difficulty of late Sctiabin?

[pianoville]

What are your thooughts on the late works by Scriabin such as the sonatas, vers la flamme or the preludes op. 74? Are any of those pieces within my range? I have never played Scriabin before and the biggest pieces i am working on are Chopin Fantaisie op. 49, etude op. 25 no 6 and Mendelssohn piano concerto in g minor. I have also played Debussys pour le piano which I won a competition with.

[outin]

What are your thooughts on the late works by Scriabin such as the sonatas, vers la flamme or the preludes op. 74? Are any of those pieces within my range? I have never played Scriabin before and the biggest pieces i am working on are Chopin Fantaisie op. 49, etude op. 25 no 6 and Mendelssohn piano concerto in g minor. I have also played Debussys pour le piano which I won a competition with.

I would start with op 74. Lovely pieces and not too long. I kept putting off Scriabin because I thought I wasn't ready but when I finally did take on a few preludes I noticed that the difficulties are more for the brain than the hands. You play much harder music than me so go for it. It's just different to most other music so it takes a while to get into it.

The sonatas are another story...maybe you are ready, I certainly am not and probably will never be.

And beware, you may get totally sucked into his grazy world 

[ahinton]

I would start with op 74. Lovely pieces and not too long. I kept putting off Scriabin because I thought I wasn't ready but when I finally did take on a few preludes I noticed that the difficulties are more for the brain than the hands. You play much harder music than me so go for it. It's just different to most other music so it takes a while to get into it.

The sonatas are another story...maybe you are ready, I certainly am not and probably will never be.

And beware, you may get totally sucked into his grazy world 

"Crazy" world? I don't think so. One replete with unusual and wildly exotic fantasy, undoubtedly, but in the music of Scriabin's final years there's nothing remotely woolly-minded; his thinking is highly disciplined and the results of it as precisely and carefully thought out as anything in Chopin. Difficulties? Well, the Eighth and Tenth sonatas certainly have an abundance of those, especially in the glistening fragmented shards that characterise the passages near the close of each and which are especially hard to bring off successfully.

As a means of  acquiring familiarity with Scriabin's later manner, I actually wouldn't begin with the Op. 74 Preludes; these, his last completed work, seem to suggest that the composer had arrived at what needed to be some kind of turning point and, although there's sadly no evidence as to the direction which he might have gone had he even survived to the age of, say, 50, these Preludes might imply some loosening of his dependence on variants of the so-called "mystic chord" that had infused so much of his work from the point at which the potent influence of Chopin (which never quite left him, I think) had begun to become less prevalent. I would therefore recommend the Op. 74 Preludes to those already familiar with Scriabin's creative trajectory up to the point of their composition.

Scriabin's later music is a rich treasure trove of wonders to explore and exerted considerable influence at one time or another upon some of his compatriots including Lourié, Obuhow, Stravinsky (briefly) and, perhaps most significantly, Roslavets, as well as upon Szymanowski in Poland and (Cyril) Scott in England; even his elder contemporary Busoni, who largely inhabited a very different sound world, thought very highly of some of this work, most especially the Ninth Sonata.

Best,

Alistair

[pianoville]

Thank you ahinton! If not the preludes, which work would you recommend to start with?

[ahinton]

Thank you ahinton! If not the preludes, which work would you recommend to start with?

Not the Op. 74 ones until you're more familiar with Scriabin's later language and manner, but you could try Poème-Nocturne, Op. 61, Deux Poèmes, Op. 63 (Masque & Étrangeté), Deux Poèmes, Op. 69, Deux Poèmes, Op. 71, Deux Préludes, Opus 67 (Andante & Presto) and then perhaps Deux Danses, Op. 73 (Guirlandes & Flammes sombres); it's not that the Op. 74 Préludes are especially difficult to play, but they'll probably make more sense to you after you've traversed at least some of the above.

Best,

Alistair

[outin]

As a means of  acquiring familiarity with Scriabin's later manner, I actually wouldn't begin with the Op. 74 Preludes; these, his last completed work, seem to suggest that the composer had arrived at what needed to be some kind of turning point and, although there's sadly no evidence as to the direction which he might have gone had he even survived to the age of, say, 50, these Preludes might imply some loosening of his dependence on variants of the so-called "mystic chord" that had infused so much of his work from the point at which the potent influence of Chopin (which never quite left him, I think) had begun to become less prevalent. I would therefore recommend the Op. 74 Preludes to those already familiar with Scriabin's creative trajectory up to the point of their composition.

I guess I assumed that the op is already as familiar with his music as I was before trying to play it...Those pieces totally made sense to me at once

[pianoville]

Not the Op. 74 ones until you're more familiar with Scriabin's later language and manner, but you could try Poème-Nocturne, Op. 61, Deux Poèmes, Op. 63 (Masque & Étrangeté), Deux Poèmes, Op. 69, Deux Poèmes, Op. 71, Deux Préludes, Opus 67 (Andante & Presto) and then perhaps Deux Danses, Op. 73 (Guirlandes & Flammes sombres); it's not that the Op. 74 Préludes are especially difficult to play, but they'll probably make more sense to you after you've traversed at least some of the above.

Best,

Alistair

          op. 74 actually makes very much sense to me! But maybe I have interpreted them wrong!

[ahinton]

op. 74 actually makes very much sense to me! But maybe I have interpreted them wrong!

They made sense to me from the word go as well (but that that's hardly the point, because I'm not a pianist!). If the OP's already familiar as a listener with the sound world of Scriabin's later music and with how it grew out of his earlier work, then no exception needs to be made for Op. 74; if not, however, what I wrote above pertains, I think.

Best,

Alistair

[pianoville]

They made sense to me from the word go as well (but that that's hardly the point, because I'm not a pianist!). If the OP's already familiar as a listener with the sound world of Scriabin's later music and with how it grew out of his earlier work, then no exception needs to be made for Op. 74; if not, however, what I wrote above pertains, I think.

Best,

Alistair

      Sonata 9 doesn't sound that compclicated. Is that a good entré point to scriabin?

[ahinton]

Sonata 9 doesn't sound that compclicated. Is that a good entré point to scriabin?

It's probably as good as any but I got the distinct impression the the OP was more concerned to have recommendations for miniatures (not that any of Scriabin's sonatas are particularly long, of course).

By the way, it would be good to have the composer's name spelt correctly in the thread topic rather than maintaining the typo.

Best,

Alistair

[pianoville]

It's probably as good as any but I got the distinct impression the the OP was more concerned to have recommendations for miniatures (not that any of Scriabin's sonatas are particularly long, of course).

By the way, it would be good to have the composer's name spelt correctly in the thread topic rather than maintaining the typo.

Best,

Alistair

    Well no. I am interested in every scriabin piece not just small pieces. If you have any suggestions for a major late work by Scriabin than tell me!

[ahinton]

    Well no. I am interested in every scriabin piece not just small pieces. If you have any suggestions for a major late work by Scriabin than tell me!

Well, in many ways, the Eighth Sonata is the most ambitious of the composer's late piano works but it presumes large hands and parts of it are quite notoriously difficult; for example, there's a passage in semiquavers (16th notes) in fourths that crops up many times and it's very tricky to articulate satisfactorily, so be warned!

Best,

Alistair

[pianoville]

Well, in many ways, the Eighth Sonata is the most ambitious of the composer's late piano works but it presumes large hands and parts of it are quite notoriously difficult; for example, there's a passage in semiquavers (16th notes) in fourths that crops up many times and it's very tricky to articulate satisfactorily, so be warned!

Best,

Alistair

   Hm... I think sonata 8 mught be a bit too ambitious but I might actually do sonata 9. That piece is very beautiful and not very difficult. But I will definitely play sonata 8 in the future!

[jeffok]

AHinton mentioned the Poeme-Nocturne (Op. 61). This is a superb example of Scriabin's late style and although it is tough (some complex textures), it serves as a good "halfway house" between the miniatures and the sonatas. With a few exceptions, this piece used to be largely neglected by many pianists but now seems to be receiving recognition as one of his finest late works on a medium scale.

jeff ok

[diomedes]

9th sonata is not difficult if you want something big. There are a poemes after op.60 other than the flammes sombre that are not demanding, very short and gives an idea how he distributes harmony pianistically.