Hello forum!

Need some help to discover Scriabin, i just started look through he's music. There is, as many ive heard i don't find very pleasing. But there are some who are real gems it seems like. I really liked he's Opus.2 No.1 and Opus.11 No.12 but i need some help to find some pretty sounding pieces from the composer.
Ive would be glad to have a hand to help me to discover some of he's music because for me it seems like he has so much music to look through!
I would be glad if the pieces weren't to hard neither , probaly from the range Chopin's Nocturne No.20 to Johann Sebastians Bach Contrapunctus.1

Regards,

This is a little challenging but maybe it'll make you laugh.
(Don't worry, folks, it's not me.)

Good stuff to start listening to:

Preludes op.11, especially nos. 1,2,3,9,10,11,12,13 (a few of my favourites, not excessively hard either).

2nd and 3rd sonatas - probably the more accessible stuff, though his 9th sonata isn't that difficult to get around (compared to his other late works). You can also try his B minor fantasie, the second theme is really really beautiful.

Vers la Flamme is also quite accessible...it might sound weird, but it's got melodic direction that other pieces don't really have.

You can also listen to some of the more famous etudes: there's already op.2 no.1, but don't forget nos. 5,9,11,12 from op.8, and op. 42 no.5 (my favourite etude!).

Finally, don't forget to check out his piano concerto, I'm not a huge fan of it yet, but others can vouch for how good it sounds.


So those are the most accessible works to listen to, but in terms of playability...well there's the little prelude op. 16 no.4 in E flat minor which is easy but very moving....and then a few preludes which are playable. But the majority is insanely difficult.

Sorry, but how can you say the 4th sonata is not accessible? The ashkenazy recording of it is amazing

I found something really beautifull- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFjieJmSY-M
Some of the better things ive heard-

Try his Prelude and Nocturne for the Left Hand Alone, Op 9, Nos 1 and 2. The Nocturne is particularly beautiful.

Regards,

Out of his "weird" sonatas (aka 5 and beyond), 5 and 9 are easiest to listen to IMO. 6,7,8,10 are slightly harder to appreciate.

And 2,3,4 are all very easy to appreciate. 2 in particular...when I play it non-musical people think it's really pretty!

I get some good comments from people when I practice the 5th too, I think Scriabin is that composer that you think people won't appreciate but his music is probably better received than you think it will be.

No love for the first sonata? I think the first movement is fantastically ferocious.

All of the preludes and poems are fantastic, even the "weirdo mystic" period ones. I find his later works to be the most interesting, but I inferred form you post that you don't like his unique brand of dissonance.

I always thought the 10th sonata was somewhat less crazy than some of the others, so you should check that out, and hopefully you'll learn to love Scriabin's later style of composition. He's truly a maverick.

The second piano sonata is really lovely, and definitely accessible! I read that it's meant to be about the ocean...the first movement evoking a calm evening at the seashore, the second movement being the sea in a storm. Scriabin was synesthetic and the first movement ends in E major, which was a pale blue/white for him - representing moonlight. I find that knowing this stuff tends to make it a lot easier for me to get into pieces!

I also LOVE the concerto - especially the second movement. It's very romantic!

Great point, the story behind the composer/piece is often as interesting as a piece itself! I especially love Scriabin's own comments about his sonatas. He used to say the Sixth was "unclean," refused to perform it in public, and apparently shuddered if he played even a few measures of it.

The piano concerto. Ashkenazy.

Sorry chaps ... couldn’t help cracking up at the comment of didyou getthatthing ...
on the Scriabin Sonata 2 Opus 19 opening movement

which read
“the first movement evoking a calm evening at the seashore” ...
IMHO more like the sinking of the Titanic!!

Having just played the first 10 measures of the Scriabin Sonata ... both my dogs started to howl!! ... well yes ... my playing is a bit ropey ... but why does the chappie have to peddle his strident gloom with ne’ry a sign of gentle relief ... and all in a crackpot key with 6 sharps?

[i]But what a treat coming from Mark C[/i] ... many thanks for his reference to Scriabin’s MosquitoOpus 42 no. 3 (3 pages) ... but at a hellish Prestissimo pace ... I’m presently breaking my fingers trying to match his brilliant imitation of the zizz-ing insect .

PS We’re coming to the end of our rainy period in Pretoria ... and can look forward to some 6 winter months of clear blue skies without sign of those dreaded blood-sucking pests.

+1

I didn't write that, only quoted the person that did!

One of my favorite works by Scriabin is Poeme op. 32 no. 2:

Seriously? I completely disagree I usually don't get "images" or anything and I feel silly writing this but the first movement makes me think of looking out at the sea during twilight/dusk from a distance, waves apparently gently rolling. Second movement is night, riding right on the rough waves.

Op. 11 preludes..... sooooooooooooo amazing.

those will be an upcoming project for me. yay!

The Op. 11 preludes are great indeed.
I am currently playing Op. 11 No. 10. Nice little piece and not too difficult. With some lovely mood changes.

The Op. 8 etudes are great too (and everything else, obviously!).
Most of the Op. 8 Etudes seem very hard, but what about this one:

Played wonderfully by none other than...

some more beautiful gentle pieces:

Poem op.32/1 got me started, when I was 14 or so and I was hooked, for ever.

Hmmm, op. 8 no. 2 is REALLY malevolently beautiful, and not nearly as difficult as other Scriabin, even others in that set of etudes.

Hi Hermanberntzen, how are you?

Some very nice recommendations on here. I would also suggest this piece, nicely played by Vladimir Horowitz:



Only about a page long and not terribly difficult. Enjoy!

Oh yeah, that piece is great. Though the articulation and rhythms make it different. I like Pogorelich on it, and I heard a recording of Horowitz, which left me bewildered. It was excessively neurotic, and the articulation was...emphasized a lot. I dunno, I'll take another listen I guess..

Im fine Vers la Flan.. A nice gem you linked there! Ive liked many of youre suggestions.. I learned a Scriabian piece opus.16 No.4 and small little piece.. Probaly at the same grade as Chopin's Fourth Prelude!

Regards,

I've been fiddling w/ these preludes recently:

Op13, No3, Gmaj; imo the easiest to learn, i played and loved this one as a kid, revisiting it last year got me hooked

Op16, No2, Bmaj; more challenging, but very enjoyable and fun to play

Op11, No9, Emaj; for me this was easier to learn, I have played it 100+ times and still find it fascinating

Op11, No4, Emin; again, not too difficult, but fascinating, I think my favorite at this time.

All are avail on IMLP