Alexander Scriabin
composer
Although Alexander Scriabin was a brilliant pianist in his youth, he devoted himself to composition after an injury to his right hand in his 20s; many of his works are especially demanding of the left hand. His early compositions reveal the influence of Frédéric Chopin, but Scriabin later developed an atonal and dissonant musical system inspired by his own brand of mysticism and his obsession for linking musical tones with specific colors. In his lifetime, Scriabin’s works influenced composers such as Sergei Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky. His popularity declined drastically after his death, but his music has recently been reevaluated, leading to a wider appreciation.
