Prelude Op. 11 No. 10 (Scriabin)
Encyclopedia
Alexander Scriabin
's Prelude Op. 11 No. 10 is in C sharp minor. It is 20 bars long and takes under a minute and a half to play. It is marked at Andante. It has two sections of mysterious major seventh intervals and tritone
harmonies, split up by a lyrical E Major section. Like many of Scriabin's slower pieces, it is played very rubato.
The first section is, as mentioned, very mysterious, as Scriabin employs many tritones and seventh intervals which do not fall into the key of C minor. The first 8 bars feature modulations to D sharp minor and F sharp minor. The ninth bar, marked con anima, introduces an E major melody using more conventional harmonies, but the piece only delves yet again deeper into the depths of the mystery four bars later. Here, marked fortississimo, the initial melody comes out in full force using the broad tessitura
scope of the piano. At the seventeenth bar, the piece calms to quiet block chords of F minor, C minor-7, and B major-9 (without the bass B), finally resolving to an arpeggiated final C minor chord, reminiscent of the ninth prelude immediately preceding this one. This shows Scriabin's ability to find commonality in his most diverse works.
This Prelude, together with No. 9
in E major, can be played as neo-romantic, impressionistic, and twentieth-century repertoire in a Royal Conservatory of Music
grade nine exam.
One of the critically acclaimed performances of this piece is that of Mikhail Pletnev
on his disc Scriabin: 24 Preludes/Sonatas 4 & 10. Another is the 1956 recording by Vladimir Horowitz
found the RCA/Victor issue "Horowitz Plays Scriabin."
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
's Prelude Op. 11 No. 10 is in C sharp minor. It is 20 bars long and takes under a minute and a half to play. It is marked at Andante. It has two sections of mysterious major seventh intervals and tritone
Tritone
In classical music from Western culture, the tritone |tone]]) is traditionally defined as a musical interval composed of three whole tones. In a chromatic scale, each whole tone can be further divided into two semitones...
harmonies, split up by a lyrical E Major section. Like many of Scriabin's slower pieces, it is played very rubato.
The first section is, as mentioned, very mysterious, as Scriabin employs many tritones and seventh intervals which do not fall into the key of C minor. The first 8 bars feature modulations to D sharp minor and F sharp minor. The ninth bar, marked con anima, introduces an E major melody using more conventional harmonies, but the piece only delves yet again deeper into the depths of the mystery four bars later. Here, marked fortississimo, the initial melody comes out in full force using the broad tessitura
Tessitura
In music, the term tessitura generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable range for a given singer or, less frequently, musical instrument; the range in which a given type of voice presents its best-sounding texture or timbre...
scope of the piano. At the seventeenth bar, the piece calms to quiet block chords of F minor, C minor-7, and B major-9 (without the bass B), finally resolving to an arpeggiated final C minor chord, reminiscent of the ninth prelude immediately preceding this one. This shows Scriabin's ability to find commonality in his most diverse works.
This Prelude, together with No. 9
Prelude Op. 11 No. 9 (Scriabin)
Alexander Scriabin's Prelude Op. 11 No. 9 is in E major. It is 36 bars long and takes almost a minute and a half to play, being played at an Andantino pace...
in E major, can be played as neo-romantic, impressionistic, and twentieth-century repertoire in a Royal Conservatory of Music
Royal Conservatory of Music (Toronto)
The Royal Conservatory of Music, also known as The Royal Conservatory, is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world...
grade nine exam.
One of the critically acclaimed performances of this piece is that of Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Pletnev
Mikhail Vasilievich Pletnev is a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer.-Life and career:Pletnev was born into a very musical family in Arkhangelsk, then part of the Soviet Union; his father played and taught the bayan, and his mother the piano...
on his disc Scriabin: 24 Preludes/Sonatas 4 & 10. Another is the 1956 recording by Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.-Life and early...
found the RCA/Victor issue "Horowitz Plays Scriabin."