SCRIABIN OPUS 9
Prelude in C♯ minor and Nocturne in D♭ major

The Scriabin Opus 9 Prelude and Nocturne for the left hand alone are among my favorite works by this composer.  Though early works still under the strong influence of Chopin's romanticism, particularly in the Prelude, the fact of having to compose works for the left hand resulted in a unique outpouring of creativity.  These two pieces are gems, perfect creations on a small scale.

The Prelude from Op 9 is a lovely Chopinesque piece, but in it one already hears elements the Scriabin to come.  The genius of this piece is that there is no sense in the listening of its having been written for one hand.  There is no virtuosity obligata here, just a simple plaintive song of great beauty and harmonic richness.  Sofronitsky is my performer of choice here.

There are four exceptional performances of the Nocturne from Scriabin Opus 9, a much more adventurous and difficult work  The one by Cliburn 2009 Finalist Mariangela Vacatello is simply to die for, as are, in very different ways, the performances by Alexis Weissenburg (perhaps the best overall) , the noted Scriabin interpreter John Bell Young, and Rachmaninoff's and one of my very favorite pianists, Benno Moiseiwitsch.  But I must say that my discovery of the Vacatello performance of the Nocturne has left me in a dreamlike state, with an expression on my face very like that on Ron Weasley's in the sixth of the Harry Potter movies while under the influence of an irresistibly bewitching love potion.

I must also mention Maria Lettberg, whose performances of both the Prelude and the Nocturne from Scriabin Opus 9 are perfectly splendid.

Prelude in C♯ minor, Op 9~1

Vladimir Sofronitsky, piano
recorded in 1960