January 5, 2015.Scriabin.Alexander Scriabin was born in Moscow on January 6th of 1872.In 1872 Russia was still using the Julian calendar, and January 6th for those living according to the Gregorian calendar was Christmas Day, December 25th..Scriabin’s father belonged to a minor Moscow nobility and later in his life would become a prominent Russian diplomat, his mother was a concert pianist. She died of consumption when Alexander was one year old; she was only 23.Anton Rubinstein, who was for a while his mother’s teacher, took interest in Alexander.By the age of five Scriabin was already playing piano; from an early age he showed interest in composing.He took private lessons with Taneyev and other prominent musicians and later entered the Moscow Conservatory, studying piano with the famous Vasily Safonov, graduating with a gold medal (Sergei Rachmaninov graduated from the Conservatory the same year, also with a gold medal, but of an even higher rank).In 1898 Scriabin was invited to his alma mater as a professor of composition but quit soon after because teaching interfered with his own work.Around this time he became well known as a composer.Scriabin’s early compositions, mostly for the piano, are very pleasant but quite derivative, written in imitation of Chopin’s sonorities: listen, for example, to his Etude in c-sharp minor, op. 2, no. 1 in the performance by Daniil Trifonov (herer).In 1903 Scriabin and his wife Vera, the mother of their four children, left Russia for Switzerland.By then Scriabin was already involved with the 20-year old Tatiana Schloezer.Shortly after the Scriabins legally separated,Schloezer joined Scriabin as his second, common-law wife (they had three more children together; one of them, Julian, who drowned at the age of 11, was a composer who wrote several preludes in the late style of his father).Schloezer, despite her age, was a strong-willed woman who worshiped Scriabin.Some of Scriabin’s friends accepted Schloezer, some refused to do so (Safonov, a former teacher and good friend, stopped talking to Scriabin).The Swiss period marked a significant development in Scriabin’s music.It became highly individual, idiosyncratic.The Fourth and the Fifth Piano sonata and the famous Poem of Ecstasy, which he started in 1905, are great examples of his art of the period (here’s Sonata no. 4 in the F-sharp Major, op. 30, performed by Vassily Primakov).In 1907 Scriabin moved to Paris where for a brief period he got involved with the famous impresario Sergei Diaghilev, and then to Brussels.Short on money (his major Russian patrons cut their funding), he made a trip to New York.Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful.In 1910 Scriabin returned to Russia and stayed there for the few remaining years of his life.
During this time his music evolved even further.Its harmonies grew so complex that the basic tonality became practically irrelevant.Scriabin started talking about his music more in painter’s terms, putting emphasis on such qualities as radiance, sharpness, or brilliancy.Around the same time Scriabin became obsessed with the relationship between color and musical tone.In 1910 he wrote a symphonic poem Prometheus and added a special line to score for the color accompaniment using a special machine called clavier à lumières.He specified that C should be projected in red color, D – yellow, and so on, for all 12 notes of the octave.Only one version of this instrument was ever used, in the performance of Prometheus in New York in 1915.
Scriabin died on April 27th of 1914 of septic shock after a boil on his upper lip got infected as he tried to get rid of it.He was 43.One of the greatest interpreters of his music was the Russian pianist Vladimir Sofronitsky (1901-1961), who married Scriabin’s eldest daughter, Elena.Sofronitsky is not very well known in the West, which is quite unfortunate: some of his recordings were at the highest possible level.Here is the recording made by Sofronitsky of Scriabin’s late Sonata no. 9, op. 68, subtitled “Black Mass.”The recording was made in 1960.We’ll dedicate an entry to the art of Sofronitsky at a later date.
Scriabin 2015
January 5, 2015. Scriabin. Alexander Scriabin was born in Moscow on January 6th of 1872. In 1872 Russia was still using the Julian calendar, and January 6th for those living according to the Gregorian calendar was Christmas Day, December 25th.. Scriabin’s father belonged to a minor Moscow nobility and later in his life would become a prominent
Russian diplomat, his mother was a concert pianist. She died of consumption when Alexander was one year old; she was only 23. Anton Rubinstein, who was for a while his mother’s teacher, took interest in Alexander. By the age of five Scriabin was already playing piano; from an early age he showed interest in composing. He took private lessons with Taneyev and other prominent musicians and later entered the Moscow Conservatory, studying piano with the famous Vasily Safonov, graduating with a gold medal (Sergei Rachmaninov graduated from the Conservatory the same year, also with a gold medal, but of an even higher rank). In 1898 Scriabin was invited to his alma mater as a professor of composition but quit soon after because teaching interfered with his own work. Around this time he became well known as a composer. Scriabin’s early compositions, mostly for the piano, are very pleasant but quite derivative, written in imitation of Chopin’s sonorities: listen, for example, to his Etude in c-sharp minor, op. 2, no. 1 in the performance by Daniil Trifonov (herer). In 1903 Scriabin and his wife Vera, the mother of their four children, left Russia for Switzerland. By then Scriabin was already involved with the 20-year old Tatiana Schloezer. Shortly after the Scriabins legally separated, Schloezer joined Scriabin as his second, common-law wife (they had three more children together; one of them, Julian, who drowned at the age of 11, was a composer who wrote several preludes in the late style of his father). Schloezer, despite her age, was a strong-willed woman who worshiped Scriabin. Some of Scriabin’s friends accepted Schloezer, some refused to do so (Safonov, a former teacher and good friend, stopped talking to Scriabin). The Swiss period marked a significant development in Scriabin’s music. It became highly individual, idiosyncratic. The Fourth and the Fifth Piano sonata and the famous Poem of Ecstasy, which he started in 1905, are great examples of his art of the period (here’s Sonata no. 4 in the F-sharp Major, op. 30, performed by Vassily Primakov). In 1907 Scriabin moved to Paris where for a brief period he got involved with the famous impresario Sergei Diaghilev, and then to Brussels. Short on money (his major Russian patrons cut their funding), he made a trip to New York. Unfortunately, it wasn’t successful. In 1910 Scriabin returned to Russia and stayed there for the few remaining years of his life.
During this time his music evolved even further. Its harmonies grew so complex that the basic tonality became practically irrelevant. Scriabin started talking about his music more in painter’s terms, putting emphasis on such qualities as radiance, sharpness, or brilliancy. Around the same time Scriabin became obsessed with the relationship between color and musical tone. In 1910 he wrote a symphonic poem Prometheus and added a special line to score for the color accompaniment using a special machine called clavier à lumières. He specified that C should be projected in red color, D – yellow, and so on, for all 12 notes of the octave. Only one version of this instrument was ever used, in the performance of Prometheus in New York in 1915.
Scriabin died on April 27th of 1914 of septic shock after a boil on his upper lip got infected as he tried to get rid of it. He was 43. One of the greatest interpreters of his music was the Russian pianist Vladimir Sofronitsky (1901-1961), who married Scriabin’s eldest daughter, Elena. Sofronitsky is not very well known in the West, which is quite unfortunate: some of his recordings were at the highest possible level. Here is the recording made by Sofronitsky of Scriabin’s late Sonata no. 9, op. 68, subtitled “Black Mass.” The recording was made in 1960. We’ll dedicate an entry to the art of Sofronitsky at a later date.