The illustrious pianist and composer Alexander Scriabin once lived in the two-storeyed yellow building – which is now the Scriabin Museum.
The home of Alexander Scriabin was not only a domestic residence, but functioned as a literary and cultural powerhouse for a generation of creative talents. The painter Leonid Pasternak (father of the author Boris Pasternak), the poet Balmont, and fellow composer Sergey Rachmaninov were among the frequent guests. Scriabin lived his last years, dying of a blood infection here – by malign coincidence on the date on which the lease on the premises fell due.
Scriabin was one of the most visionary and gifted composers of his era, as well as being a phenomenal concert pianist. His fifteen piano sonatas pushed the envelope of what was technically possible at the piano – in fact conservatoire professors dubbed his Fourth Sonata “unplayable” (it has since been both played and recorded).
Scriabin firmly believed in synaesthesis – the power of music to conjure up colours in the mind, and he even developed a special electric-lantern keyboard that would project light-displays during performance.
Luckily his longest work – a seven-day outdoor event called “Mysterium” planned to be played by a vast orchestra in the Altai Mountains of Siberia – was never finished or performed. We say luckily – because the composer firmly believed it would cause the destruction of the planet.
As well as an exhibition about his life and work, the Scriabin Museum features regular concerts of both his work and that of other composers too.
The home of Alexander Scriabin was not only a domestic residence, but functioned as a literary and cultural powerhouse for a generation of creative talents. The painter Leonid Pasternak (father of the author Boris Pasternak), the poet Balmont, and fellow composer Sergey Rachmaninov were among the frequent guests. Scriabin lived his last years, dying of a blood infection here – by malign coincidence on the date on which the lease on the premises fell due.
Scriabin was one of the most visionary and gifted composers of his era, as well as being a phenomenal concert pianist. His fifteen piano sonatas pushed the envelope of what was technically possible at the piano – in fact conservatoire professors dubbed his Fourth Sonata “unplayable” (it has since been both played and recorded).
Scriabin firmly believed in synaesthesis – the power of music to conjure up colours in the mind, and he even developed a special electric-lantern keyboard that would project light-displays during performance.
Luckily his longest work – a seven-day outdoor event called “Mysterium” planned to be played by a vast orchestra in the Altai Mountains of Siberia – was never finished or performed. We say luckily – because the composer firmly believed it would cause the destruction of the planet.
As well as an exhibition about his life and work, the Scriabin Museum features regular concerts of both his work and that of other composers too.
