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Transcendent Sounds: the Early Piano Music of Alexander Scriabin

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Transcendent Sounds: the Early Piano Music of Alexander Scriabin Transcendent Sounds: The Early Piano Music of Alexander Scriabin by Laura Lynn Whitehead BMus, University of Victoria, 2008 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts School of Music Laura Lynn Whitehead, 2014 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee Transcendent Sounds: The Early Piano Music of Alexander Scriabin by Laura Lynn Whitehead BMus, University of Victoria, 2008 Supervisory Committee Prof. Michelle Fillion (School of Music) Supervisor Prof. Harald Krebs (School of Music) Departmental Member Prof. Arthur Rowe (School of Music) Departmental Member iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Prof. Michelle Fillion (School of Music) Supervisor Prof. Harald Krebs (School of Music) Departmental Member Prof. Arthur Rowe (School of Music) Departmental Member Studies of Alexander Scriabin (1871-1915) have traditionally focused on his middle- and late- period music after 1902. Discussions of his personal philosophy and its impact on his music also concentrate on these two periods. This thesis examines Scriabin’s philosophy and piano music from a sub-section of his early period—1892 to 1897—that I designate his “formative” period. I argue that Scriabin’s eccentric belief in transcendence through music was already developing and influencing his music during his formative period. Evidence to support this theory is found in three areas: context, performance practice and analysis. A contextual evaluation of Scriabin’s formative years is compared against his late ideologies from his opera and the Mysterium. Scriabin’s performance practices, as seen in both first-hand documentation and his piano roll recordings, reveal possible philosophical performance traits. Analyses of selected formative compositions expose philosophical and performance related elements, demonstrating the interaction between composer, pianist and philosopher. iv Table of Contents Supervisory Committee .................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iii Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................... iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi List of Musical Examples ............................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... x Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter 1 – Context and Philosophy: 1892-1897 ......................................................................... 10 EARLY PHILOSOPHIC FOUNDATIONS ................................................................................. 11 INFLUENCES AND CAREER: 1892-1897 ................................................................................ 14 SCRIABIN’S PHILOSOPHY AND AESTHETICS .................................................................... 22 Nineteenth-Century Cultural Influences ............................................................................... 23 The Philosophy: Mature and Early....................................................................................... 29 CONCLUSIONS........................................................................................................................... 37 Chapter 2 - Tradition, Innovation and Personal Philosophy in Scriabin’s Performance Practices39 SCRIABIN’S MUSICAL HERITAGE AND EDUCATION ...................................................... 39 Musical Instruction and Study .............................................................................................. 43 SCRIABIN AS PIANIST AND PERFORMER ........................................................................... 47 SCRIABIN’S PIANO ROLLS ..................................................................................................... 52 Piano Roll Technology .......................................................................................................... 54 Rubato ................................................................................................................................... 57 Tempo Fluctuation ................................................................................................................ 58 Rhythmic Alteration .............................................................................................................. 66 Desynchronization of the Parts ............................................................................................. 71 Scriabin’s Tempo Flexibility: Atypical or Late-Romantic? .................................................. 73 Dynamics............................................................................................................................... 76 Pedaling ................................................................................................................................ 78 Articulation, Slurs and Phrasing .......................................................................................... 82 THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND SCRIABIN’S PERFORMANCE PRACTICES ........................ 84 Chapter 3 – The Compositional Style of Scriabin’s Formative Period ........................................ 90 ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO SCRIABIN’S WORKS ..................................................... 90 ANALYZING THE MUSIC OF SCRIABIN’S FORMATIVE PERIOD ................................. 101 Tonal Ambiguity .................................................................................................................. 108 Voice Leading and Common-tone Pivots ............................................................................ 116 Harmonic and Melodic Connections to the Transitional and Late-Period Music ............. 119 Musical Form and Structure ............................................................................................... 123 The Transcendent Motive .................................................................................................... 126 SCRIABIN’S FORMATIVE-PERIOD AS FOUNDATION FOR HIS LATER STYLE ......... 129 Chapter 4 – Integration of Composer, Performer and Philosopher ............................................ 131 PERFORMANCE AND PHILOSOPHY IN SCRIABIN’S FORMATIVE MUSIC ................. 131 Rhythmic and Metrical Analysis ......................................................................................... 137 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................... 144 v Discograpy …………………………………………………………………………………… 150 Track Listing and Information .................................................................................................... 150 Appendix A – Op. 8 no. 12, Belaieff Edition ............................................................................. 152 Appendix B – Op. 11 no. 1, Belaieff Edition.............................................................................. 155 Appendix C – Op. 11 no. 2, Belaieff Edition.............................................................................. 156 Appendix D – Op. 11 no. 14, Belaieff Edition ........................................................................... 158 Appendix E – Op. 19, 1st movement, Belaieff Edition ............................................................... 160 Appendix F – Op. 8 no. 12, mm. 49-55, Dover Edition ............................................................. 170 vi List of Tables Table 2.1 – Scriabin’s Piano Roll Recordings ..............................................................................53 Table 2.2 – Scriabin’s Underlying Tempo Changes per Quarter Note in Etude Op. 8 no. 12 ......64 Table 3.1 – Op. 11 no.1 Modulations .........................................................................................110 Table 3.2 – Op. 19 Structure and Key Areas .............................................................................110 Table 3.3 – Structure in Op. 11 no. 1 and 2, and Op. 8 no. 12 ...................................................125 vii List of Musical Examples Example 2.1 – Aural Analysis of Tempo Fluctuations in in Scriabin’s Welte-Mignon Piano Roll Recording of Prelude Op. 11 no. 1 ................................................................. 60-1 Example 2.2 – Scriabin’s Tempo Fluctuations in Prelude Op. 11 no. 2, mm. 33-48 ...................62 Example 2.3 – Op. 11 no. 2, mm. 1-3 ...........................................................................................64 Example 2.4 – Op. 8 no. 12, mm. 43-44 ......................................................................................64 Example 2.5 – The highlighted quintuplets are performed closer to the dotted rhythm above ....67 Example 2.6 – Scriabin’s rhythmic alteration of the melody in m. 9 of Op. 11 no. 2 ..................67 Example 2.7 – Notated rhythm in Op. 11 no. 2, mm. 63-64 .........................................................68
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