Scriabin Piano Concerto / New Rep.

[bachrach]

Hi,

I've been playing piano on and off for many years and I would consider myself an advanced pianist. Right now I am minoring in music at college but I plan on possibly majoring in composition. I really want to learn Scriabin's Piano Concerto but this would be my first piano concerto. I don't know a whole lot about it because not very many people play it, or even know about it! Can anyone describe the difficulties of this piece? I think I might learn the first movement to begin with. Also, because this is my first piano concerto, I was looking for advice on the best way to tackle it. I know it will take a lot of preparation but any comments will be helpful! I would say my technical skills are about average for my level, but I am determined to learn the piece despite the difficulties. Also if you have any other recommendations on pieces I can learn please post them. Right now I am about halfway through Chopin's Ballade No. 4 and I'm also learning the Fugue in f minor in the WTC II by Bach. I haven't played anything by Ravel or Liszt yet but I'm open to anything!

Thanks!

[nanabush]

You should maybe look at some other Scriabin as well (or first!). 

-Op 2 #1, or the select few etudes from Op 8 and Op 42 that aren't batsh*t crazy.

-Preludes... check them out. Some of the coolest pieces.

-Movement from a sonata?  Or at least listen through his sonatas, familiarize with his progression (the first 3 sonatas in a set, 4-5 kind of pivoting towards 6-7-8-9-10 which are totally demented.. in a good way)


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I worked on Rach 2 (just first movement... hopefully doing 2 and 3 this year), and my teacher's biggest concern was that I would/would not cut through the orchestra in the mp-mf moments.  The fortissimos were great, but it's more difficult to gauge how loud or soft you should be playing... the worst spot was when the Eb theme returns and you have to play triplets... and there's quite a bit going on.  It just has to resonate so well without pounding the heck out of the piano.

Also, learn the orchestral part!  Understand what exactly they are playing at what moments; find a good recording as well.  And study it with a teacher.

If you've done any chamber or collaborative music, that's a bit of a bonus. 

[bachrach]

Thanks for all the tips! I've been listening to Scriabin for the last few weeks so I have a pretty good idea of his style. As far as learning the piece, do you have any specific tips for this piano concerto? I've never really played with an orchestra before, and probably won't for at least a few years. I would assume its just like any other piece except that you have to worry about the orchestra as well. Has anyone else learned this piece?