Description
Book SynopsisThis unique collaboration between a musicologist and two pianists all experts in Russian music takes a fresh look at the supercharged music and polarizing reception of the Russian composer Alexander Scriabin. From his Chopin-inspired miniatures to his genre-bending symphonies and avant-garde late works, Scriabin left a unique mark on music history. Scriabin's death centennial in 2015 brought wider exposure and renewed attention to this pioneering composer. Music lovers who are curious about Scriabin have been torn between specialized academic studies and popular sources that glamorize his interests and activities, often at the expense of historical accuracy. This book bridges the divide between these two branches of literature, and brings a modern perspective to his music and legacy. Drawing on archival materials, primary sources in Russian, and recently published books and articles, Part One details the reception and performance history of Scriabin's solo piano and orchestral music.
Trade ReviewComposer Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915) has been unjustly neglected by the musicological literature, despite a flood of publications some 50 years ago that should have set the groundwork for an ongoing interest. Though this lengthy volume will not single-handedly resolve that problem, it will certainly interest scholars and performers, students, and lovers of music with a thirst for Scriabin research and commentary. The 14 chapters are presented in three parts: ‘Encountering Scriabin,’ which introduces the composer and his work; ‘Topics in Reception History,’ which looks at the curious reception accorded Scriabin in his lifetime and after; and ‘Performance,’ which offers a lengthy set of notes—at heart performance instructions—on the general features of Scriabin's music…. It will be most useful to the intelligent performer, one who likes to understand music in broad strokes illuminated by significant details. And scholars will appreciate the in-depth musicological discussion…. Summing Up: Recommended.... Lower-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals; general readers. * CHOICE *
Composer Alexander Scriabin was a self-styled musical messiah, the greatest sensualist in the Russian tradition and Western canon. In his imagination, the black and white keys of the piano turned into crimsons, mauves, and yellows; he endeavored to write music of spiritual transport by postponing harmonic resolutions for painful-pleasure’s sake and imagined, orgasmically, the end of the world. In every aspect of his art, Scriabin privileged the ineffable over the formal, the innate over the logical, inviting audiences and interpreters to follow him into another realm of creativity. Here at last is a sensitive, comprehensive exploration of Scriabin’s life and works that places his mystic-erotic fantasies in context. Lincoln Ballard, Matthew Bengtson, and John Bell Young discount the composer’s naysayers and serve as our sympathetic guide to the interpretation and appreciation of Scriabin's music in all its wonder. -- Simon A. Morrison, Professor of Music, Princeton University
For over a hundred years, the compositional techniques of Alexander Scriabin have challenged and at times defied music theorists. The mystical conceptions that he claimed as the foundation of his work have also been hotly debated. Not only an excellent overview of Scriabin's life and compositions, The Alexander Scriabin Companion is also a major contribution to the understanding of Scriabin's methods, as well as the influences on his work, philosophy and psychology. There are enlightening discussions of melody and harmony, sound, light, and color, compositional and pianistic techniques, and the reception of his work by musicians and audiences. The authors not only contextualize these essential features cogently within the rich and complex intellectual history of pre-World War I Russia, but also effectively describe how they were received and evaluated through the twentieth century to the present. -- Jay Reise, Composer and Professor of Music, University of Pennsylvania
Table of ContentsForeword by Stephen Hough CHAPTER ONE – En Garde or Avant-Garde? Exploding the Scriabin Myth – John Bell Young PART I ENCOUNTERING SCRIABIN – Lincoln Ballard CHAPTER TWO – Life, Legacy, and Music CHAPTER THREE – The Solo Piano Music CHAPTER FOUR – Symphonies and Orchestral Works PART II TOPICS IN RECEPTION HISTORY – Lincoln Ballard CHAPTER FIVE – Madness and Other Myths CHAPTER SIX – On Synaesthesia or “Color-Hearing” CHAPTER SEVEN – Scriabin’s Russian Roots and the Symbolist Aesthetic CHAPTER EIGHT – The Revival in 1960s America PART III IN PERFORMANCE – Matthew Bengtson CHAPTER NINE – From Musical Text to the Imagination CHAPTER TEN – Technique CHAPTER ELEVEN – Line and Melody CHAPTER TWELVE – Harmony CHAPTER THIRTEEN – The Scriabin Sound CHAPTER FOURTEEN – Rhythm Glossary and Pronunciation Guide
