House where Scriabin lived: The composer’s memorial museum

Alexander Scriabin and his family moved into the house on Bolshoi Nikolopeskovsky Pereulok in 1921. The composer and pianist stayed there until his death, which took place on the very last day of his tenancy, on 14 April 1915 Old Style.

Three years later, a memorial museum opened there, and the things that surrounded the composer and that were dear to him have been preserved. This mos.ru article reveals the secrets behind some of the memorabilia, providing some facts as well as amusing and mystic stories.

Prometheus colour organ

Scriabin brought a colour organ to his house on Bolshoi Nikolopeskovsky Pereulok. It was designed by the composer himself and was used during the performance of the symphonic work, Prometheus, written in 1910. Prometheus was the world’s first musical piece where lights were synched with the music. The instrument was a keyboard, with its notes corresponding to colours, as given by Scriabin's synesthetic system, specified in the score.

Scriabin made sure that there was electricity in his flat so that he could experiment with the colour keyboard. For his friends, he performed the piece on the grand piano, while his wife accompanied him on the colour organ. The curtains were closed so that guests could enjoy the light show.

Bechstein grand piano

The year Scriabin moved into the new flat, the Bechstein company presented him with their grand piano. The instrument was installed in the study where the composer spent most of his time. In fact, Scriabin became the company’s brand ambassador – he was asked to mention the firm’s name during his concerts. The idea was that when Scriabin’s fans learned what musical instrument their idol used, they would immediately wanted to buy one for themselves.

The grand piano is still in the same place as it was in his lifetime. Scriabin’s friends, such as Sergei Rachmaninov, Vladimir Sofronitsky and Vladimir Horowitz used to play it. Today, even the most famous pianists feel honoured by just touching the instrument. It is played twice a year: on Scriabin’s birthday and his memorial day (6 January and 27 April). Experts say that the grand piano works very well for its age.

Oriental Sage

Scriabin wrote his music at a desk he bought while on tour in Belgium. Above it he hung a painting, titled Oriental Sage, by his close friend, artist Nikolai Shperling. The composer called the painting The Dark One, regarding the subject as some dark, wrongful Christ (the man in the painting does resemble depictions of Christ). The Dark One holds a white lotus flower, the symbol of wisdom. Scriabin liked this ambivalence and said that the picture gave him inspiration and so must always be in sight.

There are other paintings by Shperling: Knight Gilles de Rais, Tibi Purissima, and Funeral March, which was inspired by one of Scriabin’s compositions.

The composer dreamed of visiting the East: India or Egypt. Initially, he kept postponing the journey, and then later, he could not travel because of illness and died without visiting either of these countries. In contrast, his friend Shperling, went through WWI and the Civil War, emigrated first to Turkey and then Egypt before moving to Greece where he was offered a job. On his way to Greece, he considered it his duty to stop in India to honour the memory of his late friend.

Telephone

Before Scriabin’s arrival, the landlord had installed an Ericsson phone in the flat, a luxury item at that time. By 1912, there were only about 40,000 phone users in Moscow.

It irritated and distracted Scriabin if somebody called while he was working. The composer would fly into a rage and even wanted to throw the telephone out of the window. However, he absolutely loved talking on the phone himself and it was difficult to persuade him to hang up. He could not deny himself the pleasure of a telephone conversation.

By the way, his phone number was 3-36-30.

Lantern

In the entrance hall, there is a lantern. Until recently, museum staff thought it was one of the numerous Oriental souvenirs that Scriabin loved and collected, and they did not think it was valuable.

But one day, they saw the letters HIS on the bottom of the lantern, which means Iesus Hominum Salvator: Jesus, Saviour of Humanity. This abbreviation has been known since medieval Europe.

Around the letter H is a cross with three nails, as in the Jesuit symbol. But no connection between Scriabin and members of the order has yet been found. One the other hand, it seems the symbol lacks an important detail: the sun with 16 or 32 rays. However, if you turn off the lights in the room, you will see a sun with 16 rays on the ceiling above the lantern, formed by the passage of light through the ventilation openings on the top of the lantern.

We can only guess where Scriabin got this lantern and what it meant to him.

Dacha photo

In the drawing room, there is a photo taken a year after the composer moved into the flat. The picture shows Scriabin, his wife, Tatyana, and their son Yulian on a summer day at the summer house they rented. That day, the composer was wearing a necktie, light shoes and white trousers which he turned up to avoid them getting dirty.

Stories were told about his sensitivity to clothes. Once he had to pack his wife’s blouse with puffed dimpled sleeves. The composer found a solution by putting a shoe in each sleeve so they would not get wrinkled. On seeing this, Tatyana scolded her husband.

Concert tail coat

The composer’s tailcoat, which he wore at his last concert in 1915, is also preserved. The concert took place at the Small Hall in the Petrograd Conservatory and, as usual, the composer felt very nervous.

The first thing visitors notice is often the size of the tail coat: 44-46. It seems clear why Scriabin did not go into the army although he studied at a cadet school.

There is a tale told among museum staff: if you touch the glass behind which the tailcoat is exhibited, you will find out whether Scriabin accepts you or not. If the glass is warm to the touch, Scriabin accepts you and if not, the glass will feel cold.