Table of Contents
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin was a Russian pianist and composer of the late Romantic Era. He was born in 1872 and passed away in 1915. He is highly regarded for his piano music, especially his piano sonatas, preludes, etudes, impromptus, and mazurkas. His piano concerto in F-sharp minor is starting to receive more attention, and is something every pianist should listen to.
The best editions for Scriabin in the Henle Verlag Urtext. The Henle edition has good fingering suggestions, which many other editions do not contain. I believe that the Barenreiter urtext,the International Music Company, and Dover are fine to use as well. Be wary of using the Kalmus Edition for Scriabin, as it is known for having typos.
Piano Sonatas
The 10 piano sonatas of Scriabin are a staple part of a pianist’s repertoire.
The best editions are ranked from highest on top and lowest on bottom.
Henle Verlag Urtext
Always a trustworthy source for sheet music. The Henle Scriabin Piano Sonatas contains a foreword, fingering suggestions, and commentary notes. (Some sonatas cannot be found on Amazon. Find the others on Sheet music plus or other sites).
Edited by Valentina Rubcova with fingering by Michael Schneidt
You can purchase the complete set here on Henle’s website.
Click here to see a sample of the Henle Scriabin Piano Sonatas.
Sonata 1
Sonata 2
Sonata 5
Sonata 6
Sonata 7
Sonata 8
Sonata 9
Sonata 10
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Barenreiter Urtext
Published in 2011. This is a very important edition to have if you are looking for authentic sheet music for Scriabin. Editor Christoph Flamm uses autograph manuscripts, 1920 editions from Russian and first editions for this urtext. This edition also contains fragmentary sonatas, which no other edition contains, and reconstructed parts of sonatas such as the g-sharp minor sonata.
Click on this following link to see a sample of the Barenreiter Scriabin Piano Sonatas.
Volume 1
Volume 2
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International Music Company
Edited by Isidor Phillip.
While being pricey (around 50 dollars), IMC is known for their high quality and accurate sheet music. This edition lays flat easily, has large print for easy reading, and excellent finger suggestions.
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Dover Edition
Reprinted from the 1964 Russian edition. Published in 1989 and contains 256 pages. This edition is best for those who are not looking to spend too much money on their sheet music.
Click on the following link to see a sample of the Dover Scriabin Piano Sonatas.
Vers La Flamme
International Music Company
A high quality edition for any sheet music. This edition is quite expensive, so it is best to purchase this score if you plan on using for diligent studying and performance.
Click on the following link to see an example of the International Music Company Scriabin Vers La Flamme.
Henle Verlag Urtext
A good edition for the Scriabin Vers La Flamme which is not too expensive. Features commentary notes and fingering suggestions.
Editor: Valentina Rubcova (same editor as the sonatas by Henle)
Preludes and Etudes
The best editions are ranked from highest on top and lowest on bottom.
International Music Company
Edited by Isidor Phillip
Click here to view a sample of Scriabin Etudes by Internation Music Company.
You can find more IMC editions of Scriabin’s music directly on their website.
Op 8
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Op 42
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Henle Verlag Urtext
A good edition for the Scriabin Preludes. A problem with the Henle Scriabin Preludes is that you will have to purchase each Opus number separately.
Edited by Valentina Rubcova with fingering by Michael Schneidt
Op. 11
Belaieff Verlag
A very crisp and clean edition to use that contains no fingering markings. A very pure urtext.
Click on the following link to see a sample and purchase the Belaieff Scriabin Piano Preludes
Dover Edition
An advantage that this edition has over others is that it contains all of the etudes and preludes in one edition for a relatively low price. Reprinted from the 1964 Moscow Edition.
You can see a sample of the Dover Scriabin Preludes and Etudes here.
Mazurkas, Poems, and Impromptus
Dover Edition
Reprinted from the 1964 Russian edition. Contains all of Scriabin’s Mazurkas, poemes, and impromptus for a low price. This volume contains over 320 pages and features over 75 pieces.
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Piano Concerto
Edition Peters
Edited by Gunter Philipp.
Contains a few badly needed fingering suggestions for this difficult work.
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Dover Edition
Republished from the M. P. Belaieff edition from Frankfurt.
Kalmus Edition
From personal use of this edition, I have noticed quite a few typos, including wrong notes, adding and missing rhythms. It is better to get the Peters Edition for the Scriabin Piano Concerto.
Here are examples of one of the typos:
In the alto lines for the second piano in third measure and 5 measure of this variation, there are typos. The third beat of the third measure should have a C double sharp in the alto line. The third beat of the fifth measure should have a e double sharp in its third measure.
Also, the fifth measure of this variation has five beats written in it. The time signature is 4/4, and the piano 1 part only has 4 beats.
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Romance for Horn and Piano
A very beautiful romance that deserves to be in standard classical repertoire.
Henle Verlag Urtext
Edited by Dominik Rahmer with fingering by Michael Schneidt
You can see a sample of the Henle Scriabin Horn Romance here:
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