"POEM of ECSTACY": Alexander Scriabin; those of you who are familiar with this music, what's your feeling ?

Like- dislike? Hate, Love?

I love it; can't get enought of it; listen to it everyday.

I perceive it as a "mystical" piece of music, not neccessarily romantic or sexual.

Scriabin studied metaphysics in India, and I think Tibet also, for a number of years. And I relate to this music, as a "yearning" to be joined with the "Absolute": if you will, "having sex with God".

How do you relate to it? Or, do you?

What's the best recorded or live, performance, that you've ever heard of it?

Wotan

Malcom:Thanks very much for your
D response. Very erudite and
more than enlightening. Would
E-mail you, but having trouble with computer; hope you happen to check back on this question. Checked your profile: "Japanese Swordsmanship" - do you actually, what(?), "fence" with the swords? (Comments-?) I'll check You Tube for the compositions of Scriabin you noted. Yes, he certainly was a unique - even being a "nut case" - individual; and probably would have been regarded so, no matter what the era he had been born into. Thanks again for your response. Wotan

Scriabin was a genius and a complete head case. He deluded himself into believing that he was the Messiah and would not die, but be suffocated in the "Mysterium." [Whatever that is ?!!] His music however is exotic to the point of sensuality and quite beautiful in parts, highly expressive in others. I must confess I like his music immensely, even those compositions like the Black Mass sonata which I find distinctly disturbing. Lorin Maazel put together the most commonly seen version of "Le poem de L'extase" and very good it is too, combined with the piano concerto and Prometheus (The poem of fire) with Ashkenazy.
It is nothing if not a curious piece - quite unique, no-one else wrote music quite like Scriabin.

I don't have a proper response. I love this site, and you and several other people are so knowledgable. I will acquire this piece of music and study it (always learning!)

Love.

Actually, I find the music in question rather more calming than you do. Like much of Scriabin's music it is stirring, evocative, but in a thought provoking and subtly moving way.