Alexandre Scriabine

Alexandre Nikolaïevitch Scriabine or Skriabine (in) is a Pianiste and a Compositeur born with Moscow, on December 25th, 1871 of the Calendrier Julien/January 6th 1872, and died in this same city, on April 14th of the Calendrier Julien/April 27th 1915.

Alexandre Scriabine often saw itself like a religious or Messianic figure, perhaps influenced by the fact that it had been born precisely the day from Christmas. Personality of most attractive of the Music of the beginning of the century, a long time ignored, considered as one enlightened, the idealistic philosophical ideas of Alexandre Scriabine were sufficiently strange to divert its music of a great number of listeners.

Biography

Wire of Nikolaï Scriabine, diplomat, expert in Eastern languages, and of Lioubov Petrovna Scriabine, talented pianist, is very quickly delivered to itself: his/her mother dies of tuberculosis, and his/her father leaves for Turkey. He is then taken charges some by his grandmother Elizavéta Ivanovna (1823-1916), and especially by his aunt Lioubov Alexandrovna (1852-1941), which teaches him the bases from the piano. He is presented in 1881 to Anton Rubinstein, large pianist and type-setter of the time, which predicts to him a great future (for the anecdote, Scriabine will reproduce the same encouragements with regard to the pianist Vladimir Horowitz, in these words addressed to his/her mother: “your son will be always a good pianist, but that is not enough. It must also be a cultivated man”).

To the beginning of the year 1880, it returns to the body of the Juniors by the Military academy of Moscow thanks to his uncle. It profits then from a mode of favor, since it can make several hours of piano per day, and to exempt physical exercises. 1883 are the year of its first truths course of piano, with Nikolaï Zverev. In 1888, the young man enters to the Academy of Moscow as raises of Vassili Safonov in piano, and the famous Arensky musician in composition. It is there that it meets another pupil, Rachmaninov, which will become at the same time a friend and a rival. He will be influenced by Chopin, to whom he dedicates a very particular worship (the legend wants that the Scriabine young person was accustomed to sleeping while having beforehand placed under his pillow some partitions of his Master). 1892 mark the end of its studies to the Academy, sanctioned by a Gold medal in piano, and the publication of its first works. Nevertheless, it does not finish its course in composition, because it badly accepts the esthetics of its professor Arensky, and is opposed to it.

At that time, Scriabine first of all decides to become pianist, begins his career in 1892 and travels in all Europe. However, one day that he plays the Reminiscences of Don Juan de Liszt, he is wounded with the right hand; indeed Scriabine had relatively small hands, and certain imposed variations obliged it to force on the extension of its hand. It starts to doubt its career of virtuoso after doctors had said to him that the caused damage was irrevocable. Nevertheless, its disease will enable him to avoid the military service. This period of handicap will be for him one period of intense doubt which will make him choose the way of the composition rather than that of the pianist virtuoso. A choice which, once its found pianistic capacities (" spécialistes" time had been mistaken), will certainly decide it to take again a career of virtuoso to the international scales, but only as an interpreter of his own compositions. He begins in Russia, and obtains his greater success in Paris on March 16th, 1896, Erard room. At the time of its stay in the French capital, it is registered in addition with the SACEM.

In 1897, it Marie with Vera Ivanovna Issakovitch, brilliant pianist of the Muscovite Academy, of which he has a girl the following year. In 1898, Scriabine also presents its candidature for the Academy of Moscow, where it obtains the post of professor of piano. The years which follow see following one another the births: in 1898, Rimma, in 1900 Elena, 1901 Maria, and 1902, Lev. During these a few years, he visits the World Fair of Paris (1900), is named inspector of the music with Holy-Catherine of Moscow, becomes member of the Company of Muscovite philosophy, and plunges himself in the reading of the ancient philosophers. In 1902, tired jealousies within the Academy of Moscow, he resigns.

From 1904, the type-setter holds a personal newspaper where its musical and philosophical reflections are noted. Its personal life is animated: it leaves his wife, and loses her Rimma little girl. However, Vera Issakovitch refuses the divorce; Scriabine thus continues an artificial married life with it, and is installed in couple on Riviera Italian. Indeed, not holding more account of its wife, it Marie with Tatiana Fyodorovna Schloezer (Tatiana de Schloezer), one of its pupils, of which he has a girl, ARIANE, in 1905. On the friendly level, it binds with Plékhanov (1865-1918), Marxist fervent supporter of the ideas, and with Helena Blavatsky, very important figure of the movement theosophic, which will have appreciably to influence it in its later compositions. In 1907, it settles in Paris with Tatiana and sign a contract in many concerts with Serge Diaghilev, celebrates creative Russian Ballet. Then it settles in Brussels, and reflects abundantly on synesthesia, result in particular of its meetings with various artists and philosophers. In 1909, it turns over to Russia, and continues to compose, while imagining imposing projects combining color and music. It takes as a starting point the writings of the Father Louis-Bertrand Castel (1688-1757), inventor of a harpsichord which associates colors and sounds. It continues its rounds, in particular in Germany and England, where its parts are recognized more and more.

On the personal level, the year 1911 sees the birth of his/her Marina daughter. In 1914, it amounts to Moscow, and continuous working on its imposing projects. His/her father dies the same year, and it is not long in following it in the tomb: Scriabine gives its last concert in April, and, dies in April. The circumstances of its death were not cleared up, certain connect it to a puncture of anthrax-carrying fly which would have involved a blood infection, others consider that the large type-setter died of a pleurisy.

By the combination of the sounds, colors (“keyboard with lights” for “Prométhée or the poem of fire”), in the search of a spiritual freedom and extase, its music evolves in a way increasingly clearer to the mystical aspects of the life, death, the reincarnation.

Principal works

The interpreters of Scriabine must compose of a great sensitivity and a solid technique: they must manage to control their emotions in these extatic works in order to overcome by them the requirements of rate/rhythm, sonorities, and the harmony.

12 sonatas for piano, of which 2 were published on a purely posthumous basis.
Preludes, night, impromptus, poems, mazurkas, waltz, studies for piano (to be noted in this category, one of its last works for piano, the poem Towards the flame COp 72, which is one of the jewels of the piano music Russian of the beginning of the 20th century and which takes again all esthetics and the technique for piano of Scriabine as well as famous the Pathétique (Étude COp 8 n° 12), one of its parts for piano the most known and the most played, whose style points out the Révolutionnaire Chopin.
3 symphonies of which the symphony n°3 “divine poem” COp 43 (1902)
Concerto for piano
Poem of the extase for full orchestra COp 54 (1904-1907)
Prométhée or the poem of fire COp 60 (1908-1910)
Its last work and the most ambitious project remained unfinished, the Mystery

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