''Rêverie'', Op. 24, is an orchestral work composed by

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

in 1898. A typical performance lasts from 3 to 5 minutes. Scriabin, who was a pianist, had never before composed for orchestra, except for a few unpublished works. However, he composed the work in total secrecy, without any advice.

Composition

In November 1898, when Scriabin went to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, he brought a present for his patron and publisher M.P. Belaïeff. The offer was the full score of an orchestral work named ''Prélude'', a short miniature in

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp, on the F. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: Change ...

and

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples inclu ...

. One day, his friend

Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov. At the time, his name Reforms of Russian orthography, was spelled , which he romanized as Nicolas Rimsky-Korsakow; the BGN/PCGN Romanization of Russian, transliteration of Russian is used for his name here; ...

came to visit him and played the work on the piano. He deemed it ''Delightful, wheated in piquant harmonies and not badly orchestrated''. Since Belaïeff thought the French title ''Prélude'' did not fit an orchestral work, he and Scriabin decided to rename it ''Rêverie''. As Belaïeff's editions were published in French (or German) and Russian, they further discussed about the Slavic title. They had to choose between ''mechty'' (daydreams) or ''gryozy'' (musings). They agreed on the first. After hearing the rehearsals, Scriabin wrote:

"Imagine my joy, the piece sounds very well. At the rehearsal on 1 December Korsakov was so sweet. He had each section go through its parts separately and spent a whole hour in it ..

The piece was premièred on 5 December 1898 in Saint Petersburg after Balakirev's ''Tamara''. It was very well received, and Rimsky-Korsakov had to encore it. After this, Scriabin played a selection of his études, préludes and impromptus at the piano.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reverie (Scriabin) Compositions by Alexander Scriabin 1898 compositions Compositions in E minor