The Eight Etudes op. 42 by Alexander Scriabin were composed during a phase of great productivity. For many years, teaching commitments had hampered the composer. Gradually, he was able to dispose of these tasks. Thus, from 1903 he finally had more time to compose, including, among other things, the Etudes op. 42. The c-sharp minor Etude no. 5 is the central star of this collection and an exemplary virtuoso piece. Scriabin himself spoke of it as “an etude that in power and grandeur surpasses the Third Symphony” – reason enough to place it as an affordable individual edition alongside the complete volume.

For the Henle Urtext, both the first edition as well as the variants of the edition published after Scriabin’s death by his friend and colleague Nikolay Zhilyayev were carefully evaluated. Boris Giltburg’s tried and tested fingerings provide the best support for taking on this pianistic challenge.

Valentina Rubcova (Editor)
Boris Giltburg (Fingering)