Alexander Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist. He was born in Moscow (Russia) in 1872 in a wealthy aristocratic family. His father was a diplomat who mostly lived abroad and following the death of his mother, a concert pianist, when he was only one year old, young Alexander was brought up by his grandmother and his aunt. He showed exceptional musical talent from a young age. His first piano teacher was Nikolai Zverev of the Moscow Conservatory. Sergei Rachmaninoff was also being taught by Zverev at the time and the two of them eventually became lifelong friends. Eventually Scriabin graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with the Gold Medal in piano performance, but he did not complete a composition degree, because of disagreements with his teacher, A. Arensky. Nevertheless, after performing his own works to very positive reviews, Scriabin was engaged to compose for the Belaieff publishing firm, which included other notable composers such as Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. In 1898 he became a professor of piano at the Moscow Conservatory, an occupation with which he became increasingly bored. Scriabin mostly composed pieces for solo piano. The first three of Scriabin's ten published sonatas are in a Romantic style, reminiscent of Chopin and Liszt, but undoubtedly with Scriabin´s unique voice present from the beginning. The later ones move into new territory, the last five being written with no key signature. The earlier Sonata Op.19 No. 2 in G sharp minor, also known as Sonata-Fantasia, dates from a seaside visit in 1892 but was not completed until 1897. As expected from the source of inspiration, the piece uses a nautical program that correlates nicely with the mystic symbol of the sea as the psyche. According to Scriabin, the Andante first movement begins with the calm of night by the seashore. This is followed first by an agitated development section depicting stormy undercurrents in the depths of the ocean, followed by a contrasting section evoking a tender moonlight scene. The Presto second movement portrays the raging of the sea and the vastness of its expanse. Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) - Sonata Op. 19 No.2 Sonata Fantasia in G sharp minor. Performance (piano) and programme notes by Panagiotis Markos. Panagiotis Markos preparing the Scriabin sonata No 2 for his public recital. This video was recorded in Deptford Town Hall (London) by a mobile camera , MP4.
