"Nocturne op. 9 no. 2 for the Left Hand" by Alexander Scriabin

Abstract

This paper dwells on one musical miniature of the great value of all time that A. Scriabin, a post-romantic composer, wrote for the piano. Starting from a Russian folk song, he dedicates to his instrument a piece full of lyricism, reflecting his spiritual unrest. From the structural point of view, the nocturne (as a part of his Chopinian series of works) is like a tripartite lied followed by a Coda. We distinguish between two sections with ample sound changes mirroring the composer’s search for developing the specific possibilities of the piano and for multiplying its coloristic resources. By the end of the first section, it becomes much broader in the sound area. In this piece for the left hand, we find more or less classical proportions. It is not just an extremely interesting and expressive one, but also difficult in terms of piano virtuosity.