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The Development of Expressionism in Alexander Scriabin's Piano Sonatas

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The Development of Expressionism in Alexander Scriabin's Piano Sonatas The Development of Expressionism in Alexander Scriabin’s Piano Sonatas A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts in the Keyboard Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music by Soomi Song B.M., Seoul National University, 2011 M.M., Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, 2013 G.P.D., Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, 2015 Committee Chair: Christopher Segall, Ph.D. Abstract When discussing Alexander Scriabin’s music, it is impossible not to mention his expressionism, for it takes center stage. Especially, the piano sonata by Alexander Scriabin is an important genre that shows the development in his expressionism. Among his ten piano sonatas, the Fifth Sonata Op. 53 (1907) is unequivocally significant in that the work indicates Scriabin’s transition to his expressionist music. In his later piano sonatas, Scriabin explored and built more complex and highly individual styles, which are characterized by expressionism; however, according to the prevailing opinion among critics, it is difficult to say that the Fifth Sonata represents Scriabin’s matured expressionism. They claim that Scriabin’s expressionist phase begins with the Sixth Sonata, and the Fifth Sonata lacks the expressionist qualities found in Scriabin’s late sonatas. This dissertation will respond to this existing suggestion by comparing it with the following five late piano sonatas that has widely been considered as the expressionist music. Also, in order to show how expressionism comes to play itself in musical language of the sonatas, it will look at Scriabin’s four early sonatas prior to the Fifth Sonata that show the beginnings of expressionist languages. In the end, it will take into account the development of Scriabin’s expressionism focusing on the Fifth Sonata that is filled with the features of expressionism and it will assert that Scriabin’s expressionism already began in his Fifth Sonata. ii Copyright © 2018 by Soomi Song All rights reserved. iii Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...…ii List of Musical Examples……………………………………………………………………v List of Tables……………………………………………………………………………...viii Chapter 1. Introduction……………………………………………………….…...…………...1 A. Background and Thesis…………………………………………………...…1 B. History and Characteristics of Expressionism in Music………………….…2 C. Overview of Scriabin’s Piano Sonatas…………………………..…………..4 D. Literature Review……………………………………………………………6 E. Summary of Remaining Chapters …………………………..……………..11 2. Scriabin’s Early Sonatas (Nos. 1-4)………………………………………………12 A. Influences……………………………………………….……….…………12 B. Stylistic Features that Anticipate Expressionism…………..………………16 i. Structure………………………………………………………………17 ii. Rhythm………………………………………………..………………19 iii. Tempo Rubato…………………………………………...……………20 3. Scriabin’s Late Expressionist Sonatas (Nos. 6-10) ………………………………24 A. Scriabin’s Philosophy and Aesthetics…………………………...…………24 B. Expressionist Stylistic Features………………………….…………………30 i. Descriptive Instructions…………………………………….………...30 ii. Motives…………………………………………….………………….32 iii. Harmonic Devices………………………………….…………………38 4. Expressionism in Scriabin’s Sonata No. 5, Op. 53..………………….….…….…43 A. Transition from Romanticism to Expressionism…………………...………43 B. Expressionist Elements in the Fifth Sonata…………………………...……46 i. Formal Structure………………………………………………………46 ii. Motives……………………………………………..…………………47 iii. Harmonic Devices……………………………………….……………54 5. Conclusion…………………………………………………...……………………58 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..…60 iv List of Musical Examples Example 1-1. Chopin Ballade No. 4, Op. 52, mm. 152-155…………………………….…14 Example 1-2. Chopin Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22, mm. 170- 175…………………………..………………………………….…………………15 Example 2. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19, mm. 32-34.…………………...………………15 Example 3. Chopin Ballade No. 4, Op. 52, m. 152.………………………..………………16 Example 4. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19, mm. 43-44……………………...…………….16 Example 5. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19, mm. 105-110………………………....………19 Example 6-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19, mm. 23-24……………………………….…21 Example 6-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19, m. 30……………………………………….21 Example 7. Mystic Chord…………………………………………………………….……27 Example 8-1. Scriabin Désir from 2 Pieces, Op. 57, mm. 1-2………………………..……27 Example 8-2. Scriabin Caresse Dansée, from 2 Pieces, Op. 57, mm. 1-5…………………28 Example 9. Scriabin Sonata No. 8, Op. 66, mm. 1-3………………………………………29 Example 10. Mystic Scale……………………………………………………………….…30 Example 11-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62, mm. 154-155……………………………...33 Example 11-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70, mm. 37-38……………………………….33 Example 12-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 9, Op. 68, mm. 1-7…………………………………...34 Example 12-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 9, Op. 68, mm. 69-74………………………………...34 Example 13-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70, mm. 213-214…………………………….36 Example 13-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70, mm. 244-248…………………………….36 v Example 14-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62, mm. 82-87……………………….………..37 Example 14-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 7, Op. 64, mm. 60-61……………………….………..38 Example 15-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62, m. 1……………………..…………...……39 Example 15-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 9, Op. 68, mm. 1-2……………………..………….…39 Example 15-3. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70, mm.1-4………………………..…………40 Example 16-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62, mm. 383-386……………………………...41 Example 16-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 7, Op. 64, mm. 339-343……………………………...41 Example 16-3. Scriabin Sonata No. 9, Op. 68, mm. 214-216……………………………...42 Example 17-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 261-264…………………………...…45 Example 17-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 267-268……………………………...45 Example 18-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 96-97………………………………...48 Example 18-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 151-152……………………………...48 Example 19-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 96-97…………………………….…..49 Example 19-2. Scriabin Sonata No.5, Op. 53, mm. 114-115………………………………50 Example 20-1 Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70, mm. 37-38………………………………..51 Example 20-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70, m. 212…………………………………...51 Example 21. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 1-6……………………………………..52 Example 22. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 94-97…………………………………..53 Example 23-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62, mm. 81-84…………………………..…….54 Example 23-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 7-12………………………….………54 Example 24-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, m. 1……………………………..………...55 vi Example 24-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 13-14…………………………...……55 Example 25. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53, mm. 453-456………………………..………56 vii List of Tables Table 1. Scriabin’s Ten Piano Sonatas…………………………………………..…………18 viii Chapter One: Introduction Background and Thesis Among Alexander Scriabin’s ten piano sonatas, the Fifth Sonata, Op. 53 (1907) begins to display characteristics unseen in his earlier works; Scriabin’s compositional style evolved into new directions after 1900.1 It became complex and obscure; melody and rhythm was often fragmented; harmonic thinking came to be ambiguous in terms of tonality and direction.2 These characteristics are evident in Sonatas nos. 6 through 10, which are considered works of his late period. Scriabin’s Fifth Piano Sonata that is not considered a part of this late period, but stands on the border between traditional romanticism from the influence of Chopin and his own musical language. Scriabin’s musical style is characterized by his own interpretation of expressionism. Expressionism was an artistic movement of the early twentieth century to express emotional effect radically, focusing on the subjective perspective rather than reality. His late works, more specifically piano sonatas nos. 6 through 10, have been discussed as the most representative works of expressionism in music. However, there has not been sufficient study of Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata from the perspective of expressionism. The Fifth Sonata is regarded as a sonata from his transitional period in light of the prevailing opinion among critics that the Fifth Sonata lacks the expressionist characteristics found in Scriabin’s late 1 Stewart Gordon. A History of Keyboard Literature: Music for the Piano and Its Forerunners (California: Schirmer, 1996), 430. 2 Ibid. 1 piano sonatas. This stance is supported by the fact that the term “expressionism” was first applied to music by Schoenberg after 1910.3 However, one can find that Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata, written in 1907, already contains musical devices found in expressionism. When compared to Scriabin’s late five piano sonatas (Nos. 6 to 10), which have been widely accepted as representative works of expressionism, the Fifth Sonata shares a number of similarities in the adaptation of expressionism to the music. The Fifth Sonata was written in a single-movement form derived from the constant repetition of short, motivic blocks. It is the first single-movement sonata, a format retained in his piano sonatas from then on. Additionally, characteristics such as sensitivity to timbre based on dissonance, unexpected changes of mood, and the flexibility of pitches reside in Scriabin’s late six piano sonatas. After comparison, one can figure out how Scriabin’s expressionism came to be developed and intensified in his piano sonatas. Additionally, for deeper understanding in the development of his expressionism, Scriabin’s early four piano sonatas need to be examined as the beginning stages that lead to the expressionism. Although the early four sonatas are clearly not classified
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