Scriabin and his two periods

[presto agitato]

As we all know in his first composition period he was very influenced by Chopinīs music.   In his second period, he did revolution the music for piano by developed a new style and a new idiom.


As far as i know every piece that he wrote after 1903 belong to his second period. Is this correct?

What is your favorite piano piece (other than his sonatas) of his second period?



Do you agree?

[superstition2]

Scriabin had at least three major periods: Early, Middle, and Late.

Here's a more detailed, although rough and imperfect, breakdown:

Juvenilia (Romantic). Includes the G# and Eb minor sonatas, and many short pieces.
Early Romantic. Op. 6 to Op. 14. (Op. 2 No. 1 fits here, too.)
Mid Romantic. Op. 15 to Op. 21.
Late Romantic. Op. 22 to Op. 28.

Impressionism/sensuality. Op. 30 to Op. 33 No. 2.
Impetuosity, introspection, increasing abstraction. Op. 33 Nos. 3 and 4 to Op. 45.
Ecstasy (energetic abstraction). Op. 48 to Op. 56.
Introspection, sensuality. Op. 57 to 58.

Impure spirits. Op. 59 to 63.
Purifying light. Op. 64 to Op. 65.
Labyrinth. Op. 66.
Evil. Op. 67 to Op. 69.
Infinity. Op. 70 to Op. 71.
Apocalypse. Op. 72 to Op. 73.
Post apocalypse. Op. 74.

(Op. 60 is difficult to classify. It falls well within the late period, however.)

[quantum]

Scriabin had at least three major periods: Early, Middle, and Late.

Here's a more detailed, although rough and imperfect, breakdown:

Juvenilia (Romantic). Includes the G# and Eb minor sonatas, and many short pieces.
Early Romantic. Op. 6 to Op. 14. (Op. 2 No. 1 fits here, too.)
Mid Romantic. Op. 15 to Op. 21.
Late Romantic. Op. 22 to Op. 28.

Impressionism/sensuality. Op. 30 to Op. 33 No. 2.
Impetuosity, introspection, increasing abstraction. Op. 33 Nos. 3 and 4 to Op. 45.
Ecstasy (energetic abstraction). Op. 48 to Op. 56.
Introspection, sensuality. Op. 57 to 58.

Impure spirits. Op. 59 to 63.
Purifying light. Op. 64 to Op. 65.
Labyrinth. Op. 66.
Evil. Op. 67 to Op. 69.
Infinity. Op. 70 to Op. 71.
Apocalypse. Op. 72 to Op. 73.
Post apocalypse. Op. 74.

(Op. 60 is difficult to classify. It falls well within the late period, however.)

Is this your personal interpretation of how the pieces are classified?

[prometheus]

Yes, his music is cataloged in three periods by most (all?) scolars on the subject. Read "The development of harmony in Scriabin's works' by Pater Sabbagh.

[superstition2]

Is this your personal interpretation of how the pieces are classified?

Yes. I have all of Scriabin's piano works in Apple lossless in iTunes. I quickly went through them to create my rough breakdown. Some of them, like the sonatas, I didn't need to sample, because I have them memorized. I didn't consider the orchestral works as much, although the Poem of Ecstasy fits well with my breakdown. Prometheus is a bit more difficult to classify. It has elements of a number of the categories I listed in the late period. Also, some of the pieces overlap a bit, and there can be throwbacks, which is why I said my breakdown is rough. It's also difficult to assign idea-based categories to some of the late period pieces, like the 8th sonata.

[jwebbb]

I wish you could download the Poemes here as well as the Etudes and Preludes. My favorite pieces of Scriabin are Opus 59 no. 2 (prelude) and Opus 69 no 2 (Poeme). Vers La Flamme is fantastic. Scriabin was a wonderful composer. For me, he is on a par with what Mahler did for the orchestra, though of course Scriabin's pieces are miniature in comparison. A much more interesting composer than Rachmaninoff. Some pianist I met called Rachmaninnoff's music a cheap thrill. I would not go that far, but I think Scriabin certainly goes deeper.

[pianowolfi]

I wish you could download the Poemes here as well as the Etudes and Preludes. My favorite pieces of Scriabin are Opus 59 no. 2 (prelude) and Opus 69 no 2 (Poeme). Vers La Flamme is fantastic. Scriabin was a wonderful composer. For me, he is on a par with what Mahler did for the orchestra, though of course Scriabin's pieces are miniature in comparison. A much more interesting composer than Rachmaninoff. Some pianist I met called Rachmaninnoff's music a cheap thrill. I would not go that far, but I think Scriabin certainly goes deeper.

Those two go equally deep in their own respective way. They were musically "raised" like brothers under the tution of Zverev, and of course they might have temporally experienced certain rivaling sentiments towards each other, but after all I think they might be much more brothers than we tend to assume.

[pianoplayjl]

I don't know much about his music, except that most of his music is atonal. I feel that Scrabin put most of his out put into his 2nd period. the piece that I like from his 2nd movement is op 43 no 5. I might listen to one of his later sonatas.

[chrismerrill1974]

I love the Op 65 Etudes.  Each is quite different and spectacular in its own way.