Don’t do drugs, kids. But if you do, do it like Scriabin.

Alexander Scriabin wrote plenty of perfectly normal pieces; he was a brilliant pianist who wrote his own set of piano preludes and etudes, similar to the great Chopin and Liszt. But once he turned 25, things began to get weird. He developed his own system of harmony based on the whole tone and octatonic scales. At the time, this was edgy, but not groundbreaking; it makes his music sound similar to French impressionism. What sets Scriabin apart is his synesthesia, the “color organ” he invented, his devotion to Theosophy, his rambling writings, and his wild music inspired by religious visions. His two most famous pieces are the Poem of Fire and the Poem of Ecstasy.

Scriabin himself approved this description of The Poem of Ecstasy, which will describe it far better than I:

The Poem of Ecstasy is the Joy of Liberated Action. The Cosmos, i.e., Spirit, is Eternal Creation without External Motivation, a Divine Play of Worlds. The Creative Spirit, i.e., the Universe at Play, is not conscious of the Absoluteness of its creativeness, having subordinated itself to a Finality and made creativity a means toward an end. The stronger the pulse beat of life and the more rapid the precipitation of rhythms, the more clearly the awareness comes to the Spirit that it is consubstantial with creativity itself. When the Spirit has attained the supreme culmination of its activity and has been torn away from the embraces of teleology and relativity, when it has exhausted completely its substance and its liberated active energy, the Time of Ecstasy shall arrive.

I’ll say it again, kids: don’t do drugs.

I started this blog as a way to challenge myself, keep my brain sharp(ish), learn new things, and grow as a person. In this new year, I hope that whatever dreams or crazy ideas you have might be realized – be brave, be bold, and do it! May Prometheus bring you a gift of fresh fire.

If you need some inspiration, look no further than Alexander Scriabin. To cut to the chase, the guy was completely nuts, and therefore, many people declare him a genius. He was into Theosophy and experienced a musical synesthesia so strong that he invented an instrument called the “color organ.” His unfinished magnum opus was to be Mysterium, in which (I’m not making this up), the whole human race would blissfully dissolve and a new race of superhuman artists would emerge. The grand performance would take place on the foothills of the Himalayas, and there would be no audience – everyone would be a performer.

One of his last finished works, Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, is scored for large orchestra, with a major piano solo (though not quite a concerto), and color organ. It’s out there, but compared to Mysterium, I suppose it’s fairly normal. (note that it was composed in 1910, just before Stravinsky‘s big three ballets … and you have to admit, it smacks of Stravinsky … or perhaps Stravinsky smacks of Scriabin.)

Again, I hope you find some renewed fire in this new year, and live your dream. After all, it can’t be as bizarre as Scriabin’s.