Alexander Scriabin, a renowned Russian composer and pianist, held a distinctive and profound perspective on the correlation between painting and music. He posited that these two art forms were interwoven and could be employed to create a synthesis of sensory experiences. Scriabin was influenced by the philosophy of synesthesia, characterized by the amalgamation of different senses, which had a significant impact on his approach towards the relationship between painting and music. He was convinced that music possessed the potency to evoke visual images, while painting could encapsulate the emotional and spiritual essence of music. He perceived both painting and music as expressions of the soul, with the capacity to transcend the limitations of the physical world. Scriabin endeavored to create a total work of art that merged music, color, and light into his own compositions. To achieve this, he integrated elements of synesthesia by assigning specific colors to different musical tones and keys. He even devised a color organ for “Prometheus: The Poem of Fire,” which was engineered to project colored lights corresponding to the different musical notes being played. Scriabin’s interest in the relationship between painting and music transcended his own compositions. He was also influenced by the Symbolist movement in art, which aimed to convey abstract and mystical ideas through visual imagery.
Below please find a link to the attempt to realize a symphony of sound and light “Prometheus: Poem of Fire” by Anna Gawboy in collaboration with Toshiyuki Shimada, conductor of the Yale Symphony Orchestra, and a lighting designer Justin Townsend.