PIANOFORTE MUSIC OF SCRIABIN
Played by LILIAS MACKINNON
Prelude in G Flat, Op. 11 Prelude in D Flat, Op. 35 Prelude in B Flat, Op. 35 Prelude in C, Op. 35 Mazurka No. I, Op. 40 Quasi Valse, Op. 47
Sonata, No. 4, Op. 30
Andante Prestissimo Volando
THE opening prelude in tonight's programme is
No. 13 from the twenty-four, of which the sixth was heard on Monday. It is pure poetry in Scriabin's most delightful Chopinesque manner. Opus 35, of which all three preludes are to bo played, is frank homage. Three styles are clearly reflected, Chopin, Wagner, and Schumann, in that order. The first of two Mazurkas, Opus 40, calls for little comment; it is delicate and graceful. Opus 47, Quasi-Valse, is in the nature of a sketch for a waltz with the characteristic Scriabinesque harmonies which, at this stage, were in the normal equipment of the composer. The fourth sonata. Opus 30, is a typical example of Scriabin's early feeling towards the composition of music of a new psychological import. The ' theme of ecstasy,' used later in the ' Poem of Ecstasy ' for orchestra, can be traced in embryo. The sonata is played through without a break.