The University Record, January 17, 2000

CREES, other units celebrate life of Alexander Scriabin

The Center for Russian and East European Studies (CREES) and the University Musical Society (UMS) are celebrating the life of philosopher and composer Alexander Scriabin in a series of programs. The events examine Russian culture in Scriabin’s time and highlight 20th-century music from the region. The following are free public events, unless otherwise noted.

Jan. 22

  • 8 p.m., concert, The 26 Etudes of Alexander Scriabin, Arthur Greene, piano, Britton Recital Hall, School of Music.

    Jan. 23

  • 1–4:30 p.m., symposium, “Apocalypse Now? Scriabin and Russian Culture at the End of the Century,” Chrysler Center Auditorium. Participants include Boris Kats, Mussorgsky College of Music, St. Petersburg, “Scriabin Through the Eyes of his Musical Contemporaries”; Maria Carlson, University of Kansas, “Fashionable Occultism and the Artistic Elite: The Case of Scriabin”; Tim Scholl, Oberlin College, “Sleeping Beauty: Synaesthesia at the Ballet”; Wendy Salmond, Chapman University, “Painting Music: The Artists of the ‘Blue Rose’”; and Arthur Greene, “Harmony and Counterpoint in the Piano Music of Scriabin.” Michael Makin, associate professor of Slavic languages and literatures, will moderate.

  • 4:45–5:30 p.m., concert, An Orthodox Christmas, Media Union Performance Studio.

  • 5:30–7:00 p.m., gallery walk, A Virtual Presentation of the Art of the Era, designed by students and faculty in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Media Union Gallery.

  • 7:30 p.m., concert, White Mass: Piano Music of Alexander Scriabin with Lights, Projections and Incense, Arthur Greene, piano, Media Union Performance Studio.

    Jan. 24

  • 7 p.m., concert, St. Romanos Ensemble (Detroit), Russian Orthodox Music, First Balcony Lobby, Hill Auditorium, a selection of pieces from the Russian Orthodox liturgical cycle, sung a capella in Church Slavonic, with paid admission to Russian National Orchestra Concert.

  • 8 p.m., concert, Russian National Orchestra, Mikhail Pletnev, conductor; Francesko Tristano Schlimé, piano; UMS Choral Union, Hill Auditorium, paid admission (UMS Russian/Baltic Millennial Series).

    For tickets to concerts, call UMS, 764-2538 or (800) 221-1229. Tickets and information are also available on the Web at www.ums.org. For information about the symposium, call CREES, 764-0351, send e-mail to crees@umich.edu or visit the Web at www.umich.edu/~iinet/crees.

    Additional sponsors include the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Department of History, International Institute, LS&A, Media Union, School of Music, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, Office of the Vice President for Research, and Beverley and Gerson Geltner.