The first prelude is my favourite. Scriabin was so innovative

Why did I wait so long to begin listening to Scriabin? I have been searching for piano music that sounds like this for a long time. This is simply amazing. The fact that Emil Gilels is interpreting is a huge plus. Scriabin was obviously completely his own man.

Lord, I played No. 4 as a child...revisiting it 20 years later is bringing up so much memories...almost surreal.

Late Scriabin is so fascinating

This was his last testament. Going backwards from here is also interesting. He insated a new theory of using the tritone as an instrumental interval to move his harmonies. The most successful composers always heard this.

I ended up playing this opus and now it makes sense. I feel evil playing it though. Did not make for good Christmas music during the holidays at the family house. People were telling me to play something less dramatic

I like to listen to this series while listening to Op 67 series at the same time ( Yes, 2 pieces at the same time ), I hear some spectacular and weird sound combinations.

Five Preludes Op.74: 00:00 I. 01:30 II. 03:00 III. 04: 05 IV. 05:30 V.

Alekszandr Szkrjabin:Öt prelűd Op.74 1.Doloroso, sconvolgente 00:10 2.Molto lento, contemplativo 01:31 3.Allegro drammatico 03:04 4.Lento, vago, indeciso 04:09 5.Orgoglioso, bellicoso 05:32 Emil Gilelsz-zongora

Scriabin's latter prelude works definitely fits in horror movies, definitely!

Am I the only person who still gets goosebumbs from these?

The hermetic languge of Scriabin in these preludes which are based upon synthetic scales are perfectly rendered by Gilels. He strictly obesrves the execution guidelines of Scriabin.

The 1st piece reminds me of the painting: persistence of memory (melted clocks).

I must admit that I am guilty of allowing Scriabin's music to take me to this realm as well. Especially with his later works, where his style became much more original and "obscure" I get this sense of orderly disorder. It's definitely an acquired taste however that not everyone can appreciate immediately, or ever. If you enjoy this type of music though I would highly recommend looking into Dalí's works, you should find them interesting as well.

The dark side

Two things: 1. Scriabin was obviously advanced in his artistry far beyond the point of traditional ( even Wagnerian ) harmony. 2. He was a mystic attempting to create flashes of light and shadow with his music, this is understandable given his well-known synesthesia; he would literally see flashes of color when he heard these cords.

Only if he lived longer...

This is good to listen on a cemetery at midnight. :)

Love this last set of preludes. So feverish and demonic! :)

No 2 - the best

Yea Scriabin usually takes me to worlds of uncertainties where everything is purposely misplaced in an ordered chaos. Color, along with reality, ceases to exist the way we usually imagine it. There is this literal melting and blending of the two. Psychological episodes where you're lost in hallucinations in your mind also constantly seem to be present in his style as well as drug induced adventures. I don't know much about Dali but what do you think?

Pure genius

Alexander Scriabin (1872 - 1915) foi um compositor russo de complexa biografia17, considerado como um dos grandes artistas que conduziram àquela jornada da música moderna centro européia em seus rumos para a pós-tonalidade.18 Entre 1890 até sua morte em 1915, foram marcantes suas inovações alcançadas através de harmonias flutuantes, não resolvidas e radicalmente dissonantes, fundadas em construções sintéticas e de grande precisão e beleza geométrica [escalas octatônicas, de tons inteiros, superposições de 4ªs, etc.] às quais o compositor associava um misticismo altamente elaborado. Dentre suas combinações de notas, célebre é esse seu “acorde sintético” [dó - fá# - sib - mi - lá - ré ], pois transformou radicalmente a sonoridade musical de sua época. (Conhecido também como “acorde místico”; “acorde de Scriabin”, ou ainda “arquétipo do profeta Scriabin”).

I disagree with many of the assessments here. Scriabin's preludes are not "evil". Just surreal and mysterious.

This feels forbidden

In the 5 Preludes Op. 74, Scriabin makes more use out of transpositions of the octatonic scale rather than having very linear/scalar lines; but one can usually see the outline of it. In the beginning of the 4th prelude, we see the soprano line outlining G#-A-B-C-D#-E (h-W-h-A-h). Depending on the desired harmonic cluster, Scriabin will add an augmented step in the scale which in addition adds variety to the modality of the piece.

" I imagine myself in a dark caffe who everybody says it's apocalyptic but it never ends to everybody's pleasure. "

This mystery is great

I don't know the personal history of Scriabin. But hearing these darkest preludes one can only imagine the poignant distress this man must have been through. Despair down to the bone...

I am against capital punishment , except for those who cough during recitals.

I thought that sounded like a work of Dalí!

I feel like playing Scriabin in 3AM

does it not evoke emotion? this gives me chills honestly and i can't imagine how ones mind could maintain this type of musical thought. Your initial listen to this is perceived as random, however it is more correct to say abstract. There is linearity to this music, there is structure, its just all taking place in a bad dream. the ebb and flow of dissonance with resolution, the essence of emotional evokation through pure sound and harmonic structure is reaching its limits with this music.

By the way, one of best interpretors of Scriabin is the illustrious Vladmir Ashenazy. Hats off to the gent. As a conductor and pianist. His 10 Sonatas are hard to beat. Also his version of the Poem of Fire and the piece completed from Nemtin from the last 55 sketch pages of Scriabin that he used to the the Preparation of the Mysterium with choir is absolutely mind blowing!!

sooooooo organic!

@sweetdude3000 There is plenty of organisation here, in terms of a unifying harmonic language. It is just more challenging and interesting than Scriabin's earlier works.

I heard Gilels play this Opus in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam..is this performance taken ftom yhat recital? 😮

I like his interpretation very much. But why does he play the last chords in No.3 and 5 so short?

@sweetdude3000 Dude, try reading the chapter on Scriabin in Richard Taruskin's amazing "Music in early twentieth century", it will help you a lot to understand these preludes which are entirely octatonic based. For further reading I recommand George Perle's "Scriabin's self analysis", in The Right Notes. That's really not random notes at all. It's highly structured.

A half measure missing near the end of Prelude No. 2, but otherwise, an ecstatic performance.

1:30 2 прелюдия 3:00 3 прел. 4:09 4 прел. 5:31 5 прел

@mashcot Also read the Oxford History of Western Music. Best books ever.

Challenging pieces. Gilels does well.

5:13 somone's coughing

Charles Ives must have known Scriabin (not personally😉)

Тайна сия велика есть

the start sounds like bergs piano sonata 1

Nice to know I'm not completely alone. Would you wanna talk on skype sometime? I'll take the time to look at Dali's works and we can talk from there. Just message me your id or whatever.

1:30

It feels like Roslavets (a.k.a. Scriabin "on acid") at this point...

It's a new kind of language that takes some getting used to. The most immediate way to "get it" is to create some sort of imagery or emotion that you can relate to the piece. I'll even do that for you.Try Vers la Flamme: /watch?v=WlqGkVc29Gw&playnext=1&list=PL068CA1B0E5C07BA2&feature=results_main Imagine the beginning chords as someone speaking of the end of times. Then at 1:50 imagine the accompaniment as the slow and seductive movements of a flame that is constantly building in ferocity.

Russian mystic atonality at its best! Next stop?

I don't understand. Why didn't the pianist play the full value of the notes at the end of the pieces such as the last one. Instead of holding it to the full values he just played it abruptly. Why?

Messiaen surely was influenced by this.

In 2:30 he misses the first group of the 4 semi-quavers...

The fourth one is so dissonant, I may think the piano is out of tune. Belissimo. I can´t memorize it. Just reading.

I'm not overly fond of this interpretation. What I like about late Scriabin seems to be to a large extent missing here. He doesn't make the most of the demonic tritones, or the knocks of fate and it's not chaotic enough for my taste. Mind you, who am I to criticize Gilels? He's great in just about everything else.

I just don't "get" this music. I love Scriabin's early works and even play most of it. This just sounds like random notes and random intervals, no organization at all, but I am sure there is much more to it. Can someone help me appreciate these works?

edgy

guys, come listem to my preludes i wrote. no where near this, more tonal but :p

amazing pieces, bad performance

I don't feel anything.... It reminds me of heavy metal; totally emotionally empty.