Uploaded August 2009 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Scriabin wrote a rather arch letter to his publisher, Sabaneeff (not Belayeff, my mistake!), that he had written three etudes, ready for publication. He was enjoying himself, for these etudes are not just finger-busters, but fascinating solutions to 3 different problems. Published 1911/12.
No 1, in ninths, he never performed because his hands were too small. Typical Scriabin; dancing around wildly, with long interludes in Venusburg. Note the melodic material is all in the left hand.
No 2 (3:44), in major sevenths, a sinuous and voluptuous melody in the most painful interval.
No 3 (5:25), in fifths, is really a study in sonority, demonstrating that Scriabin's harmonic experiments could accommodate the open intervals.
This performance was created (by me) on a digital keyboard (slowly!), then edited (lots!) and mastered in Digital Performer (MOTU) using Ivory (Synthogy) sound banks.
More at johncasten.com
Scriabin wrote a rather arch letter to his publisher, Sabaneeff (not Belayeff, my mistake!), that he had written three etudes, ready for publication. He was enjoying himself, for these etudes are not just finger-busters, but fascinating solutions to 3 different problems. Published 1911/12.
No 1, in ninths, he never performed because his hands were too small. Typical Scriabin; dancing around wildly, with long interludes in Venusburg. Note the melodic material is all in the left hand.
No 2 (3:44), in major sevenths, a sinuous and voluptuous melody in the most painful interval.
No 3 (5:25), in fifths, is really a study in sonority, demonstrating that Scriabin's harmonic experiments could accommodate the open intervals.
This performance was created (by me) on a digital keyboard (slowly!), then edited (lots!) and mastered in Digital Performer (MOTU) using Ivory (Synthogy) sound banks.
More at johncasten.com
