Piano Sonata No. 5 in F-sharp major, Op. 53

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Musical Terms (6)

• con stravaganza Italian
  With extravagance — the tempo and character marking of Scriabin's Fifth Sonata.
  The Fifth Sonata is a single continuous movement of enormous expressive range. Con stravaganza implies something deliberately extreme and eccentric — a wild, unconstrained energy that matches the mystic fire of the programmatic context.
• aile French
  Winged — light and free, as if floating above the instrument.
  One of Scriabin's most characteristic late-period markings. The fingers should barely graze the keys; the sound floats upward rather than projecting outward.
• avec une volupte radieuse French
  With radiant ecstasy — Scriabin's characteristic late-period instruction for mystical, transcendent passages.
  Scriabin's late music is saturated with mystical ecstasy. These passages should feel as if they are dissolving into pure light; the sound must float, and the harmonies must shimmer rather than resolve.
• lumineux French
  Luminous — a bright, glowing, radiant tone quality.
  Scriabin uses lumineux for passages that should sound like light itself. High registers, soft touch, and pedal resonance combine to create a shimmering, incandescent effect.
• mystic chord English
  Scriabin's characteristic harmonic formation: a quartal chord built in fourths (C–F♯–B♭–E–A–D) that generates most of the harmonic language of his late works.
  The mystic chord is not resolved in the traditional sense; it simply is. Its ambiguous tonal centre creates the floating, directionless harmonic world of Scriabin's late style.
• mystique French
  Mystical — the dominant atmosphere of Scriabin's late piano works.
  Unlike 'mysterious' (which implies concealment), Scriabin's mystique implies revelation — but a revelation hovering just out of reach. The tone should be luminous and suspended.