Op.8 - 12 Etudes

Collection of twelve études directly aligned with the canonical examples by Chopin (Op.11 and 25) as well as those by Liszt.
No.1 : Allegro (C♯ major)
No.2 : A capriccio, con forza (F♯ minor)
No.3 : Tempestoso (B minor)
No.4 : Piacevole (B major)
No.5 : Brioso (E major)
No.6 : Con grazia (A Major)
No.7 : Presto tenebroso, agitato (B♭ minor)
No.8 : Lento (A♭ major)
No.9 : Alla ballata (G♯ minor)
No.10 : Allegro (D♭ major)
No.11 : Andante cantabile (B♭ minor)
No.12 : Patetico (D♯ minor)
Finished almost ten years after his very first etude Op.2, they are, while virtuosic, also deeply musical. They exhibit refined counterpoint, rich harmonic progressions, development and climax. Although aesthetically inspired by Chopin and Liszt, the music is closer to the studies of Rachmaninoff (and even Debussy).
- No.3 is reminiscent of Brahms with its inner strength, Slavic character and repeated low basses.
- No.9 echoes to his college Rachmaninoff, with a Russian sense of drama and energetic impulses (Etude in G# Minor No.7 Op.33).
- No.10, composed of whirling staccato thirds, remember the mocking irony sometimes found in Debussy’s works.
- No.11 is imbued with intense melancholy, calling to mind Chopin’s sorrowful No.7 Op.25.
- The last one, No.12 is the most popular piece of Scriabin. With a dreadful sense of dramatic effect, it is an even more intensified idea of Chopin’s powerful études.