Scriabin Society of America Los Angeles Scriabin Festival 2026

The Scriabin Society of America proudly presents the Los Angeles Scriabin Festival, January 7-11, 2026. January 7-8 events include a lecture, a master class, and two concerts at California State University, Northridge, Shigemi Matsumoto Recital Hall. CSUN events are free and open to the public. The festival culminates with the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s performances of Scriabin’s tone poem Prometheus with pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet from January 9-11 at Walt Disney Concert Hall. The Scriabin Society of America will host the pre-concert lectures and feature in the LA Philharmonic’s Upbeat Live podcast. More information at https://www.laphil.com/events/performances/3706/2026-01-09/prometheus-with-esa-pekka-salonen

Schedule: (scroll down for presenter and performer biographies)

Wednesday, January 7, 2026 at Shigemi Matsumoto Recital Hall (CSUN)

4pm: Lecture by SSA Historian Dr. Lindsey Macchiarella

5pm: Young Artists Concert

Program:

Thursday, January 8, 2026 at Shigemi Matsumoto Recital Hall (CSUN)

2pm: Master Class with SSA President Dr. Dmitry Rachmanov

7:30pm: All-Scriabin Recital by SSA Secretary Dr. James Palmer (SSA Fundraiser)

January 9, 10, 11, 2026 at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Pre-Concert Lecture Recitals by Dr. Lindsey Macchiarella and Dr. James Palmer

Los Angeles Scriabin Festival Poster (downloadable):

la-scriabin-2026-posterDownload

Presenter and

May 2025 SSA Symposium

On May 31, 2025, the SSA held its first annual Symposium at Klavierhaus NYC. The full event can be viewed at the link below, and more information on presenters and featured performer Bruno Vlahek is available below.

Presenters*

Dr. Lindsey Macchiarella: “Scriabin, Wilhelm Wundt, and Early Experimental Psychology”

Dr. Hannah McLaughlin: “Prometheus at the Bolshoi, 1918”

Echo Davidson: “Embodied Temporalities: Slow Apocalypse in Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No. 10”

Daniel Colalillo: “Scriabin’s 9th Piano Sonata: The Dark Ritual of Sound”

Markus Böhmig: “Mystique Musicale: Alexander Scriabin in Light of His Recordings of the Poème, Op. 32, No. 1 for Hupfeld and Welte-Mignon”

Lecture-Recital
Bruno Vlahek, piano

2 Poèmes, Op. 63 
2 Poèmes, Op. 32 
3 Pieces, Op. 2 
4 Preludes, Op. 37 
Prelude Op. 74, No. 4
Vers la flamme, Op. 72
Sonata No. 4 in F-sharp Major, Op. 30

Scriabin Society of America Fall 2024 Gala

The Scriabin Society of America is excited to announce its Fall 2024 Gala, to take place at Steinway Hall in New York City on September 27th at 7pm. Pianists Marilyn Nonken and Irina Kataeva will present a duo recital featuring two-piano arrangements of Scriabin’s “Prometheus” as well as Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” Here is what the duo have written about this program:

“This program explores the theme of sacrifice, as reimagined by foremost composers of the early 20th-century. Each musical composition traces a narrative of transcendence, brilliantly colored and dramatically conceived. While these narratives evoke different eras – ancient Greece, pagan Russia, and early Christianity – all explore spirituality and the relationship between violence and transformation.  

Scriabin’s tone poem, arranged for two pianists by the musicologist Sabaneev with the composer’s guidance, considers the self-sacrifice of the Greek god Prometheus, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to humankind; fire would ensure the survival of the human race, yet, for his deception, Prometheus was doomed to eternal torment. Stravinsky’s ballet score reimagines a ritual of pagan Russia in which a virgin is sacrificed to appease the god of Spring; the young victim dances herself to death in exchange for Nature’s mercy. In Messiaen’s meditation on Christian themes, the agony of Jesus Christ is placed in context of redemption, love, and forgiveness – an ultimate sacrifice promising salvation.

These works chart journeys from darkness to light. Scriabin’s Promethée is originally scored for an innovative ‘color organ’ – in addition to orchestra, piano, and chorus – whose colorful rays he’d hoped would intoxicate the audience. Messiaen, like Scriabin, also associated colors with harmony; ‘when I hear music, I see corresponding colours,’ he wrote. ‘I think everyone possesses this sixth sense, but only a few discover it …  to see colours, each in his own way.’ At its premiere, Stravinsky’s Le Sacre shocked Parisian audiences with sensational colors: an orchestration at times bizarre and sensational, evoking a neo-primitive world of unprecedented brutality and grandeur.

Through music, listeners are led to contemplate the mystical and sublime.”

To reserve seats, please email sc***************@***il.com.

Scriabin Society of America Fall 2023 Gala!

Announcing the SSA Fall Gala Concert, to take place Saturday, September 9th, 2023 at Klavierhaus NYC! This all-Scriabin program will feature special guest pianists Mikhail Voskresensky and Jerome Lowenthal as well as SSA officers Dmitry Rachmanov, Matthew Bengtson, and James Palmer. This event is free to SSA members. If you are not yet an SSA member but would like to attend the gala, you may sign up for a membership here or you may register at the event. The gala will begin at 4pm and a reception will follow the event. Stay tuned for program information and other updates!

Scriabin Concerto Performance

On Friday, May 5th, pianist Nicolas Namoradze will perform Scriabin’s seldom-performed Piano Concerto in F-sharp minor, Op. 20, with conductor Karén Hakobyan and Pegasus the Orchestra at the Kaufman Center in New York City. For more information and tickets, check out the link below, and become a member to watch the SSA interview with both of these artists in the Members-Only section of the SSA website!

https://www.kaufmanmusiccenter.org/mch/event/mozart-mendelssohn-scriabin-rachmaninoff/