Alexander Scriabin - 4 Preludes, Op. 22

Scriabin’s 4 Preludes were written in the same year as his marriage to Vera Isakovich. The year was also the one during which Scriabin began work on his Third Piano Sonata. The first Prelude is slow and brooding. The left hand accompaniment remains constant in its wavelike motions as it supports a slow meandering melody. When the conclusion arrives, the piece leaves on the Dominant. Instead of creating an air of suspense as half cadences are wont, the penultimate measure’s German Sixth helps provide the ending with a sense of finality. The second Prelude is brief, despite its slow tempo. The harmony and rhythms employed are very characteristic of Scriabin’s style: resolution of cadences with French Sixths, utilization of vertical hemiolas, and exploitation of the potentials of chromaticism. The third Prelude was composed in a very similar style to a Chopinesque Mazurka. The piece fleetingly scurries from one range to another; as the right hand moves across the keys, it leaves a (occ