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The Complete Preludes and Etudes for Pianoforte Solo
Alexander Nikolayevitch Scriabin (1872–1915), Russian composer and pianist, is best known for his perfectly spun miniatures where his novel harmonic and pianistic ideas were most brilliantly worked out. This volume in Dover's continuing series of musical scores presents the best of Scriabin's works, his complete etudes and preludes for the solo piano.
There are the Chopinesque works from his early period, including the 12 etudes from Op. 8 and the 24 Preludes, Op. 11. The works of the middle period, when he began working out his new harmonies based on a series of fourths, include the outstanding sets of Preludes, Opp. 33 and 48, and the Etudes, Op. 42. The 5 Preludes, Op. 74, and the Etudes, Op. 65, from the final period reveal perhaps most about his joyous ecstasy and languid contemplation, moods which no other composer could express to such a degree. There are also the preludes and etudes from Opp. 2, 9, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 27, 31, 35, 37, 39, 45, 49, 51, 59, and 67, each containing miniatures working out some subtle harmonic, rhythmic, or melodic idea with a perfect pianistic sense of writing.
This book has been especially designed as a playing edition ― the noteheads are large and easily readable at the piano, and the margins and spaces between staves are adequate for written notes, fingerings, and turnovers. It is also most useful for analysis, or simply for following along with the actual music.
There are the Chopinesque works from his early period, including the 12 etudes from Op. 8 and the 24 Preludes, Op. 11. The works of the middle period, when he began working out his new harmonies based on a series of fourths, include the outstanding sets of Preludes, Opp. 33 and 48, and the Etudes, Op. 42. The 5 Preludes, Op. 74, and the Etudes, Op. 65, from the final period reveal perhaps most about his joyous ecstasy and languid contemplation, moods which no other composer could express to such a degree. There are also the preludes and etudes from Opp. 2, 9, 13, 15, 16, 17, 22, 27, 31, 35, 37, 39, 45, 49, 51, 59, and 67, each containing miniatures working out some subtle harmonic, rhythmic, or melodic idea with a perfect pianistic sense of writing.
This book has been especially designed as a playing edition ― the noteheads are large and easily readable at the piano, and the margins and spaces between staves are adequate for written notes, fingerings, and turnovers. It is also most useful for analysis, or simply for following along with the actual music.
256 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1973
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About the author
Alexander Scriabin
188 books4 followers[alternate spelling: Alexander Skrjabin]
Alexander Nikolayevich Skrjabin (Russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин) was a Russian composer and pianist. In his early years he was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and wrote works in a relatively tonal, late Romantic idiom. Later, and independently of his highly influential contemporary, Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed a substantially atonal and much more dissonant musical language, which accorded with his personal brand of metaphysics. Scriabin was influenced by synesthesia, and associated colours with the various harmonic tones of his atonal scale, while his colour-coded circle of fifths was also influenced by theosophy. He is considered by some to be the main Russian Symbolist composer. His son, Julian Scriabin, a child prodigy, was a composer and pianist in his own right, but he died by drowning at the age of eleven in Ukraine.
Scriabin was one of the most innovative and controversial of early modern composers. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia said of Scriabin that "no composer has had more scorn heaped on him or greater love bestowed." Leo Tolstoy described Scriabin's music as "a sincere expression of genius." Scriabin's oeuvre exerted a salient influence on the music world over time, and influenced composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Karol Szymanowski. However, Scriabin's importance in the Russian and then Soviet musical scene, and internationally, drastically declined after his death. According to his biographer Faubion Bowers, "No one was more famous during their lifetime, and few were more quickly ignored after death." Nevertheless, his musical aesthetics have been reevaluated since the 1970s, and his ten published sonatas for piano and other works have been increasingly championed, garnering significant acclaim in recent years.
Alexander Nikolayevich Skrjabin (Russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин) was a Russian composer and pianist. In his early years he was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and wrote works in a relatively tonal, late Romantic idiom. Later, and independently of his highly influential contemporary, Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed a substantially atonal and much more dissonant musical language, which accorded with his personal brand of metaphysics. Scriabin was influenced by synesthesia, and associated colours with the various harmonic tones of his atonal scale, while his colour-coded circle of fifths was also influenced by theosophy. He is considered by some to be the main Russian Symbolist composer. His son, Julian Scriabin, a child prodigy, was a composer and pianist in his own right, but he died by drowning at the age of eleven in Ukraine.
Scriabin was one of the most innovative and controversial of early modern composers. The Great Soviet Encyclopedia said of Scriabin that "no composer has had more scorn heaped on him or greater love bestowed." Leo Tolstoy described Scriabin's music as "a sincere expression of genius." Scriabin's oeuvre exerted a salient influence on the music world over time, and influenced composers such as Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, and Karol Szymanowski. However, Scriabin's importance in the Russian and then Soviet musical scene, and internationally, drastically declined after his death. According to his biographer Faubion Bowers, "No one was more famous during their lifetime, and few were more quickly ignored after death." Nevertheless, his musical aesthetics have been reevaluated since the 1970s, and his ten published sonatas for piano and other works have been increasingly championed, garnering significant acclaim in recent years.
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