Russian composer Alexander Scriabin is featured on the next Symphony @ 7, Thursday evening (4/23) on Classical 101. This unique composer and pianist died 100 years ago on Aril 27, 1915. I'll have the Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor and his most famous work, the Poem of Ecstasy.
Scriabin was inspired by Chopin in his development as a pianist, and his highly innovative musical ideas were much influenced by the mystical writings of the Theosophical Society and Helen Blavatsky in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Piano Concerto from 1896 by the 24 year old composer was his first orchestral work and the only concerto he wrote. Most of his other compositions are for solo piano or orchestra.
The Poem of Ecstasy, written in 1905, is a symphonic poem about 20 minutes in length and is sometimes considered his fourth symphony. It was composed when he was actively involved with the Theosophical Society of Russia and its mystical, spiritual ideas. There's complex symbolism and a number of leitmotifs involving Scriabin's "mystic chord." He attached a 300 line poem to the score tracing the the spirit's search for ecstasy and ascent into pure consciousness.
Join me for Symphony @ 7 for music of this unusually creative and individual Late-Romantic Russian composer on Thursday evening here on Classical 101.