Альшванг А. А. Н. Скрябин. К 25-летию со дня смерти. / Государственное музыкальное издательство.
Москва — Ленинград : Музгиз, 1940.
64 с. Мягкая издательская обложка, уменьшенный формат.
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Alshvang, A. A. N. Scriabin. On the 25th Anniversary of His Death (A. N. Skryabin. K 25-letiyu so dnya smerti). / State Music Publishing House.
Moscow — Leningrad : Muzgiz, 1940.
64 pp. Softcover, small format.
This 1940 commemorative edition is a significant musicological work by Arnold Alexandrovich Alshvang, published to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of Alexander Scriabin (1872–1915). Released on the eve of the Great Patriotic War by Muzgiz, the book serves as a concise yet profound biographical and analytical sketch of the composer who transformed the landscape of Russian silver-age music.
Alshvang, a prominent Soviet music scholar, meticulously traces Scriabin's journey from his early Chopin-inspired miniatures to the cosmic, philosophical grandiosity of his late works. The text examines Scriabin’s revolutionary harmonic language, particularly his departure from traditional tonality and the development of the "Promethean chord."
The monograph also delves into Scriabin's unique synesthetic theories—specifically his concept of "color-hearing" (clavier à lumières), which sought to unite sound and light into a single transcendental experience. Alshvang provides a balanced Soviet-era interpretation of Scriabin’s idealism, recognizing his technical genius and his role as a bridge between Romanticism and the modern avant-garde.
Despite its small format and brief 64 pages, the book offers a comprehensive overview of the symphonies (including The Poem of Ecstasy), the ten piano sonatas, and the unfinished Mysterium. For music historians, pianists, and collectors of pre-war Soviet musicology, this 1940 edition is a valuable document of how Scriabin’s complex legacy was maintained and celebrated in the mid-20th century.