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Aleksandr Nikolayevich Skryabin
(1872 - 1915) Russia

Aleksandr Skryabin

Composer, pianist

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The name is sometimes spelled Skriabin. Born in Moscow, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory, where he later taught (1898-1903).

In his piano compositions, including nine sonatas and such pieces as Satanic Poem, he introduced chords built in fourths instead of the conventional major and minor triads, producing an exotic, mystical effect.

He aspired toward a fusion of the arts, and his powerfully emotional tone poems, such as Divine Poem (1903), a programmatic orchestral work, attempts to unite music and philosophy. Prometheus: a Poem of Fire (1908) calls for a color organ that produces a play of lights upon a screen during the performance.

He employed a revolutionary system of harmony to express his mystical feelings. A projected composition, Mysterium, that would have employed the media of all the arts, including colors and scents, was never realized.

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