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Scriabin - Links with Other Composers

Alexander Scriabin
Links with…
The Mighty Five, a group of Russian intellectuals. From left to right : Balakirev, Borodine, Cui, Mussorgsky, Korsakov.
The Mighty Five, a group of Russian intellectuals. From left to right : Balakirev, Borodine, Cui, Mussorgsky, Korsakov.
  • Arnold Schönberg (1874 - 1951) declared himself “particularly impressed” upon hearing PromethĂ©e Op.60 for the first time.

  • SergueĂŹ Prokofiev (1891 - 1953) dedicated his symphonic piece Dreams Op.6 to Scriabin, a testament to his profound admiration. Both of them are the only Russian composers of the early modern era to show a manifest interest in the Piano Sonata form.

  • SergueĂŻ Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) was a childhood classmate of Scriabin; both studied under the same teacher (Nikolai Zverev). Although critics often placed them in rivalry—both being composers of highly virtuosic solo piano music—there is no record of personal animosity between them. On the contrary, their relationship remained marked by mutual respect and distant friendship. After Scriabin’s death, Rachmaninoff toured with performances of his music, raising funds for his widow and children.

  • Claude Debussy (1862 - 1918) likely discovered Scriabin’s work during his 1913 trip to Russia, while Scriabin may have encountered Debussy earlier in Parisian salons frequented by both. However, there is no official evidence of a direct meeting between them.

  • Olivier Messian (1908 - 1992) never cited Scriabin as an influence. Nevertheless, his use of quartal and octophonic harmonies, mystical atmosphere, shimmering trills, and weightless textures in various works suggests an indirect inheritance of Scriabin’s harmonic innovations.

  • Manfred Kelkel (1929 - 1999) was a Scriabin biographer and composer. He composed in his honor a Tombeau de Scriabine. Likewise, Leonid Sabaneyev, a colleague of Scriabin, also composed a sonata In Memory of Scriabin, and created a piano transcription of PromethĂ©e.

  • Scriabin himself wasn’t particularly diplomatic about his contemporaries : he referred to Prokofiev as “trash”, described Rachmaninoff’s music as “boiled ham”, and dismissed Stravinsky as_“the absolute minimum of creativity.”_ He notably did not attend and showed interest the infamous “scandal” surrounding the premiere of The Rite of Spring.