Module 3

Late Scriabin | Semantics & Symbolism

This module is part of the Understanding Scriabin massive course bundle

The Cosmos of Late Scriabin

Overview

Focuses on the absolute culmination of Scriabin’s compositional evolution, examining the revolutionary synthesis of sound, light, and architectural space alongside the rigorous architectonics of his final piano works.

Detailed Module Content

Eschatology

Martin Kaptein explores Scriabin’s overarching worldview by examining theosophy, complex philosophical models, the symbolic and metaphysical underpinnings of Prometheus, the grand conception of the Mysterium, and related visionary concepts that drove the composer’s late artistic trajectory.

The Empirical Prometheus

Elina Akselrud shares firsthand research and insights from the Boston Symphony Orchestra production of Prometheus, Op. 60 with light counterpoint, detailing the mechanics of the tastiera per luce (fast luce), the ambient architecture of the hall (slow luce), and how light acts as a co-equal layer of the score.

The Octatonic World

Frederick Viner analyzes the synthetic and octatonic scales underpinning the dense harmonic language of the late period by using one of Scriabin's Late Sonatas and opening the world of newly sounding [a]tonal systems.

Characters and Imagery of the Five Late Sonatas

Visual and analytical breakdowns mapping the recurring gestures (The Flight, The Pendulum, The Terror) that populate Sonatas Nos. 6 through 10.

A Journey into the Beyond

Elina Akselrud deciphers the five late sonatas as a single, through-composed path of spiritual transfiguration — from the shadowy depths of Sonata No. 6 to the radiant, incorporeal dematerialization of Sonata No. 10 (and everything in between).