Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 06/14/2017, uploaded on 05/04/2018

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

I.    Drammàtico

II.   Allegretto
III.  Andante
IV.  Presto con fuoco

Scriabin’s Sonata No. 3 is a powerful work featuring a dramatic first movement, a playful scherzo-like second movement, a sensual, slow third movement, and a capricious and soaring finale. Scriabin was undeniably influenced by Liszt’s exploration of cyclical forms and used this to great effect by referencing previous musical material at two critical moments in this sonata. First, the commanding theme of the first movement returns at the end of the third, here but a shadow of its former self serving as a bridge into the fourth movement. Second, the lyrical theme of the third movement returns at the climax of the entire work near the end of the finale, now ablaze and exultant. Scriabin, who was familiar with Greek mythology, drew inspiration from the element of fire and its significance, writing works such as Vers la flamme [“Towards the Flame”] and Prometheus: Poem of Fire. While not explicit in his third sonata, the story of Icarus applies particularly well to the end of this work. Icarus, using wings he and his father had built, flew too close to the sun, burning his wings and ultimately plummeting to his demise. After a brief moment of respite following the epic climax, the music surges once again but like Icarus, is consumed by flame and ends abruptly.      Peter Klimo

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.