A fully developed Nocturne preceded by a sorrowful Prelude.

No.1 : Prélude (C♯ minor)
No.2 : Nocturne (D♭ major)

These pieces offer the clearest expression of Scriabin’s personal struggles during this period—specifically, the loss of full use of his right hand following excessive practice. He referred to this in a letter from 1894 as “the heaviest event of my life.” This physical and emotional trauma was also transfigured into music in his First Sonata, Op.6.

Upon publication, the Prelude and Nocturne were a tremendous success, selling thousands of copies before fading into relative obscurity. After the First World War, the genre of one-hand piano music would experience a resurgence, as composers such as Ravel (with his Concerto for the Left Hand in D major, M.82) contributed to this rare but meaningful repertoire.