. 52 No. 2 N/A 1907 8+
Poème languide Op. 52 No. 3 in B Major by Scriabin piano sheet music AAS Poème languide Op. 52 No. 335 B Major 1907 8
Ironies Op. 56 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAT Ironies Op. 56 No. 2 N/A 1908 8+
Nuances Op. 56 No. 3 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAU Nuances Op. 56 No. 3 N/A 1908 8
Désir Op. 57 No. 1 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAV Désir Op. 57 No. 1 N/A 1908 8
Caresse dansée Op. 57 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAW Caresse dansée Op. 57 No. 2 N/A 1908 7
Feuillet d'album Op. 58 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAX Feuillet d'album Op. 58 N/A 1910 8
Poème Op. 59 No. 1 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAY Poème Op. 59 No. 1 N/A 1911 8
Poème-Nocturne Op. 61 by Scriabin piano sheet music AAZ Poème-Nocturne Op. 61 N/A 1911 8
Masque - Poème Op. 63 No. 1 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABA Masque - Poème Op. 63 No. 1 N/A 1912 7
Étrangeté - Poème Op. 63 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABB Étrangeté - Poème Op. 63 No. 2 N/A 1912 8
Poème Op. 69 No. 1 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABC Poème Op. 69 No. 1 N/A 1913 8
Poème Op. 69 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABD Poème Op. 69 No. 2 N/A 1913 8+
Poème Op. 71 No. 1 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABE Poème Op. 71 No. 1 N/A 1914 8+
Poème Op. 71 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABF Poème Op. 71 No. 2 N/A 1914 8
Vers la flamme - Poème Op. 72 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABG Vers la flamme - Poème Op. 72 N/A 1914 8+
Guirlandes Op. 73 No. 1 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABH Guirlandes Op. 73 No. 1 N/A 1914 8+
Flammes sombres Op. 73 No. 2 by Scriabin piano sheet music ABI Flammes sombres Op. 73 No. 2 N/A 1914 8+
Monighetti's Album Leaf WoO 17 in A-flat Major by Scriabin piano sheet music ABJ Monighetti's Album Leaf WoO 1727 A-flat Major 1889 7
Album Leaf WoO 25 in F-sharp Major by Scriabin piano sheet music ABK Album Leaf WoO 2519 F-sharp Major 1905 8