Scriabin 100

Seven Concerts, January –March, Include all 10 Sonatas

 "I am God! I am nothing, I'm play, I am freedom, I am life. I am the boundary, I am the peak."—Alexander Scriabin

The year 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the death of Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872—1915), one of the most original and idiosyncratic creators from the turn of the 20th century.  NEC will pay homage to this visionary and mystic with a complete retrospective of his piano music, Scriabin’s most characteristic musical genre. NEC Piano majors will perform Towards the Flame, seven concerts that encompass works from the composer’s earliest to his final years, including all 10 Sonatas.

"My Tenth Sonata is a sonata of insects. Insects are born from the sun...they are the sun's kisses...How unified world-understanding is when you look at things this way…"—Alexander Scriabin

Because of the size of this body of work, it closely tracks the evolution of a musical language. Scriabin's earliest works display Chopin's influence in their romantic melodies. Late works anticipate the twelve-tone revolution soon to come - but with a basis in mysticism rather than mathematics.

“In love's godlike breathing, there's the innermost aspect of the universe.”—Alexander Scriabin

”In a series of six concerts in Williams Hall (January 27, February 11, 17, 26, March 4, 12 at 8 pm), NEC piano students will perform the composer's entire output for solo piano—preludes, etudes, “poems,” and sonatas—in chronological order. On January 29 at 8 pm in Jordan Hall, the students will offer an additional opportunity to hear all 10 Piano Sonatas, back-to-back. The performances are free and open to the public.

For complete information on programming, click here  or call the NEC Concert Line at 617-585-1122.  NEC’s Jordan Hall, Brown Hall, Williams Hall and the Keller Room are located at 30 Gainsborough St., corner of Huntington Ave. Pierce Hall is located at 241 St. Botolph St. between Gainsborough and Mass Ave.