Prelude Op. 59 No. 2

Alexandre Scriabine · Level 6 (Expert) · 20th century · Piano

A late page (1910), marked “savage, belligerent” by Scriabin: hammered rhythms and harmonies with no fixed key, far from his early preludes. A Romantic-era character piece. C major, 6/8, 62 bars (about 3 minutes), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Read the chords slowly, hand by hand, spotting the shapes that recur; keep the energy without harshness. The piece starts with a pickup: count the incomplete bar before coming in. In 6/8, count the beats as groups of three eighths (dotted beats) to keep the lilt. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment.

More pieces by Alexandre Scriabine

• Prelude Op. 16 No. 2 in G-sharp minor
• Prelude Op. 16 No. 4
• Étude in C-sharp minor Op. 2 No. 1
• Prelude Op. 16 No. 1
• Préludes opus 16 - 3. (O 16 n°3)
• Prelude Op. 16 No. 5

Source : Mutopia Project · Public Domain