Rach and Scrable

Rachmaninoff

Probably one of my favorite characters out there, whom I regret to know quite little about. Has great music, has great playing, and overall he's a very interesting character. He went through depression after a terrible review of his first symphony which he worked very hard on. I thought it was quite interesting to learn that he never smiled in public. I had always wondered why he never looked cheerful in any of the photos I've seen of him. It was in order to maintain a certain level of professionalism. It's a little extreme actually. But I wonder - Was he like this before his depression and before he was on the brink of suicide, or was this always the case? On his music - He wrote 24 preludes, which seems to be the trend.. all of which are gorgeous. The preludes are split up between a few different operas. He also wrote several etudes, the Etudes-Tableaux which are meant to depict some kind of scene, are both beautiful at times, and others just dreadful to play. Many have absolutely ridiculous left hand parts, which only Rachmaninoff could play.

Scriabin

Here is a real character. Apparently Scriabin thought that he was the new messiah. He believed he was to write some huge work of music to be performed by hundreds of people, which was meant to bring about the coming of judgment day. This guy is absolutely awesome. He was raised only by women, and grew up an aspiring pianist, only to injure his right hand while playing Liszt's Don Juan. He had the condition (I forget what it's called), when one see colors in their head when they hear music, so he invented a kind of "color organ" with which he could share his craziness with the rest of us. Much of his large works feature colorful lighting. As for his music - It is also quite interesting. He first began, extremely Chopin-like - with beautiful melodies over a flowing, usually arpegiated left hand, but quickly moved away. He music changed dramatically once he entered his messianic phase. He music featured various use of the perfect intervals, 4th in particular, and he abandonded many "Western" principals in music, including funtional harmonies. Once he got into his late late later phases, he became very impressionistic. If you listen to very early Scriabin and compare it to late Scriabin, the difference will shock you.