Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Performed by Stephen Coombs.
I - Andante - Allegro vivace - Un poco meno vivo - A tempo: 0:00
Scriabin's Piano Sonata-Fantaisie (not to be confused with his Piano Sonata No.2) was composed in 1886, written while under the tutelage of Russian pianist Nikolai Zverev. Apparently it was heard by Scriabin's friends actor Leonid Limontov and fellow pianist Emil Rozenov. However, we don't know when and by whom the work was premiered in public.
The sonata is dedicated to Natalya Sekerina, with whom Scriabin had an infatuated love. They met in autumn of 1892 and Scriabin fell in love, writing numerous love letters from then until 1895, when she turned down his proposal of marriage. By her own account, this was because of parental disapproval and feelings of inadequacy, despite their mutual love. The letters were rediscovered only after the composer's death in 1922. Written in a single movement, the sonata is one of the most ambitious of Scriabin's juvenilia, not being published until 1940, 25 years after Scriabin's death.
The sonata is decidedly more sophisticated than his earlier work. The demands he makes on the performer are considerable, the score featuring massive chords with stretches of up to a twelfth, as well as single-hand scale passages in tenths, which he himself must only have been able to execute with a degree of artifice, for his hands were so small he could barely stretch a ninth. The influence of Chopin is clearly perceptible, as the work was written at the time in Scriabin’s life when he fell in love with Chopin’s music and would go to sleep with a volume of Chopin under his pillow.
Structured in sonata form, the work begins with a substantial andante introduction in ternary form (A-B-A). A melodic theme in G-sharp minor, full of romantic expression is introduced, rooted on a three-note motive (B-A#-G#). It briefly unfolds before returning to the very opening phrases. The main allegro starts with a rhythmic and Chopinesque main theme in G-sharp minor, followed by a graceful and mazurka-like second theme in B major, also built on a three-note motive. The ensuing development is an artful synthesis of the material, motifs from the introduction and the recurring sixteenth accompaniment figures. Its broken tenths in the left hand and the polyphony in the treble creates some very original sonorities for the time. After a dramatic climax, the main theme is recapitulated in the home key of G-sharp minor, while second is in G-sharp major (enharmonically equivalent key of A-flat major). The sonata ends with a rather melancholic diminuendo coda, with a final reminiscence of the three-note motive of the introduction.
Picture: "Golden Autumn" (1886) by the Russian painter Ilya Ostroukhov.
Sources: tinyurl.com/24cd8md3, tinyurl.com/2ayzwbpa and tinyurl.com/22x6wo56
To check the score: tinyurl.com/2ydylcn4
Performed by Stephen Coombs.
I - Andante - Allegro vivace - Un poco meno vivo - A tempo: 0:00
Scriabin's Piano Sonata-Fantaisie (not to be confused with his Piano Sonata No.2) was composed in 1886, written while under the tutelage of Russian pianist Nikolai Zverev. Apparently it was heard by Scriabin's friends actor Leonid Limontov and fellow pianist Emil Rozenov. However, we don't know when and by whom the work was premiered in public.
The sonata is dedicated to Natalya Sekerina, with whom Scriabin had an infatuated love. They met in autumn of 1892 and Scriabin fell in love, writing numerous love letters from then until 1895, when she turned down his proposal of marriage. By her own account, this was because of parental disapproval and feelings of inadequacy, despite their mutual love. The letters were rediscovered only after the composer's death in 1922. Written in a single movement, the sonata is one of the most ambitious of Scriabin's juvenilia, not being published until 1940, 25 years after Scriabin's death.
The sonata is decidedly more sophisticated than his earlier work. The demands he makes on the performer are considerable, the score featuring massive chords with stretches of up to a twelfth, as well as single-hand scale passages in tenths, which he himself must only have been able to execute with a degree of artifice, for his hands were so small he could barely stretch a ninth. The influence of Chopin is clearly perceptible, as the work was written at the time in Scriabin’s life when he fell in love with Chopin’s music and would go to sleep with a volume of Chopin under his pillow.
Structured in sonata form, the work begins with a substantial andante introduction in ternary form (A-B-A). A melodic theme in G-sharp minor, full of romantic expression is introduced, rooted on a three-note motive (B-A#-G#). It briefly unfolds before returning to the very opening phrases. The main allegro starts with a rhythmic and Chopinesque main theme in G-sharp minor, followed by a graceful and mazurka-like second theme in B major, also built on a three-note motive. The ensuing development is an artful synthesis of the material, motifs from the introduction and the recurring sixteenth accompaniment figures. Its broken tenths in the left hand and the polyphony in the treble creates some very original sonorities for the time. After a dramatic climax, the main theme is recapitulated in the home key of G-sharp minor, while second is in G-sharp major (enharmonically equivalent key of A-flat major). The sonata ends with a rather melancholic diminuendo coda, with a final reminiscence of the three-note motive of the introduction.
Picture: "Golden Autumn" (1886) by the Russian painter Ilya Ostroukhov.
Sources: tinyurl.com/24cd8md3, tinyurl.com/2ayzwbpa and tinyurl.com/22x6wo56
To check the score: tinyurl.com/2ydylcn4
