The Piano Sonata No. 9, Op. 68, commonly known as the Black Mass Sonata, is one of the late piano sonatas composed by Alexander Scriabin. <br /><br />The work was written around 1912–1913. Although its nickname was not invented by Scriabin (unlike the nickname White Mass given to his Seventh Sonata), he personally approved of it. <br /><br />Structure and content <br />The ninth sonata spans a single movement, typically lasting 8–10 minutes, marked as follows: <br /><br /> 1. Moderato quasi andante - Molto meno vivo - Allegro molto - Alla marcia - Allegro - Presto - Tempo primo <br /><br />Like Scriabin's other late works, the piece is highly chromatic and atonal. The Black Mass Sonata is particularly dissonant because many of its themes are based around an interval of a minor ninth, one of the most unstable sounds. The ninth sonata is an unmistakable masterpiece; notable Scriabin contemporaries such as Igor Stravinsky praised it.[citation needed] Its marking 'legendaire' exactly captures the sense of distant mysteriou
