The Development of Expressionism in Alexander Scriabin's Piano Sonatas

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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

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.

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

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 as expressionist music, it is important to investigate the preexisting elements that are later developed into Scriabin’s own expressionism.

History and Characteristics of Expressionism in Music

Expressionism was an artistic movement of the early twentieth century, especially in the visual arts and literature, originating in Austria and Germany. Expressionism in music

3 Stanley Sadie, eds. The Norton Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music (New York: W. W. Norton, 1988), 244.

2 was not confined to only Austria and Germany, but appeared in the music of composers who were absorbed in the same principles and values. It is not easy to stylistically define the term of musical expressionism due to its broad application; there are no fixed norms of technique or style in musical expressionism. Arnold Schering, a German musicologist, was one of the representative music historians to have tried to clarify the characteristics of musical expressionism. Expressionism was first applied to music in one of Arnold Schering’s articles,

“The Expressionist Trend in Music” (1919).4 Schering discusses that he has found the universal spirit of the expressionist point of view. He says that the form is highly individual, and the free form is used to symbolize the inner life. Contrary to impressionism, which focuses on implying specific atmospheres and moods, expressionism is set by tumultuous juxtapositions of extreme, conflicting emotions such as ecstasy, anxiety, mysticism, and fear.5 To help better understand expressionism, we need to look at the detailed musical features that appear in expressionist music.

When it comes to dealing with its specific materials, the representative feature of expressionism is to give primacy to subjective perspective and rely on personal instinct rather than rational techniques. Expressionist composers sought to express the meaning of emotional experience rather than physical reality to evoke certain moods. Its emphasis on individual perspective has been characterized as a reaction to styles such as naturalism and

4 Robert William Wiedman, “Expressionism in Music: An Interpretation and Analysis of the Expressionistic Style in Modern Music” (Ph.D. diss., New York University, 1955), 14.

5 John C. Crawford and Dorothy L. Crawford, Expressionism in Twentieth-Century Music (Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1993), 16.

3 impressionism. As a device to focus on individual emotions, composers abandoned tonality and adopted a new system. They tended to avoid the generality of traditional musical language and seek a unique character.6 With the formulation of this new system, music achieved a possibility that came to be called “atonality,” which is the complete avoidance of harmonic function. In terms of form, composers did not follow the restrictions of traditional form. Instead of using conventional form, they preferred to use the principle of variation as a device to unify music from a single idea or motive. That is why the expressionist music is based on extremes in its compositional technique. The extreme is realized in the compositional approach itself: unexpected changes in tempo and dynamics, fragmented rhythm, and broken continuity in melodies.7

Overview of Scriabin’s Piano Sonatas

Scriabin mostly maintained his successful career as a performing pianist, and thus the vast majority of his works are for solo piano.8 The piano works clearly show the evolution of his compositional style. Out of his enormous catalogue of piano works,

Scriabin’s ten piano sonatas are the most representative works in which his stylistic development can be concretely traced.

6 Theodor Adorno, Night Music: Essays on Music 1928–1962, ed. Rolf Tiedemann, trans. Wieland Hoban. (London: Seagull Books, 2009), 275.

7 Ibid., 276-277.

8 Gordon, A History of Keyboard Literature: Music for the Piano and Its Forerunners, 430.

4 Scriabin was originally influenced by the romanticism of Chopin and Liszt in his early works. The piano sonatas prior to the Fifth Sonata up to 1900 do not exhibit the features of expressionism. They are modeled after Chopin’s works and cast in more traditional forms. They are made up of multiple movements, and Scriabin still attempts to keep the boundaries of tonality.9 As time went by, a chromatic harmonic vocabulary developed into his own individual style. It then came to be closely related to his mystic- theosophic interests.10 His ten piano sonatas are what most prominently show his changes in his compositional style. After 1900, his music is characterized by complex rhythms, fragmented melodies, and ambiguous harmonic language. In this way, his transitional works represent signs of his stylistic change. From this point on, the sonatas are written in single movements and sometimes have descriptive titles that evoke images of mystical symbol. The Fifth Sonata is the first sonata in a single movement and the last sonata in which a key signature is used.

Scriabin’s late five sonatas have been considered as the most representative works of expressionism. Theodor Adorno offers Scriabin’s late sonatas as a major example of expressionist works when he gives an account of the expressionism.11 Jim Samson says that

Scriabin’s later piano sonatas show Scriabin’s attempts at replacing traditional tonality with a new harmonic scheme. According to Samson, this harmonic innovation is the departure of

9 Filip Blachnio, “The Evolution of Musical Language and Sonata Form in the Piano Sonatas of Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin” (DMA diss., Rice University, 2017).

10 Gordon, A History of Keyboard Literature: Music for the Piano and Its Forerunners, 429.

11 Adorno, Night Music: Essays on Music 1928–1962, 275.

5 explorations in expressionism.12 John Crawford and Dorothy Crawford consider Scriabin’s late five sonatas as his innovation in relation to expressionism. In his late five sonatas,

Scriabin shows an increase in his expressionist traits and continues to expand the use of these characteristics.13 These sonatas are also based on and developed from a few small motivic ideas. In terms of the melody, tension is achieved through sudden shifts within extremes of range, unexpected direction, and wide intervals. The rhythm is characterized by repeated rhythmic motives and syncopated accents, further building tension. Expressionism obtains freedom of harmonic language from the restrictions of tonal harmony of conventional musical system. Chords are sometimes aggregated by an unclassifiable arrangement of notes.

Despite the expressionist composers no longer aspiring after the beauty of tonality, they put the utmost importance on tone color as a device of expressionism. For example, Scriabin’s most representative sonority is his “mystic chord” that is built upon intervals of fourths. The melody is often fragmented into a succession of various timbres, rather than having a long melodic line.

Literature Review

Most scholars including James Baker have agreed with the idea that Scriabin’s

Fifth Piano Sonata displays a transition of character within his ten piano sonatas.14

12 Jim Samson, Music in Transition: A study of tonal expansion and atonality, 1900-1920 (New York: W.W. Norton, 1977), 150.

13 Crawford, Expressionism in Twentieth-Century Music, 59-60.

14 James M. Baker, The Music of Alexander Scriabin (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986), 169-194.

6 However, there are few studies of Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata from the perspective of expressionism. In terms of expressionist music, they do not consider the Fifth Sonata as a representative expressionist work. That is, while Scriabin’s late sonatas begin to show his new expressionist aspect, Scriabin mostly adheres to his traditional romantic style in the

Fifth Sonata. In Music in Transition by Jim Samson, one can find the prevalent perspective on Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata. He points out that the Fifth Sonata cannot be grouped with the later sonatas, despite having many similarities with the later sonatas.15 According to

Samson, the Fifth Sonata is more dissonant in tonality when compared to his previous sonatas; however, he argues that it lacks the formal tension created by the absence of a harmonic system.16

John Crawford and Dorothy Crawford’s Expressionism in Twentieth-Century Music offers an overview of Scriabin’s musical language based on his expressionist aspect.17

They discuss Scriabin’s innovations related to expressionism exhibited in his compositions, including his late sonatas. Although they do not mention the Fifth Sonata as an example of

Scriabin’s expressionist music, I find the same aspects of expressionism identified in the later works as already existing in the Fifth Sonata. I will expand Crawford and Crawford’s view into Scriabin’s works from his middle period, and apply it to his Fifth Sonata in particular.

15 Samson, Music in Transition: A study of tonal expansion and atonality, 1900-1920, 87-88.

16 Ibid.

17 Crawford, Expressionism in Twentieth-Century Music, 59-60.

7 According to Scriabin by Alfred Swan, Scriabin’s symphonic poem Prometheus includes characteristics of expressionism.18 Swan provides very contextual support for my topic because the similarities between Prometheus and the Fifth Sonata lead me to understand the Fifth Sonata as expressionist music. However, Swan argues that the expressionist traits of Scriabin started to take shape from his Sixth Sonata. Also, he explains that the final cadence is getting ambiguous, and often ends with the evanescence of tonality, which is similar in works by Berg and Schoenberg.19 At this point, I will demonstrate the example of the ending of the Fifth Sonata with the ambiguous harmony, based on Swan’s argument.

Herbert Harold Wise’s dissertation, “The Relationship of Pitch Sets to Formal

Structure in the Last Six Piano Sonatas of Scriabin,” introduces Scriabin’s new theoretical principles in his compositional progress, which appear in his late sonatas including the

Fifth Sonata. Wise also discovers the relationship between pitch class sets and the musical forms in the sonatas. According to Wise, the Fifth Sonata is the cornerstone of Scriabin’s late sonatas in that it shows the change in Scriabin’s compositional style, which aligns with my view on the Fifth Sonata. Despite such alignment, Wise never talks about Scriabin’s expressionist music. This omission is the fundamental difference between our perspectives.

I will primarily focus on Scriabin’s stylistic features and aspects of expressionism, rather than his pitch class sets that are irrelevant with expressionism.

18 Alfred J. Swan, Scriabin (New York: Da Capo Press, 1969), 91-96.

19 Ibid., 60.

8 Jason Stell’s “Music as Metaphysics: Structure and Meaning in Skryabin’s Fifth

Piano Sonata” discusses Scriabin’s theosophical approach in the Fifth Sonata.20 He proposes that Scriabin applies a theosophical narrative representing the eternal cycle of birth and death by using an ascending bass line and certain pitch motives. Stell specifically deals with the Fifth Sonata as expressionist music. His analysis is limited only to certain motives however, and falls short of a comprehensive explanation of the expressionism.

The most relevant source for this dissertation will be Susanna Garcia’s “Scriabin’s

Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas.” Garcia argues that Scriabin has his own symbolic vocabulary in his late five piano sonatas. She discusses the musical symbols that indicate Scriabin’s expressionism in the late sonatas, and identifies six specific musical ideas giving examples to interpret their meanings. (The six ideas are mystic chord, fanfare motive, eroticism, light motive, flight motive, and the vertiginous dance rhythms.)

According to Garcia, Scriabin desired to incorporate his special interest in mystical experience into his music, especially in the late piano sonatas, written after 1911.21 Garcia believes that Scriabin left clues to certain meaning in his scores, with not only the musical figurations but also the terms of expression.22 It is helpful for the understanding of

Scriabin’s expressionist stylistic features. While Garcia only considers Sonatas nos. 6 to 10,

20 Jason Stell, “Music as Metaphysics: Structure and Meaning in Skryabin’s Fifth Piano Sonata.” Journal of Musicological Research 23, no.1 (2004): 1-37.

21 Susanna Garcia, “Scriabin’s Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas.” 19th-Century Music 23, no. 3 (Spring 2000): 276.

22 Ibid..

9 I will extend her approach to the Fifth Sonata and investigate the connection between

Scriabin’s expressionist intent and his compositions.

Similar to Garcia, Stefanie Huei-Ling Seah’s dissertation, “Alexander Scriabin’s

Style and Musical Gestures in the Late Piano Sonatas: Sonata No. 8 as a Template towards a Paradigm for Interpretation and Performance,” identifies Scriabin’s musical gestures, such as motives and themes, to discover his expressionist devices in his music.23 Seah expands on Garcia’s argument by adding four more musical gestures (sensuality, occult, resonance, and transformation) on the original six musical ideas from Garcia. Seah, like

Garcia, includes examples and demonstrations of various Scriabin’s various late piano works, but limits the analysis to the last five sonatas. I will consult the relationship between

Scriabin’s expressive language and specific musical gestures in his late sonatas. Their arguments helped me notice that Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata also include the expressionist symbols that they discussed. It also allowed me to consider if there was any relationship between the expressionist ideas in Fifth Sonata and the late five sonatas. Although Garcia and Seah never mention the Fifth Sonata as an example of Scriabin’s expressionism with musical symbols, I will prove that the Fifth Sonata already includes the ideas that they identified in the late sonatas.

23 Stefanie Huei-Ling Seah, “Alexander Scriabin’s Style and Musical Gesture in the Late Piano Sonatas: Sonata No. 8 as a Template Towards a Paradigm for Interpretation and Performance” (Ph.D. diss., University of Sussex, 2011).

10 Summary of Remaining Chapters

This dissertation will argue that Scriabin’s expressionism comes to be developed and intensified in his ten piano sonatas. The Fifth Sonata, previously regarded as a transitional work, already exhibits the features of expressionism seen in the later sonatas.

Although the majority of literatures addressing Scriabin’s expressionism argue that

Scriabin’s symbolist plot had been established in the late piano sonatas, I will contend that his expressionism did not emerge out of nothing, but it was already expected to appear from his earlier works. Chapter 2 will focus on Scriabin’s fundamental aspects in his early four piano sonatas. The study of Scriabin’s early four piano sonatas allows for a deeper understanding of the beginning stages of musical language that leads to the expressionism.

Although the Fifth Sonata also shows similarities with works of the romantic composers, especially with Chopin, Scriabin was already developing his own unique musical language.

This distinct musical language in his early works reflects Scriabin’s early possession with his own philosophy that developed to his late expressionism. These arguments will provide the development of Scriabin’s expressionism found throughout his piano sonatas. Then, in

Chapter 3, I will argue that Scriabin’s forward-looking aspects in his early sonatas grow into the late expressionism, focusing on his late five sonatas. I will examine the expressionist symbols that Scriabin used in his compositions, and look into his interpretation that he wanted to imply in the symbols. Lastly, Chapter 4 will focus on the

Fifth Sonata. Based on the arguments covered in the previous chapter, I will figure out which features shown in the Fifth Sonata enable us to classify the sonata as an expressionist work.

Chapter Two: Scriabin’s Early Sonatas (Nos. 1-4)

This chapter will cover the features of Scriabin’s early piano sonatas prior to the

Fifth Sonata. They show influences from late-romanticism, still adhering to the romantic tradition. At the same time, they include certain aspects of expressionism that anticipate

Scriabin’s late piano sonatas, nos. 6 to 10. I will first overview the impact on Scriabin’s early sonatas, and then look at features that foreshadow the expressionism described in his late sonatas based on form, rhythm, and tempo rubato.

Influences

According to Boris de Schloezer who divided Scriabin’s musicality into three periods-early, middle and late period-the works Scriabin wrote between 1886 and 1902 are classified as his early works.24 The compositions in this early period are labelled as “late- romantic,” and they show his correlation with romantic composers, including Frédéric

Chopin and Franz Liszt. This early period is the time when Scriabin was exposed heavily to the influence of romantic composers.25 However, other than the influence from romantic tradition, I will argue that Scriabin’s own philosophy already impacted his compositions: the “expressionist” Scriabin did not suddenly emerge from nothing in his late period. In this

24 Boris de Schloezer, Scriabin: Artist and Mystic. trans. Nicolas Slonimsky (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1987), 326.

25 Swan, Scriabin, 75.

12 chapter, I will try to figure out how Scriabin anticipated the late expressionist traits in his early compositions.

First of all, one cannot explain Scriabin’s early period without referring to the influence of Chopin. Scriabin wrote the same forms and put the same titles that Chopin had used to distinguish his works from others, including “polonaise,” “impromptu,” “etude,”

“prelude,” “mazurka,” and “nocturne.” Also, he often used the compositional techniques that are reminiscent of Chopin’s music. The preludes, Op. 11 are composed using the twenty-four of major and minor keys in the chromatic scale, which is the same for Chopin’s preludes, Op. 28. Not only do both sets use all 24 major and minor keys, but they do so in the same order. They follow the key sequence of circle of fifths, alternating each major key with its relative minor key. (CM, Am, GM, Em, and so on.).

Scriabin’s early music is also characterized by widely compassed broken chords on the left hand, highly expressive flowing melodies on the right hand, compound rhythm, and chromaticism with slow moving harmony, which all demonstrate similarities with Chopin’s music. Also, with the influence of Chopin at this time, one can see that Scriabin was pursuing music that gave off a solitary and poetic impression.26 Particularly, Scriabin’s second piano sonata has many traces that are reminiscent of Chopin. I will explore and compare them with the actual musical usage of Chopin. In one of Chopin’s representative features, Example 1-1 and 1-2 show flowing melodic lines found in Ballade No. 4, Op. 52, and Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22. Chopin tries to make the

26 James M. Baker, The Music of Alexander Scriabin (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1986), 3.

13 melody smooth and elegant by adding decorative passages to the main melody. Although

Scriabin does not directly use the decorative notes to the melody, his usages of tuplets in his Sonata No. 2 bring to mind Chopin’s flowing melodic lines. (see ex. 2)

Example 1-1. Chopin Ballade No. 4, Op. 52. (mm. 152-155)

Example 1-2. Chopin Andante spianato et Grande polonaise brillante, Op. 22. (mm. 170-

175)

Example 2. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19. (mm. 32-34)

Also, as I mentioned above, Chopin’s music typically includes the broken chords as accompaniment forms on the left hand. When Chopin writes the broken chords, he tends to apply regular patterns. (see ex. 3) Chopin often uses them in ‘ascending- ascending-

15 descending- ascending pattern’ as shown in Example 3. Example 4 shows the accompaniment of Scriabin, which has the same structure as Chopin’s.

Example 3. Chopin Ballade No. 4, Op. 52. (m. 152)

Example 4. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19. (mm. 43-44)

Stylistic Features that Anticipate Expressionism.

Scriabin’s early sonatas are in fairly romantic tradition and show the influence of

Chopin and Liszt. During this period, Scriabin’s work was based on Chopinesque harmonies and melodies, and adding his own personality. As his music gradually evolved, however, the early sonatas include the features that moved into his own musical language.

16 He came to add emotional urgency to the Chopinesque harmonic language and highlight the importance of sonorous climaxes.27 Of his evolution found throughout his works, I will especially look into the stylistic features that anticipate expressionism of his late piano sonatas.

Structure

The Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 6, completed in 1892, still follows the formal features in Chopin’s piano sonatas. It is in four movements, and the first movement includes a repeat sign after the exposition. Interestingly, the sonata ends with slow movement, “Funèbre.” It is similar in mood with the “Marche Funèbre” of Chopin’s Sonata

No. 2, Op. 35. As like the sonatas by Chopin, Scriabin puts the slow movement third. Also, he uses cyclicism that the theme used in the previous movement returns at the last movement.

Along with following the traditional form, Scriabin tries to apply new form to the piano sonata. It seems evident that Scriabin was trying to experiments, rather than following tradition. He came to write piano sonatas in a more compressed and shorter form.

The Second and Fourth Sonata were written in two movements, especially, with the Second

Sonata, Op. 19 being composed in a completely new form called ‘fantasy sonata.’ It represents his new attempt to express his impression more freely in the sonata form, which is related to his later sonatas including his Fifth Sonata being written in single-movement sonata form. (see table 1)

27 Gordon, A History of Keyboard Literature: Music for the Piano and Its Forerunners, 430.

Number of Ten Piano Sonatas Year Movement No. 1 Op. 6 1892 4

No. 2 Op. 19 1897 2 ‘Fantasy Sonata’

No. 3 Op. 23 1898 4

No. 4 Op. 30 1903 2

No. 5 Op. 53 1907 1

No. 6 Op. 62 1911 1

No. 7 Op. 64 1911 1 ‘White Mass’

No. 8 Op. 66 1913 1

No. 9 Op. 68 1913 1 ‘Black Mass’

No. 10 Op. 70 1913 1

Table 1. Scriabin’s Ten Piano Sonatas

While the First Sonata shows the traditional sonata form with the repeat sign at the end of the exposition, the Second Sonata leaves out the repeat sign and resembles more of the

‘fantasy’ than the traditional sonata form. The omission of repeating the exposition is kept in his piano sonatas from then on. This reduction in the number of movements anticipates his late piano sonatas being written in single-movement form.

Rhythm

Scriabin’s unique sense of rhythm is already distinct in his early works. He prefers to use compound rhythmic grouping so that the right hand and the left hand does not exactly match, such as 2:3, 4:3, 3:5, 5:4, or 8:9. The use of these complex mixed rhythms is more prominent in the late sonatas. However, it can be found that these compound rhythms have already been used in his second sonata. (see ex. 5) The compound rhythms create a sense of irregularity.28

Example 5. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19. (mm. 105-110)

28 Laura Lynn Whitehead, “Transcendent Sounds: The Early Piano Music of Alexander Scriabin” (Master’s thesis, University of Victoria, 2014), 138-139.

19 This rhythmic grouping is highlighted by the frequent use of quintuplets and the slurs over each part of the compound rhythms. The quintuplets are not as easily subdivided into smaller rhythm groupings as duplets, triplets, or quadruplets. They seem to act as interferences to the regular pulse. The right hand and the left hand seem to be playing in different pulse, which adds to the lack of stability. The constant patterns of the compound rhythms, therefore, create the sense of anxiety in expressionist music. In expressionist music that is related to the intense feelings of tension and conflict, rhythm is irregular and complex. Scriabin’s preference for this complex rhythm in his early sonatas may have paved the way for the rhythmic flexibility and fluctuation of tempo in his late expressionism.29

Tempo rubato

Under the influence of Chopin’s performance style, Scriabin sometimes disregards a strict tempo and allows the music to sound more expressive and natural by using rubato.

In basic term, rubato is a musical term referring to modification of tempo. It literally means

‘in robbed time’ that gives flexibility by playing slightly faster or slower for emotional expressiveness. It is applied in various ways in Scriabin’s music. It is rarely unmarked in the score, but is written directly in Scriabin’s second sonata. (see ex. 6-1 and 6-2)

29 Ibid.

Example 6-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19. (mm. 23-24)

Example 6-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 2, Op. 19. (m. 30)

Both Sandra P. Rosenblum and Clive Brown discuss rubato based on two types.30 One of which is a ‘tempo flexibility’ by fluctuating the basic beat, slightly accelerating or decelerating of a few phrases.31 The other of rubato includes the modification of only melody against a steadier accompaniment part, so that the right hand and the left hand are

30 Clive Brown, Classical & Romantic Performing Practice: 1750-1900 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1999), 373-414; Sandra P. Rosenblum, Performance Practices in Classic Piano Music (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1988), 362-392.

31 Brown, Classical & Romantic Performing Practice: 1750-1900, 377-95; Rosenblum calls this rubato agogic rubato, 382.

21 not always played simultaneously with each other.32 According to Faubion Bowers,

Scriabin avoided writing metronome marks on his score. He was not interested in putting specific tempo indication, and considered the metronome marks to be useless, since the tempo can change continuously in his music.33 For romantic composers, the tempo rubato would have been common, particularly in solo works, and Scriabin’s early usage of tempo rubato would have been in the norm under the influence of Chopin. However, as time went by, new experimental attempts, including irregular tempo, were expected in performances.34 Scriabin opens an opportunity for the listeners to concentrate on musical ideas, by avoiding a stable tempo.35 He prevents the metrical structure from interfering with focusing on musical ideas. I believe that his constant changing tempo shows a change of style or texture, by extension, a change of mood, which is associated with the exaggerated flexibility in tempo of the expressionism.

Highly influenced by Chopin, Scriabin takes the same forms of Chopin’s works.

Although his early sonatas contain many features of late romanticism, it should not be overlooked that they anticipate the expressionist characteristics in Scriabin’s late sonatas.

Rather than simply relying on the influences, Scriabin developed his own distinctive style

32. Brown, Classical & Romantic Performing Practice: 1750-1900, 378, 396-414; Rosenblum refers to this rubato as contrametric rubato, 373.

33 Faubion Bowers, Scriabin: A Biography of the Russian Composer 1871-1915 (Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd., 1969)

34 Brown, Classical & Romantic Performing Practice: 1750-1900, 388.

35 Laura Lynn Whitehead, “Transcendent Sounds: The Early Piano Music of Alexander Scriabin,” 66.

22 that lead to the expressionism. The early sonatas of Scriabin seem to maintain the four- movement form of romantic sonatas, but we can already see the reduction of the number of movements in the Second and Fourth Sonata. Also, the irregularity in rhythm and tempo in his early sonatas anticipates the extreme expression of emotion in Scriabin’s late expressionist works.

23 Chapter Three: Scriabin’s Late Expressionist Sonatas (Nos. 6-10)

This chapter establishes the features of expressionism found in Scriabin’s late piano sonatas, nos. 6 to 10. First of all, it is worth noting that his interest in mysticism is the basis of Scriabin’s expressionism. Then, I will introduce the musical elements of expressionism which are demonstrated in major features of his late sonatas. In order to understand his use of certain expressionist elements, I will focus on three of his symbolic motives appearing in the late five piano sonatas: fanfare motive, light motive, and flight motive.

Scriabin’s Philosophy and Aesthetics

An important element of Scriabin’s philosophy is his belief in mysticism. Mysticism originally came from religion and philosophy. It is a specific discipline of experiencing God internally and seek the unity between God and oneself.36 People believe that they can be united with God by minimizing themselves. Also, they believed they could use their mystical experience to interpret the things of this world.37 In this way, the mystical element refers to the inner participation of divine beings or experiencing the presence of God. Scriabin desires to realize these mystical experiences in his music in certain images.38 It was a natural

36 Whee Bang, “A Study on Piano Sonata No. 5 Op. 53 by A. N. Scriabin” (master’s thesis, Hanyang University, 2013), 16-17.

37 Schloezer, Scriabin: Artist and Mystic, 110.

38 Ibid., 111.

24 conclusion that the civil revolution in the nineteenth century and the consequent collapse of the feudal regime spread this mysticism in European societies in a time of social chaos.

People came up with the mysticism as a means of escape from their anxieties.39 Scriabin lived in Russia during this time of revolution. At that time, people expressed the desire to satisfy their ideals and freedom, and as a result, the mysticism was spreading. There was a widespread desire to have hope through the mysterious experience from the arts, and

Scriabin’s music met this need. Scriabin said that the purpose of art is to find hope and realize ideals in despair by its mystique.40 From what he said, we can see that mysticism had a strong influence on his philosophy and ideas. According to Faubion Bowers and Boris de Schloezer who are Scriabin’s biographers, Scriabin’s interest in mystical ideas was extensively documented in his notebooks and poetry.41 It had not been until Scriabin that mysticism was particularly developed as a musical material in compositions. Then, the mysticism was actively applied by Scriabin in the twentieth century, and a result, it achieved tremendous development in music history.

Scriabin’s early works show his tendency toward post-romanticism, and he began to develop his own musical language based on mysticism. He tried to explore harmonic correspondence with this new world, and even built a highly individual style of harmony.

His later pieces including late five piano sonatas contain the mysticism and sensual

39 Bang, “A Study on Piano Sonata No. 5 Op. 53 by A. N. Scriabin,” 16-17.

40 Anatoly Lunacharsky, “On Scriabin.” Journal of the Scriabin Society of America 8, no. 1 (Winter 2003-2004): 4.

41 Bowers, Scriabin: A Biography of the Russian Composer 1871-1915; Faubion Bowers, New Scriabin: Enigma and Answers (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1973); Schloezer, Scriabin: Artist and Mystic.

25 elements as well, which create fantasy-like atmosphere. Scriabin who was standing at the crossroads of ‘new sound,’ created unique harmony. He used harmony as a means in which to express his philosophy. Based on the influence by mysticism, Scriabin created his own idiosyncratic harmony, called the ‘mystic chord.’ (see ex. 7) That is, he came up with his own harmonic language that distinguishes him from other composers in order to effectively express his ideas in his music.

Mystic Chord

The chord was named by his followers. The term ‘mystic chord’ that stems from

Scriabin’s interest in mysticism was invented by Arthur Eaglefield Hull in 1916. It was originally coined by Leonid Sabaneyev, and since it was extensively used in Scriabin’s

Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, Op. 60, it is also called as ‘Prometheus chord.’42 As it refers to in example 7, Scriabin broke the traditional harmonic arrangement based on the thirds, and employed a chord construction by superposing the fourths. Mystic chord refers to a synthetic chord made up of six notes, C, F-sharp, B-flat, E, A, and D, consisting of an augmented fourth, diminished fourth, and two perfect fourths. Scriabin uses it as a means of the melodic and harmonic base of his late works.

42 Simon Morrison, "Skryabin and the Impossible", Journal of the American Musicological Society, 51, no. 2. (Summer, 1998): 314.

Example 7. Mystic Chord

In his 2 pieces, Désir and Caresse Dansée, Op. 57 written in 1908, Scriabin used a chord that was based on the fourths, C, F-sharp, B, and E. He already established the foundation for the mystic chord. (see ex. 8-1 and 8-2)

Example 8-1. Scriabin Désir from 2 Pieces, Op. 57. (mm. 1-2)

Example 8-2. Scriabin Caresse Dansée, from 2 Pieces, Op. 57. (mm. 1-5)

Scriabin used to rearrange and transpose the chord rather than using the chord directly in order to create a variety of sonorities. Another representative example that shows his use of mystic chord includes the Eighth Piano Sonata, Op. 66 written in 1912. He wrote an extended form of mystic chord here. (see ex. 9) It seems that it is arranged in thirds as an

A13 chord. However, Scriabin deliberately tries a different order and position of the mystic chord to vary the intervals of melody and harmony. When rearranged, one can see that it is made up of six notes; A, D-sharp, G, C-sharp, F-sharp, and B. It is combined by five different fourths, not the thirds.

Example 9. Scriabin Sonata No. 8, Op. 66. (mm. 1-3)

One of the most distinctive features of the mystic chord is the unresolved harmonic progression. In terms of traditional harmonic system, the dissonant harmony consisting of augmented or diminished chord should be resolved; however, Scriabin used the chord independently. He avoided the traditional harmonic rule by excluding the mystic chord from the functional harmony, and created his own unique sonority. The mystic chord was not only used harmonically, but also in a melodic way. Scriabin used harmony and melody almost interchangeably, saying that harmony is a folded form of melody and melody is an unrolled form of harmony.43 The unfolded scale of the mystic chord is as follows, which is referred as “mystic scale.” (see ex. 10)

43 Bowers, New Scriabin: Enigma and Answers, 147.

Example 10. Mystic scale

Scriabin’s mystic chord contributed to the establishment of a new harmonic and melodic system along with Debussy’s whole-tone scale and Schoenberg’s twelve-tone system in the twentieth century when atonality was highlighted.

Expressionist Stylistic Features in Scriabin’s Late Sonatas

Descriptive Instructions

Although there are multiple studies that analyze Scriabin’s music in the context of his mysticism, it has not been so long that such approach has begun. A number of studies from the 1970s and 1980s do not recognize the connecting link of his philosophy and the essence of his music.44 In order to fully understand the substance of Scriabin’s music, it is necessary to think about his philosophical background. Scriabin was working during the period of tremendous activities in Russia. At this time, the expressionism was one of the

44 George Perle, Serial Composition and Atonality: An introduction to the music of Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern (Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press,1972); idem, "Scriabin's Self- Analyses," Music Analysis 3, no. 2 (July 1984), 101-22; Jay Reise, "Late Skriabin: Some Principles Behind the Style," 19th-Century Music 6, no. 3 (Spring 1983), 220-31; Claude H. Herndon, "Skryabin's New Harmonic Vocabulary in His Sixth Sonata," Journal of Musicological Research 4 (1983), 353-68; and James Baker, The Music of Alexander Scriabin (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1986).

30 most potent forces in art. Although it was complicated to define a consistent principle of expressionism, it became increasingly dominant in art. The expressionist composers, including Scriabin, considered the power of myth and its symbols as a means of a link to music, and they focused on the transformation of the spiritual ideas to music. Scriabin realized his desire to transform the mystical experience to his music mostly in the late piano sonatas. In these sonatas, Scriabin recreated the symbols that imply his mystical ideas, and made them to function as a part of musical plan. This dissertation will explore how

Scriabin’s music embodies his philosophy, especially his expressionist vision, and I will identify Scriabin’s expressionist symbols appeared in his late piano sonatas.

Starting with the Sixth Sonata, Scriabin shows a higher level of complexity when compared with the previous sonatas, especially in terms of expressing emotions. Although

Scriabin only wrote independent poems to his works rather than setting a certain text to music except for the last movement of his First Symphony, there is obviously some relationship between his mystical ideas and music. Scriabin put much more descriptive terms of expression in his scores compared to his early works. He frequently wrote the indication for mood and other suggestive expressions. While he wrote conventional terms in his early sonatas, he came to use more expressive and direct indications. Regarding these indications, Hugh Macdonald points out that there are repeatedly used combinations of certain indications with particular musical phrases, and they suggest specific musical symbols throughout Scriabin’s late expressionist pieces.45 The most representative

45 Hugh Macdonald, "Words and Music by A. Skryabin," The Musical Times 113, no. 1547 (1972): 23.

31 evidence of the conjunction of the indication with the musical gesture is the mystic chord, which I will talk about in detail along with harmony below. It seems that Scriabin wanted to evoke his philosophical ideas and emotional effect by using these descriptive and precise indications.

Motives

Since expressionist composers’ desire were to evoke certain emotions or moods, they created small, symbolic motives and used them repetitively throughout the piece.

Scriabin realized this desire in his late piano sonatas. Based on Garcia’s paper, I will introduce three of his symbolic motives: fanfare motive, light motive, and flight motive.

The fanfare motive is an anacrusic gesture of short notes to a sustained note, in reversed dotted rhythm. (see ex. 11-1 and 11-2). This fanfare motive is one of the most frequently used motives by Scriabin in his late sonatas. The motive represents a calling of a powerful or mysterious being.46 According to Schloezer, Scriabin stated “the Souls’ protest against those sensuous images ruling him” regarding this fanfare motive in Le divin poème.47

Scriabin usually places this motive at structurally strong points, such as the opening, or the climax of the development. For example, the Ninth Sonata includes the several different versions of the fanfare rhythm in each section. The exposition begins with a ten-measure phrase which contains the fanfare rhythm with a rising melodic line. (see ex. 12-1) The

46 Garcia, “Scriabin’s Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas,” 279.

47 Bowers, Scriabin: A Biography of the Russian Composer 1871-1915, vol. 1, 341.

32 development that starts with tranquil gestures of constant eighth notes in dynamic pp, is interfered by an unexpected fanfare motive. (see ex. 12-2)

Example 11-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62. (mm. 154-155)

Example 11-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70. (mm. 37-38)

Example 12-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 9, Op. 68. (mm. 1-7)

Example 12-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 9, Op. 68. (mm. 69-74)

Scriabin also uses trills or tremolos to evoke the image of light, or by extension, the image of divine illumination.48 Of the late five sonatas, the Tenth Sonata includes the most

48 Garcia, “Scriabin’s Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas,” 283.

34 extensive use of trill and tremolo motives with performance indication suggesting illumination (see ex. 13). The Tenth Sonata is characterized by highly chromatic movement that gives it the nickname of “Trill” sonata. The trills and tremolos in the sonata are played in a juxtaposed texture over the extreme registers, creating Scriabin’s own sonority. Lena

Vieru Conta claims that the Tenth Sonata is the most ‘luminous’ piece out of Scriabin’s ten piano sonatas.49 She argues that the sonata is related to the play of light and shade, which has something to do with the extensive use of trills and tremolos.

49 Lena Vieru Conta. “Scriabin and His Piano Sonatas,” Musicology Today National University of Music Bucharest (2015).

Example 13-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70. (mm. 213-214)

Example 13-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70. (mm. 244-248)

36 Lastly, Scriabin often uses a figuration that is made up of the quick five-note arpeggios called the flight motive (see ex. 14-1 and 14-2). The flight motive is usually rhythmically compressed. According to Faubion Bowers, Scriabin was obsessed with the connection of two states, the material and the spiritual, and believed that the active efficacy plays a role in the link between two.50 One can say that the obsession with the active efficacy is realized by the quick motion of the flight motive.

Example 14-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62. (mm. 82-87)

50 Bowers, New Scriabin: Enigma and Answers, 55, 177.

Example 14-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 7, Op. 64. (mm. 60-61)

Harmonic Devices

Unlike earlier works by Scriabin, the harmony in his expressionist works is no longer functioning as part of a traditional tonal system. According to Garcia, the harmony comes to be a musical “object,” and the character of the chord determines the atmosphere of the entire piece in expressionism. Furthermore, it usually unfolds at the very beginning of each sonata.51 The expressionist music is characterized by a single state that is exhibited in the opening, and aberrantly transformed and expanded through the whole piece. Because of this, the certain character of the chord that unfolds at the opening is representative of expressionism. In the group of late sonatas, the mystic chord plays the role in directing the entire work, unfolding at the very opening of each sonata. Besides, Scriabin often used the following expressive terms for the performance in conjunction with the mystic chord: mystérieux, concentré (mysterious, concentrated), and légendaire (legendary). By using

51 Garcia, “Scriabin’s Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas,” 277.

38 these terms, he offers a certain secretive and mysterious significance with the chord.52 As shown in example 15-3, the Tenth Sonata contains the indication by Scriabin himself, très doux et pur (very sweet and pure) with the unfolded mystic chord at the beginning of the piece. In this way, Scriabin sets the tone to express a certain atmosphere which is developed throughout the rest of the sonata.

Example 15-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62. (m. 1)

Example 15-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 9, Op. 68. (mm. 1-2)

52 Ibid.

Example 15-3. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70. (mm.1-4)

As stated above, Scriabin’s harmonic sense becomes more complicated and the tonality disappears. According to Crawford and Crawford, the sense of tonality becomes more vague in Scriabin’s later works, and thus the final cadence often disappears. This being typical to the “non-endings” in atonal pieces.53 Berg’s Piano Sonata, Op. 1 shows the suspension of tonality that is still based on the tonality.54 Although Berg’s Piano Sonata ends with a cadence on a B minor triad, it is consistently hovering over the edge of the tonality in B minor. On the way to its ending, Berg wanders away from the center of key and frequently uses chromaticism, giving the unstable feeling of harmony that is only resolved in the last few bars. As Scriabin came to give up the key signature, his late sonatas have sudden endings that are complicated to explain within the traditional harmonic system. When Scriabin finished the sonatas, it is believed that he put emphasis on pursuing

53 Crawford, Expressionism in Twentieth-Century Music, 59-60.

54 Rognoni, The Second Vienna School: Expressionism and Dodecaphony, 106.

40 the expressionist effect, rather than sustaining tonality. As shown in ex. 16, he used the chord that remind the listener of the mystic chord or the motives representing light at the very end of the pieces.

Example 16-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62. (mm. 383-386)

Example 16-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 7, Op. 64. (mm. 339-343)

Example 16-3. Scriabin Sonata No. 9, Op. 68. (mm. 214-216)

In this way, Scriabin establishes his belief in mysticism in his expressionist works, and this chapter especially looked at such expressionist features described in his late sonatas. I will examine Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata to find the same features, thus showing how the expressionism is reflected in the Fifth Sonata for the following chapter.

42 Chapter Four: Expressionism in Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata

This chapter will look into the expressionism in Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata, based on the expressionist elements in his late sonatas discussed in the chapter three. In doing so, I will contend that the Fifth Sonata already began to include expressionism, and it has to be considered as one of Scriabin’s expressionist sonatas.

Transition from Romanticism to Expressionism

Scriabin’s music from 1903 to 1907 is considered as part of the transitional period.55 The works composed during this period include the Fourth Sonata Op. 30, the

Fifth Sonata Op. 53, and symphonic poem, Le Poème de l’Extase Op. 54. Although the works show the original language of romanticism, the period is a turning point in which Scriabin's mystic influence is also shown. During this transitional period, Scriabin still sticks to traditional romantic tendencies and pursues new changes in his compositions at the same time. In the Fifth Sonata, Scriabin breaks the tradition that he followed in his early sonatas, and takes a new departure toward the expressionism. At the opening of the sonata, Scriabin quoted a part of his own poem Le Poème de l'Extase:

Je vous appelle à la vie, ô forces mysterieuses! Noyées dans les obscures profondeurs De l’esprit créateur, craintives Ebauches de vie, à vous j’apporte l’audace!

55 Schloezer, Scriabin: Artist and Mystic, 326.

43 (In English) I call you to life, oh mysterious forces! Drowned in the obscure depths Of the creative spirit, timid Shadows of life, to you I bring audacity! 56

It represents Scriabin turning his attention to the question as a transcendental being and a close quest for the inner self through the music, rather than focusing on the romantic passion or form of music. The work shows the mystic chord seen in his late sonatas, and the experimental features resembling atonality. In the middle of the development part, there is a chord made up of fourths. (see ex. 17-1 and 17-2) This is significant in that it resembles the mystic chords, one of the characteristics of Scriabin’s late expressionist sonatas. It foreshadows the construction of Scriabin’s late sonatas.57

56 Translated from Güntehr Philip, A Skriabin, Ausgewähite Klavierwerke, vol. 5 (Leipzig: Edition Peters, 1971).

57 Schloezer, Scriabin: Artist and Mystic, 331.

Example 17-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (mm. 261-264)

Example 17-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (mm. 267-268)

In this way, the complicated harmony including the mystic chord appears, yet it is still based on traditional harmonic system. The Fifth Sonata includes dissonances that are resolved with voice leading in a conventional way. Simultaneously, it can be found that the

45 dissonances are gradually used as a tool to affect the color of harmony, rather than being resolved.58

The fact that Scriabin’s expressionism began to appear in his Fifth Sonata cannot be overlooked. I will take a closer look at how Scriabin’s expressionism was hinted at in the Fifth Sonata, based on three criteria: structure, motive, and harmony.

Expressionist Elements in the Fifth Sonata

Formal Structure

In terms of structure, the Fifth Sonata was Scriabin’s first piano sonata that was written in a single-movement sonata form. This was a form he kept and retained in his piano sonatas from then on. Since the early period, Scriabin made new attempts in structure, destroying the traditional arrangement of movement in sonata. The Piano Sonata

No. 4, Op. 30 (1903) consists of two movements, Andante and Prestissimo volando.

However, it is sometimes considered as a single movement with a slow introduction, since the second movement is played attacca59 right after the slow movement. In this way,

Scriabin has already predicted single-movement sonata in his transitional work. After he first applied the single movement sonata form in his Fifth Sonata, he never returned to write the multiple movements form again. In addition to all of his late five piano sonatas, Alban

Berg’s Piano Sonata, one of the most representative expressionist works, is condensed into

58 Peter Sabbagh. The Development of Harmony in Scriabin's Works. (California: Universal- Publishers, 2003).

59 Indication to play without break to the next movement of the work.

46 a single-movement sonata form as well. The single-movement sonata form is closely related to expressionism. The expressionist music is characterized by a dramatic progression of emotions and states. It consists of constant thematic transformation and change of the texture and tempo. Also, changes between ideas or emotions are often abrupt and illogical in expressionism. Due to the continuous nature of single-movement works, transitions between ideas in a single-movement are often abrupt and illogical. The single- movement sonatas are therefore a typical choice for expressionist composers. It is better for the single-movement form to condense the fragmentary and episodic ideas than the multiple-movement sonata form.

Motives

When discussing the relationship between expressionism and Scriabin’s compositions, I assert that Scriabin’s use of the symbolic motives is the most important element that reflects his expressionist intent. Scriabin already used various versions of symbolic motives in the Fifth sonata. I will examine these motives in the Fifth Sonata, based on three symbolic motives that I already discuss in the previous chapter. In this way,

I will indicate that Scriabin’s Fifth Piano Sonata already exhibits expressionist aspects prior to the last five.

The fanfare motive is the most popular motive in Scriabin’s late expressionist works, and is also found in the Fifth Sonata. (see ex. 18-1 and 18-2) It is transformed and repeated throughout the piece, creating a sense of unity in the music. The motive is usually found at the most crucial point structurally. For example, in measure 96, Scriabin places

47 this motive leading toward the peak of the climax. Like in the late sonatas, Scriabin uses the forte dynamic to highlight the powerful moment of the arrival in the Fifth Sonata. (see ex.

18-1 and 18-2)

Example 18-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (mm. 96-97)

Example 18-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (mm. 151-152)

48 Also, Scriabin associates this motive with the musical descriptions that suggest the invocation for a mysterious, controlling, or supernatural being.60 In his late sonatas, this motive is mainly used in conjunction with the following expressions: appel mystérieux

(mysterious calling), impérieux (imperious), and avec une sombre majesté (with a somber majesty). It can be found in the Fifth Sonata as well. As shown in examples 19-1 and 19-2,

Scriabin combined this motive with the following instructions to maximize its effectiveness.

Example 19-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 (mm. 96-97)

60 Garcia, “Scriabin’s Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas,” 279.

Example 19-2. Scriabin Sonata No.5, Op. 53 (mm. 114-115)

Regarding the light motive, Bowers states that Scriabin constantly used trills for

“luminosity,” and Scriabin considered trills as an energy of light, and the flutter or the vibration of atmosphere.61 That is why there are clear indications for trills and tremolos that is associated with “illumination.” For example, in the case of the Tenth Sonata where trills and tremolos are most widely applied, such articulations are played with indications, such as, lumineux (luminous), vibrant (lively or energetic), de plus en plus radieux

(increasingly radiant), and puissant (powerful).

61 Bowers, New Scriabin: Enigma and Answers, 180.

Example 20-1 Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70. (mm. 37-38)

Example 20-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 10, Op. 70. (m. 212)

Although there is an absence of direct indication describing the illumination in the Fifth

Sonata, it begins with an introduction with long trills in the right hand and tremolo-like figurations in the left hand (see ex. 21). Scriabin intensified the effect from the motive by combining it with the flight motive to be described. There are also such passages that create

51 similar effect to trills or tremolos. In the measures 94 and 95 in example 22, a chord is repetitively played in a way of inversion. As a chord of the same harmony is repeated, it sounds like tremolos. It is followed by another passage that has a similar effect to tremolos in the left hand. The left hand plays the unfolded chord of sixteenth notes, which is not a direct articulation of tremolo but it has an effect that sounds similar to that.

Example 21. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 (mm. 1-6)

Example 22. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (mm. 94-97)

For Scriabin, the flight motive, made up of the rapid arpeggios, was a connecting link between the material and the spiritual.62 The flight motive can be often found in

Scriabin’s late sonatas, but Scriabin had already been utilizing this expressionist motive in the Fifth Sonata. As compared in the example 23-1 and 23-2, the flight motive of the Fifth

Sonata has great resemblance to that of the Sixth Sonata. It shows that the expressionist motive does not suddenly appear in his late sonatas, but already began in the Fifth Sonata.

These passages occur not only in the opening but also in the ending and transition sections, showing the importance of the flight motive in this sonata. Especially, the interesting fact with this motive in the Fifth Sonata is that Scriabin used extremely wide range of the register, which reinforces the radiance and effect of this motive.

62 Garcia, “Scriabin’s Symbolist Plot Archetype in the Late Piano Sonatas,” 284.

Example 23-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 6, Op. 62. (mm. 81-84)

Example 23-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (mm. 7-12)

Harmonic Devices

In terms of harmony in the Fifth Sonata, we can find the evidence of expressionism that Scriabin employed. As discussed in chapter three, the character of expressionist music is determined by a single concept and it is usually demonstrated in the opening of the piece.

It is constantly transformed and developed in various ways. In the same manner as

Scriabin’s late sonatas, the Fifth Sonata features tritones pervasively. The fact that the

54 mystic chord is made up of fourths is a precursor to the development of the mystic chord in the late sonatas. The tritone constantly appears in many ways, functioning as a generative energy. The sonority from the tritone relationship pervades the entire piece. At the beginning, the left hand plays tremolo-like figurations on a diminished 5th, D-sharp and A, which are tritones. (see ex. 24-1 and 24-2)

Example 24-1. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (m. 1)

Example 24-2. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (mm. 13-14)

55 In addition, the Fifth Sonata includes the disappearance of tonality that anticipate the late sonatas. In the early sonatas (up to the Fourth Sonata), Scriabin ends the final cadences with tonic chords. They serve the traditional function as the ‘ending.’ Heading for the final ending, the tension from the dissonances is constantly building throughout the sonatas and finally resolved with tonic harmony in the final cadence. However, the final cadence of the Fifth Sonata is vague and unclear compared to those of the early sonatas.

Scriabin’s Fifth Sonata has the perfect final cadences in measures 380 to 441, which contain several V-I motions in E-flat major; however, the way this sonata ends is very significant. After several cadences, it ends with a flourish, disappearing into the ether at the very end of the piece. Although it is Scriabin’s last piano sonata that includes a key signature, the key is not recognizable throughout the entire work. As the tonality disappears, Scriabin breaks from traditional harmonic progressions especially in the ending.

(see ex. 25) In the Fifth Sonata, Scriabin shows a strong tendency to escape from the traditional functional harmony.

Example 25. Scriabin Sonata No. 5, Op. 53. (mm. 453-456)

56 In this way, I looked at how the expressionist elements in his late sonatas appeared in the Fifth Sonata. He tried to express emotion in a compressed form, by using a single movement form in the Fifth Sonata for the first time. Also, he applied some symbolic motives that transformed his mystic interest into music. Lastly, Scriabin steered away from tonality, and used the harmony as one of the musical materials that determine the character of chords. In spite of the key signature in the Fifth Sonata, it is constantly changing without any fixed set of rules. After the Fifth Sonata, Scriabin no longer used the key signature in his piano sonata.

57 Chapter Five: Conclusion

Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) has been considered one of the most representative Russian composers standing at the head of expressionist music. Among his vast repertoires, his ten piano sonatas display Scriabin’s representative sonata form and show the change in his compositional style. The ten piano sonatas are divided into three groups according to the year of composition. The Fifth Sonata, Op. 53 (1907) is meaningful in that it begins to display the development of his individual style. Although it is classified as a work from his middle period, I insisted that the Fifth Sonata is already the start of his late sonatas. Scriabin’s late five sonatas, nos. 6 to 10, are notable for his involvement with mysticism, and are representative works of his expressionism. However, his expressionism did not come out of the blue. It had already started with the Fifth Sonata, as well as the early sonatas prior which have features that foreshadow his later expressionism. It is important to discuss how expressionism is developed throughout his ten piano sonatas.

Scriabin’s early sonatas, including nos. 1 to 4 written in his early formative period, have the elements of a late-Romantic style, which lay the foundation for his expressionism.

Scriabin already tried to reduce the number of movement in the Second and Fourth Sonata, anticipating the late expressionist sonatas which are written in single-movement form.

Also, the polyrhythm and tempo rubato in his early sonatas break the sense of regularity in rhythm and anticipate the extreme expression in Scriabin’s late expressionist sonatas.

These traits shown in his early sonatas developed to the significant characteristics of his late expressionist sonatas. Scriabin establishes his philosophical intent in his

58 expressionist works, and specifically, he applies mystic chord in conjunction with descriptive instructions that represent his mystic ideas. The most representative feature of his expressionism is the symbolic motives that are used repetitively throughout the piece. In particular, Scriabin tried to realize the images of mysticism using the following three motives: fanfare motive, light motive, and flight motive.

Although the Fifth Sonata is known as one of Scriabin’s transitional works, it already contains the same features found in his late expressionist sonatas. Scriabin used a compressed single-movement form that Scriabin retains for the rest of sonatas. Also, it includes the symbolic motives that Scriabin frequently used to transform his mystic interest into music in his late sonatas. Scriabin steered away from tonality, and used the mystic chord as a main building block for his music. The Fifth Sonata is the last sonata that has a key signature, but Scriabin began to destroy the tonal center using a high level of dissonance, distorted harmonies, and an imperfect final cadence. Scriabin’s expressionism evolved throughout his ten piano sonatas, especially, in depth with the Fifth Sonata.

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