Scriabin - 10 Mazurkas Op.3 No.6 in C# minor (Score with Analysis)

Work: 10 Mazurkas Op.3 No.6 in C# 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.6 in C# minor is predominantly a bright and light-hearted work, with clear and crisp staccato sprinkled throughout. There is no prescribed / suggested tempo, other than Scherzando, meaning light and cheerful, so the player has much freedom in interpreting the meaning of that. While the available recordings of this piece often employ a much faster tempo (at around 250 - 300 bpm), I personally prefer playing at Vivace (approx. 160 bpm), as this is a mazurka, and I believe it should be played at a tempo that listeners can dance to.

The piece's structure also needs to be discussed. It follows a strangely reformulated Rondo form: instead of the typical ABACA or ABACABA structure, 10 Mazurkas Op.3 No.6 in C# minor's structure is ABACAC, which makes the piece sound like it went rogue after the third appearance of section A. Combined with the fact that 10 Mazurkas Op.3 No.5 in D# minor follows a redacted Rondo structure (ABACAB), perhaps it can be conjectured that this was Scriabin's first attempt at deviating from conventions and at creating a style which could be called his own.

______________________

Follow me on Instagram where I post uncommonly performed classical piano music:   / pianoexplained