Sonata No. 7 (Scriabin)

Sonata No. 7 (Scriabin)

The "seventh piano sonata" (opus 64) written by Scriabin in 1911 is entitled "White Mass". The piece, the most difficult of the Scriabin sonatas to play well, is highly chromatic and almost atonal like Scriabin's other late works.

Unlike the "haunted" sixth sonata that proceeded it, he intended the mood of the piece to be ecstatic. Most recorded performances are a bit over 11 minutes. Michael Ponti's clocks at 8:44. Notable Scriabin masters such as Vladimir Horowitz and Vladimir Sofronitsky didn't play or record the piece, the latter due to superstition. However, Sviatoslav Richter played it a number of times when touring.

It is one of Scriabin's more overlooked sonatas, lacking performances outside of the context of complete sonata recordings in the digital era. As compared to the more popular of the late sonatas, it is less accessible than the ninth, and harder-edged than the fifth and tenth. The composer was especially fond of the piece, likely due to its messianist context and perfected structure which features more contrast, rhythmic and dynamic, than most of his work. As with the second sonata, this sonata gave him a great deal of trouble during composition.

The chords imitating bell-ringing were a favorite of Scriabin. According to Leonid Sabaneev, when Scriabin himself played these chords, the ringing sounded from near and from afar at the same time; a part of them sounded very real, while another sounded like an echo. [Leonid Sabaneev: Erinnerungen an Alexander Skrjabin. "Verlag Ernst Kuhn" 1925/2005. (p169) ISBN 3-928864-21-1]

References

External links

*IMSLP2|id=Piano_Sonata_No.7%2C_Op.64_(Scriabin%2C_Alexander)|cname=Sonata No. 7 (Scriabin)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sonata No. 2 (Scriabin) — Scriabin s Piano Sonata No. 2 in G sharp minor, (Opus 19, also titled Sonata Fantasy ) took five years for him to write. It was finally published in 1897, at the urging of his publisher. The piece is in two movements, with a style combining… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata No. 3 (Scriabin) — The Piano Sonata No. 3 in F sharp minor, opus 23, by Alexander Scriabin was composed between 1897 and 1898. The piece is one of Scriabin s early piano sonatas, but does exhibit some modernistic traits.BackgroundScriabin had been married to a… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata No. 8 (Scriabin) — The Piano Sonata No. 8, opus 66, by Alexander Scriabin, was composed between 1912 and 1913. As one of Scriabin s late piano sonatas, the eighth sonata is highly atonal, though arguably less dissonant than some of his other late works. Scriabin… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata No. 9 (Scriabin) — The Piano Sonata No. 9, opus 68, commonly known as the Black Mass Sonata , is one of the late piano sonatas composed by Alexander Scriabin. The work was written around 1912 ndash;1913, and although its nickname was not invented by Scriabin… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata No. 6 (Scriabin) — The Piano Sonata No. 6, opus 62, by Alexander Scriabin, was composed in 1911. Although it was named the sixth sonata, the piece was preceded by the Sonata No. 7. As it is one of the late piano sonatas of Scriabin s career, the music consists of a …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata No. 10 (Scriabin) — The final tenth piano sonata, Op. 70 of Alexander Scriabin was written in 1913. The piece is highly chromatic and atonal like Scriabin s other late works, although arguably less dissonant than most of his late works. It is characterized by… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata No. 1 (Scriabin) — The Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, opus 6, by Alexander Scriabin, was the first of ten piano sonatas which Scriabin composed throughout his career. It was completed in 1892. The key of the sonata is the dark key of F minor. The music is… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata No. 4 (Scriabin) — The fourth piano sonata (Opus 30) written by Alexander Scriabin in 1903 is in the key of F sharp major. It consists of two movements, Andante and Prestissimo volando , and is the shortest of Scriabin s sonatas (a typical performance is about 8… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata No. 5 (Scriabin) — The fifth piano sonata, Op. 53 written by Alexander Scriabin in 1907 marks the end of his Romantic period and the beginning of his atonal period. The piece consists of five themes, which intertwine and evolve throughout the piece: the intense,… …   Wikipedia

  • Sonata — (From Latin and Italian sonare , to sound ), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian cantare , to sing ), a piece sung . The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”