Alexander Scriabin

Life and music

Alexander Scriabin was a Russian pianist and composer born in Moscow in 1872. He entered the Moscow Conservatory in 1888, graduated as a pianist in 1892 and began teaching piano there in 1898. His music changed substantially during his career: the early Op. 11 preludes inhabit a Romantic sound world, while later works explore a more individual harmonic language. His museum records his birth and death using paired historical calendar dates; those pairs should not become two separate anniversaries.

Explore the Lento Prelude, Op. 16 No. 4, the early C-sharp-minor Étude, Op. 2 No. 1, and the later Op. 59 No. 2. Listen for how a phrase stays clear as the harmony changes. These contrasting sound worlds offer several ways into his music, not a required sequence of lessons.

Sources

• blog.henle.de
• enciklopedija.hr
• scriabinmuseum.ru

Where to start

1. 1Prelude in E-flat minor, Op. 16 No. 4 (Lento)Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
2. 2Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2 No. 1Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro
3. 3Two Pieces, Op. 59: No. 2, PreludeLevel 7, estimatedWith Maestro

More pieces in the Music Room

The prelude gallery

• Prelude in C major, Op. 11 No. 1Level 7, estimatedWith Maestro
• Prelude in B major, Op. 16 No. 1 (Andante)Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro
• Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 16 No. 2 (Allegro)Level 7, estimatedWith Maestro
• Prelude in G-flat major, Op. 16 No. 3 (Andante cantabile)Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro
• Prelude in F-sharp major, Op. 16 No. 5 (Allegretto)Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro

More pieces

• Sonata No. 4, Op. 30: I. AndanteLevel 8, estimatedWith Maestro
• Etude, Op. 42 No. 5Level 10, estimatedWith Maestro
• Album Leaf, Op. 45Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro
• Etude, Op. 8 No. 12Level 9, estimatedWith Maestro
• Fugue in E minor, source catalogue WoO 20Level 7, estimatedWith Maestro
• Nocturne in A flat major, source catalogue WoO 3Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro