Scriabin Sonata No. 3 - Henrik Kilhamn Edition

PDF Score with marks and fingerings by Henrik Kilhamn.
Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F# minor, Op. 23

I have marked all my own pianistic solutions in the score after working with this repertoire for a long time.

• Fingerings
• Note redistributions
• Hands Over/Under coordination
• Some simplification suggestions
• Pedal markings only occasionally
• Preface with explanations included

This edition should NOT be confused with Simple Solutions Edition - Easy Arrangements for the Intermediate Pianist, which is entirely based on simplifying original compositions. The Henrik Kilhamn Edition comprises only added marks and fingerings on an original composition. A few minor simplification suggestions does not make this difficult composition suitable for intermediate pianists at all. They only serve as tactics for advanced pianists to be able to better retain musical accuracy, flow (tempo), clarity and/or sound balance when the compositional demands feel too high, but from an already high level of technical proficiency.

Scriabin: Piano Sonata No. 3 in F# minor, Op. 23

I. Drammatico
II. Allegretto
III. Andante
IV. Presto con fuoco

Underlying edition (in public domain): Muzgiz edition, 1947, editor: Konstantin Sorokin.

Note on the Composition

Scriabin's music is generally dense to read through, and especially so his 3rd sonata! Big chords everywhere you look with both hands competing for space to catch them all. This requires a lot of work just dispersing the coordination and note distribution in order to play it at all. This edition has all of my decisions, and hopefully they can serve as a good starting point that saves you some time on the way to whichever solution you ultimately choose.

When it comes to more consequential simplifications, there are a few crossed out notes in the 1st and 2nd movements, almost none in the 3rd and quite a lot in the 4th.

The terrifying 4th movement is worth a special mention. Apparently, on Scriabin’s own piano roll recording of the piece, he plays a different, easier version of the LH accompaniment pattern of the main theme! This is commented upon in most editions (although not the Muzgiz here), and a sketch is given that looks like my solution in bar 11. This "Scriabin sketch" consists of two simplifications, and I have used both at different times in other bars. In the beginning I don't need to use any, but the range widens more and more, and I do the first replacement in bar 8, and then again in bars 11-15. This exact setup took a lot of time to calibrate because the jumps have all slightly different distances, and for my hands I can hit some without problems but have no chance with the widest. Depending on your hand range and agility, you could easily change the threshold where you start doing simplification replacements if you wish. In general, I don't think a listener will be able to hear the difference between these alternatives and the written ones, due to the tempo and low register.
In the chromatic transitional section on page 2, I've found some clever hand redistributions with no note cancellations which turns the place from a nightmare to a rather enjoyable experience.

Sonata Secrets Guide:

Henrik Kilhamn Edition

This edition series is the result of me working with difficult repertoire at concert performance level for a long time and having to find the best strategies for my own hands to play the incredible music in front of me. Fundamentally, this is something every pianist at an advanced level has to go through to get to know how their hands work. Not just size and grip range, but how it feels in different musical circumstances, what is an acceptable strain on the hand and what isn’t. The fingerings and marks in this edition are what feels best for my hands, and it is no guarantee that they will do so for other pianists. However, they feel like good solutions in general, all emanating from an ideal of efficiency and organicism of hand movement.

Concretely, there are two types of suggestions. One is completely on top of the compositional layer, accepting the score as it is and only adding instructions for the performer: fingerings, note redistributions, hands over/under coordination, pedal markings etc.

The other comes into play when the compositional demands on the performer are above either what is possible for any pianist to play (e.g. impossibly large chords), or just my personal level of technique, and it feels like I would never be able to play it right in concert. This is where you’ll see some notes crossed out, or the occasional rearranging of voices. They are my solutions that makes it possible to retain a higher degree of accuracy, musical flow (tempo), clarity or sound balance, where I feel that I cannot achieve that with what's written. They are compromises in their nature, but I have obviously tried to keep as much of the musical material as possible, and they are always my best alternatives after trying many different options. Also, they often come in close connection with a fingering suggestion, as one “package” of a solution. Here you might hear a voice in your head of some professor screaming that this is never acceptable and you are a failure for even considering it, but I’m here to say that that is wrong. Every sane pianist does it, except perhaps the top layer of prodigy virtuosos who have not experienced struggling with technical limits the same way the rest of us have.

However, what feels like an optimal compromise in a situation is also subject to personal preference in addition to technique. The purpose of this edition then is to give my suggestions, which you are free to pick and choose among as you like. In fact, I strongly recommend using another score as your own and only look at my edition as a secondary source, and then write in which suggestions you like and leave those you don’t need.