Sonata No. 7 (Scriabin)

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The seventh piano sonata (opus 64) written by Scriabin in 1911 is entitled "White Mass". The piece, the most difficult of the Scriabin sonatas to play well, is highly chromatic and almost atonal like Scriabin's other late works.

Unlike the "haunted" sixth sonata that proceeded it, he intended the mood of the piece to be ecstasy. Most recorded performances are a bit over 11 minutes. Michael Ponti's clocks at 8:44. Notable Scriabin masters such as Vladimir Horowitz and Vladimir Sofronitsky didn't play or record the piece, the latter due to superstition. However, Sviatoslav Richter played it a number of times when touring.

It is one of Scriabin's more overlooked sonatas, lacking performances outside of the context of complete sonata recordings in the digital era. As compared to the more popular of the late sonatas, it is less accessible than the ninth, and harder-edged than the fifth and tenth. The composer was especially fond of the piece, likely due to its messianist context and perfected structure which features more contrast, rhythmic and dynamic, than most of his work. As with the second sonata, this sonata gave him a great deal of trouble during composition.

The chords imitating bell-ringing were a favorite of Scriabin. According to Leonid Sabaneev, when Scriabin himself played these chords, the ringing sounded from near and from afar at the same time; a part of them sounded very real, while another sounded like an echo.^[1]

[edit] References

1. ^ Leonid Sabaneev: Erinnerungen an Alexander Skrjabin. Verlag Ernst Kuhn 1925/2005. (p169) ISBN 3-928864-21-1

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