Aleksandr Skryabin.

Aleksandr Skryabin was born on January 6, 1872 old calendar December 25, 1871, Russian Orthodox Christmas in Moscow. His father Nikolai Skryabin was a wealthy aristocrat and diplomat; his mother Lyubov Petrovna was a professional pianist who died when he was one. Raised by his aunt, he first played on his late mother’s piano.

His first piano teacher was Nikolai Zverev, who also taught Sergei Rachmaninoff, beginning a lifelong friendship. From 1882 to 1889 he studied at the Moscow School of Cadets, then piano and composition at Moscow Conservatory under Sergei Taneyev, graduating in 1892. He later became a professor at the same conservatory.

Skryabin’s breakthrough came with his symphonic poem Prometheus: The Poem of Fire 1910, which included a notated line for Luxe — a multicolor light projector controlled by a color keyboard invented by physicist Alexander Moser. Its performances in Moscow and New York were the first orchestral concerts with color accompaniment.

Earlier, his Poem of Ecstasy 1906 became one of his most recorded orchestral works. From 1904 to 1910 he concertized in Western Europe and the United States, befriending Sergei Diaghilev and providing compositions for Russian music concerts in Paris. He also experimented with musical impressionism and expressionism, and his Prometheus chord pioneered new harmonic means.

In 1896 Skryabin married pianist Vera Ivanovna Isakovich, gold medalist for performances of his music. They had children, including Julian Scriabin, Ariadna Scriabina, and Marina Scriabine. Separated around 1904, he then lived with Tatiana Fyodorovna Schloezer in Paris from 1907 to 1910.

Skryabin was deeply involved in philosophical and esoteric circles: he joined the Moscow Philosophic Society, studied theosophy through Hélène Blavatsky’s circle in London, and the Belgian Symbolist group of Jean Delwille. He was a regular host to poet Valery Bryusov, discussing Symbolism and the Synthesis of Arts.

Skryabin’s concept of a Synthesis of Arts — unifying music, light, drama, and architecture — influenced film and theatre innovators like Vsevolod Meyerhold. His unfinished work Misterium, intended as a seven-day performance at the Himalayan foothills, prefigured later multimedia works by Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Since 1922, his Moscow home has been a national museum. Milestone performances of Prometheus with lights include London 1914, Henry Wood, Carnegie Hall 1915, and a 1996 show at Kasan Conservatory integrating Wassily Kandinsky’s colors. His ten piano sonatas and 24 preludes remain staples of concert repertoire, with notable recordings by Vladimir Sofronitsky and Vladimir Horowitz.