Sonata No. 5 (Scriabin)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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 consist of five themes, which intertwine and evolve throughout the piece: the intense, dissonant trill and glissando in the opening; a slow, languishing introductory theme; a dance-like presto based on material from the languishing theme and serving as the first subject group; a transition marked imperioso; and a meno vivo that serves as the second subject group (see sonata form).

Scriabin included an epigraph to this sonata, taken from his long poetic work The Poem of Ecstasy (not to be confused with his Symphony No. 4 "Poem of Ecstasy", Op. 54.) The epigraph reads, "I summon you to life, hidden longings! You, drowned in the dark depths of the creative spirit, you fearful embryos of life, I bring you daring!"

This is Scriabin's most recorded sonata, though pianist Sviatoslav Richter is said to have described it as the most difficult piece in the entire piano repertory. A typical performance is about 11-12 minutes.

Piano Sonatas by Alexander Scriabin
| Sonata No. 1 | Sonata No. 2 | Sonata No. 3 | Sonata No. 4 | Sonata No. 5 | Sonata No. 6 | Sonata No. 7 | Sonata No. 8 | Sonata No. 9 | Sonata No. 10