Scriabin - 10 Mazurkas Op.3 No.5 in D# minor (Score with Analysis)

Work: 10 Mazurkas Op.3 No.5 in D# minor by Aleksandr Scriabin
Performed by: PianoExplained
Instrument: Yamaha P125 Digital Piano

Aleksandr Nikolayevich Scriabin (1871 - 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist who wrote almost exclusively pieces for the orchestra and solo piano. Showing immense talent on the piano and in composition since a young age, Scriabin was characterized by his strong personality and desire to compose only what he liked without succumbing to academic and social pressure. Scriabin's development of style can be divided into 3 periods: early (until 1903, which, being an admirer of Chopin's music, largely follows conventions of the Romantic era), middle (1903 - 1907, which features much chromaticity, dissonance, unresolved chords), and late (1907 - 1915, where tonality is all but dissolved and his music displayed much flexibility and freedom of constraints).

10 Mazurkas Op.3 No.5 in D# minor is an outlier in this collection: it has almost no indication that it is a mazurka, other than its triple meter. It is sad, emotional, and melancholy, which is quite contrary to a conventional mazurka that is light and lively. The harmony line(s) is/are distinctly modern and fluidic, without the typical harmonic and rhythmic patterns you would see in a mazurka. It also follows a weirdly redacted Rondo form: instead of the usual ABACA or ABACABA, this Mazurka's form is ABACAB, without the final repeat of Section A. In terms of harmony, dissonance is very frequent, especially in Section B, where chromaticity is most prominent.

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