The Piano Sonata No. 6, Op. 62

Opus number

An Opus number , pl. opera and opuses, abbreviated, sing. Op. and pl. Opp. refers to a number generally assigned by composers to an individual composition or set of compositions on publication, to help identify their works...

, by Alexander Scriabin

Alexander Scriabin

Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...

, was composed in 1911. Although it was named the sixth sonata, the piece was preceded by the Sonata No. 7

Sonata No. 7 (Scriabin)

The Piano Sonata No. 7, Op. 64, subtitled White Mass, was written by Alexander Scriabin in 1911. As one of the late piano sonatas of Scriabin's career, the music is highly chromatic and almost atonal.-Background:...

. As it is one of the late piano sonata

Piano sonata

A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement , two movements , five or even more movements...

s of Scriabin's career, the music consists of a single movement, and is highly atonal. Scriabin reportedly never played the sonata in public, because he feared its darkness.

Structure and content

The piece consist of a single movement, typically lasting around 11–12 minutes, and is marked as follows:

1. Modéré: mysterieux, concentré

The mood of the piece is marked

Tempo

In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...

 "mysterieux" by the composer, but the most striking aspect of the sixth sonata, are the sudden moments of horror which interrupt its dreamlike atmosphere, and were explicitly marked "l'épouvante surgit" (surge of terror), by Scriabin. The final passages are colourful and languid, like an elaborate Debussy

Claude Debussy

Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...

 prelude, but darker forces are released at the end. The Elektra chord

Elektra chord

The Elektra chord is a "complexly dissonant signature-chord" and motivic elaboration used by composer Richard Strauss to represent the title character of his opera Elektra that is a "bitonal synthesis of E major and C-sharp major" and may be regarded as a polychord related to conventional chords...

 is featured in the sonata .

It is one of a few pieces Scriabin never played in public, because he felt it was "nightmarish, murky, unclean and mischievous". He often started shuddering after playing a few measures for other people.

Further reading

• Scriabin, Alexander. Complete Piano Sonatas. 1964 Muzyka score republished in 1988 by New York: Dover Publications
  Dover Publications
  Dover Publications is an American book publisher founded in 1941 by Hayward Cirker and his wife, Blanche. It publishes primarily reissues, books no longer published by their original publishers. These are often, but not always, books in the public domain. The original published editions may be...
  
  . ISBN 0-486-25850-5. The sixth sonata occupies pages 114-140.