# 20th Century Symphonic Masterpieces: Part Ten - Scriabin's Symphony No. 3, "Le Divin Poème"



## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

20th Century Symphonic Masterpieces: Part Ten - Scriabin's _Symphony No. 3, "Le Divin Poème"_



















Scriabin's Symphony No. 3 is the first of the composer's major orchestral works to bear explicit extramusical intent. The titles appended to each movement are as colorful as the music itself : "Luttes" (Struggles), "Voluptes" (Pleasures), and "Jeu divin" (Divine Play). The work's performance instructions go well beyond the traditional Allegro or Andante; here, markings such as "mysterieux," "tragique," and "sublime" appear in Scriabin's orchestral music for the first time. These indications represent far more than superficial descriptions; indeed, they demonstrate the struggle Scriabin and his contemporaries faced in trying to express the turbulent emotions of their music in conventional terms. In the program notes for the premiere, Scriabin noted that his "Divine Poem" represents the growth of the human spirit as it is freed from legends and mysteries, passes through pantheism, and ultimately affirms its liberty and unity with the universe.

"Luttes" is meant to represent the conflict between man enslaved by another God versus man himself in the role of God himself. It opens with an ominous theme in the brass; the strings soon enter with an agitated minor-mode motive that gradually migrates toward a theme in the major mode. From this point, there is no longer any solid sense of tonality, and shifts between major and minor occur suddenly and frequently. Dynamic levels are similarly in constant flux, and at times it seems as though climaxes spring up every few measures. Nevertheless, Scriabin's mastery is such that he is able to bind this long movement into a cohesive whole despite its inescapably episodic nature. "Voluptes" is pure sonic sensuality. From a quiet opening of saccharine music for winds and strings, the movement gradually builds into an expression of unbridled, powerful sensuality. This movement leads without interruption into "Jeu divin," where the spirit, freed from submission to a higher power, relinquishes itself to the supreme joy of a free existence. This is rich and richly exciting music, characterized by a torrent of unpredictable changes of mood. The work ends, with a note of gentle ecstasy, on a Brahmsian final chord. Though the work clearly lacks the maturity of later masterpieces like the Poem of Ecstasy (1905-08) or Prometheus (1908-10), it is still a highly individual and worthy effort that provides a fascinating glimpse into the development of Scriabin's singular aesthetic.

[Article taken from All Music Guide]

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This is the first symphony from Scriabin that I understood almost immediately. It's full of color and atmosphere. I consider the first movement a miniature masterpiece within itself. My reference performance is Muti/Philadelphia on EMI. It doesn't get any better than this for me. What do you guys think of the work?


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## Op.123 (Mar 25, 2013)

Golovanov for me. Usually I'd want a work like this in good, stereo sound but Golovanov is just so damn exciting and so authentically Russian.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

Ashkenazy here. He has a lighter touch that I prefer over more sluggish and bombastic performances. Ashkenazy highlights the more playful, airy, dance-like aspects of the music. Luttes is quite wonderful in that regard.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Svetlanov.


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## REP (Dec 8, 2011)

Scriabin 3 gets my vote for the most underrated symphony of the 20th century, and maybe the most underrated symphony of all time. It's one of the most perplexingly overlooked pieces of music I've ever encountered -- a major work by a major composer that almost no one seems to have heard! At least, I've never encountered anyone who was familiar with it.

How good is it? I'd go so far as to call it Scriabin's magnum opus. Maybe it doesn't capture Scriabin at the height of his harmonic evolution, it still being grounded in the Romanticism of his youth, but in my opinion, Scriabin was at his best during this period, when he was still straddling the line between Chopinesque Romanticism and mystic atonality. The thick augmented harmonies are there, but so are the lush, beautiful melodies that seem to stretch across the cosmos. And the two harmonic worlds are so perfectly melded that they feel like a fully-formed musical style -- one that could have easily been explored for another half-century or so, if only composers at the time had resisted the mad rush to atonality and followed Scriabin's path instead.

Great work. Deserves to be better-known. Thanks for bringing it to people's attention!


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

REP said:


> Scriabin 3 gets my vote for the most underrated symphony of the 20th century, and maybe the most underrated symphony of all time. It's one of the most perplexingly overlooked pieces of music I've ever encountered -- a major work by a major composer that almost no one seems to have heard! At least, I've never encountered anyone who was familiar with it.
> 
> How good is it? I'd go so far as to call it Scriabin's magnum opus. Maybe it doesn't capture Scriabin at the height of his harmonic evolution, it still being grounded in the Romanticism of his youth, but in my opinion, Scriabin was at his best during this period, when he was still straddling the line between Chopinesque Romanticism and mystic atonality. The thick augmented harmonies are there, but so are the lush, beautiful melodies that seem to stretch across the cosmos. And the two harmonic worlds are so perfectly melded that they feel like a fully-formed musical style -- one that could have easily been explored for another half-century or so, if only composers at the time had resisted the mad rush to atonality and followed Scriabin's path instead.
> 
> Great work. Deserves to be better-known. Thanks for bringing it to people's attention!


I admire your enthusiasm for this work and while I wouldn't regard it as Scriabin's magnum opus, it certainly is an incredible piece. In fact, your post has given me that extra push to revisit this symphony. Like you, I feel this symphony doesn't get discussed too often and it's unfortunate. Even information about it online isn't too informative.


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## MusicSybarite (Aug 17, 2017)

I used not to be a fan of Scriabin, but things have changed over the time and I do enjoy his orchestral works (not much the piano music). This symphony is nothing but a guilty pleasure (in a very good way). This performance does it right to me:


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

MusicSybarite said:


> I used not to be a fan of Scriabin, but things have changed over the time and I do enjoy his orchestral works (not much the piano music). This symphony is nothing but a guilty pleasure (in a very good way). This performance does it right to me:


I've never felt guilty about enjoying this symphony!

Oh and I adore his solo piano music. For me, it's some of the greatest piano works ever composed. Magnifique!


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