Piano Works Vol.6: Piano (Solo)

These five late sonatas showcase Scriabin at his most inventive and uncompromising. The texts prepared by Günter Philipp offer the authoritative Edition Peters standard while the critical commentary provides essential context for navigating Scriabin's increasingly complex notation and harmonic language. For advanced pianists seeking substantial repertoire that challenges both fingers and interpretive instincts, this collection represents repertoire that rewards serious study.

Scriabin's late sonatas inhabit a world of luminous mysticism and psychological intensity. The music shimmers with dissonant sonorities that seem to dissolve traditional harmonic ground, creating a sense of weightlessness and transcendence. What emerges is not chaos but a carefully crafted universe where color, gesture, and visionary impulse replace conventional structural logic.

Advanced pianists and conservatory-level students who have mastered Romantic and early modern repertoire and are ready to engage with genuinely challenging harmonic and conceptual territory. Teachers preparing students for competitions, recitals, or graduate study will find these sonatas invaluable for developing musical maturity and technical sophistication.

• Study the critical commentary alongside the scores to understand Scriabin's evolving notational practices and harmonic systems; his later works use unconventional accidentals and spacing that demand careful attention to his specific intentions.
• Approach the harmonic language as color and atmosphere rather than functional progression; these sonatas prioritize sonority and psychological states over traditional harmonic logic.
• Balance technical display with the introspective and visionary character of these works; Scriabin's late style integrates virtuosity into a larger expressive vision rather than existing for its own sake.
• Pay close attention to Scriabin's pedal markings and registral spacing, as they are integral to achieving the shimmering, transcendent textures he intended.

These sonatas work powerfully in solo recitals framed around early twentieth-century modernism or structured as a retrospective of Scriabin's artistic evolution. They also serve as essential study material for pianists developing a twentieth-century repertoire, particularly those moving toward French impressionism or Russian avant-garde traditions.

• Navigation of non-functional harmonic language and atonal thinking
• Independence of hand registration and pedaling in complex, dissonant textures
• Interpretive handling of unconventional notation and performance markings
• Sustained concentration and musical stamina across extended, structurally unfamiliar forms
• Development of tone color and dynamic nuance in music emphasizing sonority over melody