Scriabin: Etude in C-sharp Minor, Op. 2, No. 1

This is my first recording of a work by Scriabin. Scriabin's music has a very unique and recognizable style to it. He was a talented pianist and lived an interesting "mystic" life with music at the center. This particular Etude was composed in 1887. The haunting melody is quite simple in that it merely ascends up the minor scale, with a short jump from the fifth to the octave with a quick descent to the sixth. This phrase then repeats throughout the work beginning on a variety of intervals and keys. As each phrase ends with a feeling of incompleteness, it provides the piece with a longing feeling - a need to return to "home" or the tonic. As the larger phrase finally makes its way back to the tonic, the journey there is through a descent back through the minor scale adding to the somber feelings that are stirred through this work.

This piece has become a favorite of mine to play during times of reflection and "longing". Sometimes in life we find ourselves simply feeling an incompleteness even we cannot fully understand why. This piece is particularly reflective of that emotional state.

I hope you enjoy my interpretation and recording of Scriabin's Etude in C-sharp Minor. This recording was made at my home on my studio upright piano.