The Performing Style of Alexander Scriabin

307 Pages·2011·13.53 MB·English

by  Anatole Leikin

The Performing STyle of
AlexAnder ScriAbin
frontispiece b. Kustodiev, The Last Concert of Scriabin in St. Petersburg on
2 April 1915 (drawing) from the Scriabin memorial museum,
moscow.
The Performing Style of
Alexander Scriabin
AnATole leiKin
University of California, Santa Cruz, USA
© Anatole leikin 2011
All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
Anatole leikin has asserted his right under the copyright, designs and Patents Act, 1988,
to be identified as the author of this work.
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
leikin, Anatole, 1946–
The performing style of Alexander Scriabin.
1. Scriabin, Aleksandr nikolayevich, 1872–1915. Piano music. 2. Piano music–interpretation
(Phrasing, dynamics, etc.)–case studies. 3. Performance practice (music)–russia
(federation)–history–19th century. 4. Performance practice (music)–russia (federation)–
history–20th century.
i. Title
786.2’092–dc22
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
leikin, Anatole, 1946–
The performing style of Alexander Scriabin / Anatole leikin.
p. cm.
includes index.
iSbn 978-0-7546-6021-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) — iSbn 978-1-4094-2504-5 (ebook)
1. Scriabin, Aleksandr nikolayevich, 1872-1915. Piano music. 2. Piano music—interpretation
(Phrasing, dynamics, etc.) 3. Performance practice (music)—history—russia (federation)—
19th century. 4. Performance practice (music)—history—russia (federation)—20th century.
i. Title.
ml410.S5988l48 2011
786.2092—dc22
2010042015
iSbn 9780754660217 (hbk)
iSbn 9781409425045 (ebk)
bach musicological font developedV by © yo Tomita
Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Music Examples ix
Preface xi
1 The Music of Scriabin: Then and Now 1
A ‘Daring Genius’ or ‘Dry’ and ‘Uninspired’? 1
Scriabin’s Reproducing Pianos: The Phonola and the
Welte-Mignon 6
2 Scriabin’s Performing Style 19
Sources of the Style 19
Exploring the Style 25
3 Case Studies I: The Welte Rolls 45
Etude Op. 8 No. 12 (Example 3.2) 45
Preludes Op. 11 Nos. 1, 2, 13 50
Prelude Op. 11 No. 1 (Example 3.3) 52
Prelude Op. 11 No. 2 (Example 3.5) 56
Prelude Op. 11 No. 13 (Example 3.6) 59
Prelude Op. 22 No. 1 (Example 3.7) 62
Poem Op. 32 No. 1 (Example 3.11) 64
Mazurka Op. 40 No. 2 (Example 3.12) 70
Désir (Desire) Op. 57 No. 1 (Example 3.13) 74
4 Case Studies II: The Phonola Rolls 133
Feuillette d’album (Album Leaf) Op. 45 No. 1
(Example 4.1) 133
Sonate-fantaisie Op. 19 135
Third Sonata Op. 23 141
5 Some Thoughts on Scriabin and Romantic Performing Traditions 273
From Beethoven to Granados 273
Freedom as the Recognition of Necessity? 277
Scriabin’s Notation and the Age of Literalism 281
Bibliography 285
Index 291
This page has been left blank intentionally
List of Figures
Frontispiece B. Kustodiev, The Last Concert of Scriabin in St. Petersburg
on 2 April 1915 (drawing) from the Scriabin Memorial
Museum, Moscow ii
1 L. Pasternak, Scriabin at the Piano (drawing, 1909) from the
Scriabin Memorial Museum, Moscow 20
2 Scriabin at the piano during a Welte recording session in
February 1910 at the Jurgenson publishing house in Moscow.
Image courtesy of Rex Lawson 46
3 Beginning of Scriabin’s Hupfeld piano-roll recording with the
last two movements of Sonata Op. 23.
Image courtesy of Rex Lawson 134
This page has been left blank intentionally
List of Music Examples
To facilitate the flow of the text, the longer musical transcriptions in Chapters 3
and 4 have been placed at the end of the respective chapters.
In-Text Examples
3.1 Scriabin, Etude Op. 8 No. 12, mm. 1–6 49
3.4 Scriabin, Prelude Op. 11 No. 2, mm. 1–9 57
3.8 Scriabin, Poem Op. 32 No. 1, mm. 1–6, ‘question’ motifs 66
3.9 Scriabin, Poem Op. 32 No. 1, mm. 1–6, descending seconds
and tetrachords 67
3.10 Scriabin, Poem Op. 32 No. 1, mm. 1–6, cumulative annotations 68
Transcriptions
3.2 Scriabin, Etude Op. 8 No. 12
(Scriabin’s recording of 1910 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 77
3.3 Scriabin, Prelude Op. 11 No. 1
(Scriabin’s recording of 1910 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 92
3.5 Scriabin, Prelude Op. 11 No. 2
(Scriabin’s recording of 1910 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 96
3.6 Scriabin, Prelude Op. 11 No. 13
(Scriabin’s recording of 1910 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 104
3.7 Scriabin, Prelude Op. 22 No. 1
(Scriabin’s recording of 1910 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 108
3.11 Scriabin, Poem Op. 32 No. 1
(Scriabin’s recording of 1910 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 112
3.12 Scriabin, Mazurka Op. 40 No. 2
(Scriabin’s recording of 1910 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 123
3.13 Scriabin, Désir Op. 57 No. 1
(Scriabin’s recording of 1910 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 129
4.1 Scriabin, Feuillette d’album Op. 45 No. 1
(Scriabin’s recording of 1908 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 153
4.2 Scriabin, Sonata Op. 19, 1st mvt.
(Scriabin’s recording of 1908 transcribed by P. Lobanov) 156