Piano Sonata no. 4 in F sharp major, op. 30
Romantic Sonata Piano solo ~9 min
In brief

The piece projects a luminous yet restless mood, with shimmering arpeggios alternating lyrical outbursts and darker moments where the texture thickens. Among the technical challenges, Harmonic analysis (3.6/5) here requires quickly spotting modulations to shape phrasing and accent choices, and Sustain pedal (3.1/5) demands very precise control — partial pedaling and careful releases — to preserve overlapping sonorities without blurring. Dated to the Romantic period, this sonata sits in Scriabin's output as a transitional work between his earlier post-Romantic sonatas and his later, more adventurous harmonic experiments. I will not give specific reference recordings unless I can be certain of them.

MusicCoach difficulty
80/100
Advanced
Likely range : 69–90/100
Confidence : 55% · fair confidence
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 8

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.

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Difficulty sources
Henle Verlag
8
85/100 normalised · 2 obs.
Relative difficulty
84%
Among Alexander Scriabin
91%
Era Romantic
92%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Pedaling
Sustain pedal
1
Style
Romantic style
1
Rhythm
Tempo rubato
1
Style
Character and style
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Rhythm
General rhythm
1
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

See the whole progression