Nocturne for left hand, Op. 9/2

Alexander Scriabin was particularly noted for the incredible flexibility and supple-ness of his rather small hands. His attachment to the earlier 19th-century lineage of piano composition was strongly etched from the beginning. Nearly all of his first compositions were piano pieces (titled nocturnes, mazurkas, etudes, impromptus, etc.) echoing Chopin. And though the traces of Chopin would eventually yield place to musical ideas inspired by mysticism and an ego-centered theosophy, the Scriabin we hear from this evening was still flush with enthusiasm for his pianistic ability. The Nocturne op. 9 no. 2 is a simple ABA rounded binary design and far more compact than Chopin’s works in that genre. The texture, as one might expect, exhibits the left hand’s conventional role with wide ranging arpeggios in the lower register, while the lilting melody often floats gently above. Treble and bass registers, although played by only one hand, are still clearly distinct. A more agitated middle section in minor relies heavily on octave passages as Scriabin strives to “volumize” the potential of a single hand at the keyboard. The opening melody returns at the tail end of a miniature cadenza, and it is at this point—as a variation on his theme—that Scriabin allows the accompanying material to occasionally rise higher than the treble melody.

(c) Jason Stell