A. N. Skryabin. Wilno. 1913
Aleksandr Nikolayevich Skryabin was a Russian composer and pianist.
In 1892 he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with a gold medal, where he was a piano student of Vasily Il’ich Safonov. He also studied with Sergey Taneyev (strict style counterpoint) and with Antony Arensky (fugue and free composition).
In 1898 he was invited by Safonov to the position of a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where from 1898 to 1903 he taught piano. Among his students were Maria Solomonovna Nemenova-Lunz and Elena Aleksandrovna Bekman-Shcherbina.
Throughout his life he gave concerts and recitals, but already from his youth he concentrated exclusively on interpreting his own compositions.
In 1904-1909 he lived abroad, during which time he performed in the USA with orchestra under the direction of Arthur Nikisch. In 1910 he returned to Russia. During the last years of his life he formed his own new musical system.
His compositions include three symphonies (1900, 1902, 1904 – The Divine Poem), symphonic poems, including “The Poem of Ecstasy” (1907) and “The Poem of Fire” (Prometheus; with piano and chorus, 1910); one concerto for piano with orchestra (1897); 10 sonatas (1892–1912-13), 19 Poemes, 90 Preludes, 21 Mazurkas, Waltzes, Etudes, as well as other works for piano.
