Scriabin – piano music in the context of the composer’s creative ideology. Part 3

Abstract

The article is the third part of the text devoted to the profile and piano works of Alexander Scriabin. The composer had an extraordinary piano talent and the ability of coloured hearing. He worked out an innovative musical language based on a unique harmonic style. He was an unprecedented visionary of art, he had knowledge on philosophical topics, he was also a mystic who wanted to save the mankind thanks to his creative output. The article’s author asks questions about the reasons of this radical evolution of Scriabin’s musical language, the reflection of his personality and creative views and the connections of music with mystical experiences. As he believes, finding a way to a possibly authentic explanation of these issues may contribute to a better understanding of the composer’s creative intentions in the context of the artistic interpretation of his piano works. The third part of the cycle presents the interpretation of Scriabin’s mysticism in aesthetic aspect. The author of the article shows three perspectives of this phenomenon, i.e.: presentation of mystical topics in the programme of a piece, treating a music piece as a transcendent being and using a composition as a carrier of mystical experiences. An important element of this description is the reference to psychological findings of Abraham Maslov concerning the special perception accompanying such experiences (peak experience). The article concludes with a few reflections of a general performance-related character.