Overview
Introduction
In the latter two decades of the nineteenth century, Scriabin divulged considerable talent as a composer, but clearly exhibited a debt to Chopin, Liszt, and others. As the twentieth century approached, his style began evolving toward a more personal idiom. The year 1903 was an extremely productive and pivotal, as elements of his late mystical style were even beginning to appear in his music. But then, certain compositions were still largely Romantic in nature. This waltz is one such example. That said, it was quite advanced for its time. The work opens with one of those rich, Scriabin-esque themes that seems to exude heavy perfumes or remind the senses of flowers slightly wilting in the hot sun. The melody is sweet and leisurely, quirky and hesitant, but can suddenly turn passionate and fiery. Some of the writing looks back toward Liszt, a composer whose influence rarely surfaced this late in Scriabin's career. The whole piece has that post-Romanticism found in many Scriabin works from the period and earlier. Lasting five to six minutes, this waltz will appeal not only to the composer's admirers, but to a fairly wide audience of piano music lovers.
