SCRIABIN, ALEKSANDR NIKOLAYEVICH


Meaning of SCRIABIN, ALEKSANDR NIKOLAYEVICH in English

n.

born Jan. 6, 1872, Moscow, Russia

died April 27, 1915, Moscow

Russian composer and pianist.

He studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory and then launched a successful concert career. His early music was mostly for piano (including études, preludes, and sonatas) but also included two symphonies and a piano concerto. After 1900 he was much preoccupied with mystical philosophy and began using unusual harmonies, producing a third symphony and the Divine Poem (1904). He became involved in theosophy, which provided the basis for the orchestral Poem of Ecstasy (1908) and Prometheus (1910); the latter called for the projection of colours onto a screen during the performance. No longer thinking in terms of music alone, he made sketches for a huge operatic ritual, Mysterium , which was never composed.

Aleksandr Scriabin.

Novosti Press Agency

Britannica Concise Encyclopedia.      Краткая энциклопедия Британика.