PlayPiano
The short answer
Two Pieces, Op. 59: No. 2, Prelude is a prelude by Alexander Scriabin from the Late Romantic and Impressionist era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 7, an estimate.
- prelude
- Late Romantic and Impressionist
- stormy
History
Nicholls dates this prelude to 1910 and places it beside Prometheus in Scriabin's late period. Its ending avoids a conventional tonal resolution.
Sources
What to listen for
Accented calls receive quick answers
The pickup leads into forceful chords and compressed moving replies over clipped lower attacks. Hear the contrast in their lengths.
Changing figures prepare quieter held sound
The continuation changes its patterns before a softer chordal preparation. Follow its larger easing direction.
Octaves make the returning calls fuller
The opening-related dialogue returns in octaves. Recognise the call-and-response shape through the broader register spacing.
How to practise it
Short low octave drops under a held group; held tones with a changing inner pitch.
- Listen for the low drop as a brief gesture underneath the hold; do not shorten the held group to match it.
- Rehearse that group slowly, separating the shorter inner release from the continuing outer sounds.
How hard is it
Accented chord and octave textures alternate with irregular small-note groups and rapid figures. Maintaining the compound pulse while projecting the forceful character makes this an upper-intermediate exploration target.
About this piece
- Collection
- The prelude gallery
- Licence
- Public Domain
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
More by Alexander Scriabin
- Prelude in E-flat minor, Op. 16 No. 4 (Lento)Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
- Étude in C-sharp minor, Op. 2 No. 1Level 6, estimatedWith Maestro
