Tribute to Russian philosopher/composer heralds new millennium

January 10, 2000
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Tribute to Russian philosopher/composer heralds new millennium

Tribute to Russian philosopher/composer heralds new millennium

ANN ARBOR—The University of Michigan’s Center for Russian and East European Studies will present a multi-media, four-day program honoring the life and works of Alexander Scriabin.

Scriabin (1872-1915) was a mystical philosopher as well as one of the great composers of the 20th century who expected his complex music to usher in the new millennium. This program will attempt to “recapture the transcendent essence of Silver Age Russia. It is dedicated to the prevailing culture’s influence on Scriabin as he evolved from a Chopinesque salon composer to a visionary intent on lifting his audience to the spiritual level of gods with his combination of music, lights, and incense.” Scriabin’s mystical philosophy, ideas, and experiments were cut short by the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The Center for Russian and East European Studies and University Musical Society (UMS) are presenting a series of events dedicated to Scriabin’s culture and 20th-century music from the region. Many events are free and open to the public. Ticketed performances are noted.

Sunday, January 16 2:30 p.m.LectureScriabin Without Myths: An Introduction to ScriabinJim Leonard, Owner SKR ClassicalKerrytown Concert House, 415 North Fourth Ave.Free Admission4:00 p.m.ConcertThe Complete Scriabin Sonatas, Part II (Sonatas 2, 3, 4,

6, and 9)Arthur Greene, pianoKerrytown Concert House, 415 North Fourth Ave.Paid Admission (Call 734-769-2999 for reservations.)Saturday, January 228:00 p.m.ConcertThe 26 Etudes of Alexander ScriabinArthur Greene, pianoBritton Recital Hall, School of Music, 1100 Baits Dr.,

North CampusFree AdmissionSunday, January 231:00-4:30 p.m.SymposiumApocalypse Now? Scriabin and Russian Culture at the

End of the CenturyChrysler Center Auditorium, 2121 Bonisteel Blvd.,

North CampusFree Admission

Participants:

     Boris Kats, Mussorgsky College of Music, St. Petersburg

         Scriabin Through the Eyes of his Musical Contemporaries

     Maria Carlson, University of Kansas

         Fashionable Occultism and the Artistic Elite: The Case of Scriabin

     Tim Scholl, Oberlin College

         Sleeping Beauty: Synaesthesia at the Ballet

     Wendy Salmond, Chapman University

         Painting Music: The Artists of the “Blue Rose”

     Arthur Greene, University of Michigan

         Harmony and Counterpoint in the Piano Music of Scriabin

     Michael Makin, University of Michigan

         Moderator

4:45-5:30 p.m.Concert

An Orthodox ChristmasSt. Vladimir’s Russian Orthodox Church choirMedia Union Performance Studio, 2281 Bonisteel Blvd.,
North CampusFree Admission

5:30-7:00 p.m.Gallery Walk

A Virtual Presentation of the Art of the EraDesigned by students and faculty in the Taubman College of
Architecture and Urban PlanningMedia Union Gallery, 2281 Bonisteel Blvd., North CampusFree Admission

7:30 p.m.Concert

White Mass: Piano Music of Alexander Scriabin

with lights, projections, and incenseArthur Greene, pianoMedia Union Performance Studio, 2281 Bonisteel Blvd.,
North CampusFree Admission

Monday, January 247:00 p.m.Concert

St. Romanos Ensemble (Detroit)Russian Orthodox MusicA selection of pieces from the Russian Orthodox liturgical
cycle, sung a capella, in Church SlavonicFirst Balcony Lobby, Hill Auditorium, 825 North University
Ave.With Paid Admission to Russian National Orchestra Concert

8:00 p.m.Concert

Russian National OrchestraMikhail Pletnev, conductorFrancesko Tristano Schlimé, pianoUMS Choral UnionHill Auditorium, 825 North University Ave.Paid Admission (UMS Russian/Baltic Millennial Series)
Program

     Tchaikovsky: Symphony No. 4 in f minor, Op. 36 (1877-78)

     Rachmaninoff: The Isle of the Dead, Op. 29 (Symphonic Poem

          after Böcklin) (1909)

     Scriabin: Prometheus: Poem of Fire (Symphony No. 5 for Orchestra,

          Chorus and Lights, Op. 60) (1908-1910)

For tickets to individual concerts, call the University Musical Society at 734-764-2538 (outside the 734 area code, call 800-221-1229). Tickets and information also available on the Web at www.ums.org.

For information about the symposium and free events, call the Center for Russian and East European Studies at 734-764-0351, write to, or visit the Center on the Web at www.umich.edu/~iinet/crees.

Sponsors:

University of Michigan: Center for Russian and East European Studies; University Musical Society; Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning; Department of History; International Institute; College of Literature, Science and the Arts; Media Union; School of Music; Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies; Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures; Office of the Vice President for Research.
Individuals: Beverley and Gerson Geltner.

Center for Russian and East European StudiesSilver AgeUniversity Musical Societywww.ums.orgwww.umich.edu/~iinet/creesTaubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning