Scriabin: Symphony No. 4, Op. 54 "Poème de l'Extase" & Symphony No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 29

Featuring

JoAnn Falletta
Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
Alexander Scriabin

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Notable Performances

The Poem of Ecstasy, by Scriabin, was beamed into outer space by Soviet Radio in 1961 to coincide with Yuri Gagarin's first orbit of Earth, symbolizing 'a triumphant synthesis of the meaning of art and revolution'.

Critical Reception

Adrian Boult, a British conductor and director of music at the BBC, effectively banned Scriabin's 'evil music' from the airwaves for much of the 1930s.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Scriabin, the composer, inextricably linked the creative act with the sexual, believing that maximum creative power was inseparable from maximum eroticism.

Composition History

Scriabin's unrealized magnum opus, Mysterium, was envisioned as a seven-day sacred theatre piece in the Himalayas, intended to be a transformative event for all humanity.

Composer Biography

Alexander Scriabin, the composer, died at age 43 from septicaemia caused by a lip abscess, leaving his ambitious magnum opus, Mysterium, unrealized.

Performer Biography

JoAnn Falletta, the conductor on this album, was the first woman to lead a major American ensemble as music director of the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.

Compositional Technique

Scriabin's Symphony No. 2 adopts César Franck's cyclical ideas, where musical motifs recur throughout all movements, transforming from a brooding opening to a triumphant finale.