became Professor of Pianoforte, playing at the
Moscow conservatory, remaining such for six years. He resigned from his
post in 1903 in order to devote himself entirely to composition and
concertizing, living principally in Beattenberg, Switzerland, and in
Paris. It is during that time that he seems to have been converted to
Theosophy. He spent 1905-06 in Genoa and in Geneva. In February, 1906,
Scriabine embarked on a tour of the United States. He played in New York
City, Chicago, Washington, Cincinnati and other cities. The next years
were spent in Beattenberg, Lausanne and Biarritz. From 1908 to 1910,
Scriabine lived in Brussels. Then he returned to Moscow, touring Russia
in 1910, 1911 and 1912. In 1914 he visited England for the first time.
Returning to Russia just before the outbreak of the war, he set about on
a work involving the unification of all the arts entitled "Mysterium."
On April 7th, 1915, he was taken ill with blood-poisoning. On April 14th
he was dead.

His principal orchestral works are: "Le Poeme divine," Opus 43; "Le
Poeme de l'Extase," Opus 54; and "Prometheus," Opus 60. It is not easy
to say which of his many compositions for the pianoforte are the most
important. Sonata No. 7, Opus 64; Sonata No. 8, Opus 66; Sonata No. 9,
Opus 68; and Sonata No. 10, Opus 70; are perhaps the most magistral.

STRAWINSKY

Igor Fedorovitch Strawinsky was born at Oranienbaum near Petrograd, June
5th, 1882. His father was a bass singer attached to the court. Igor was
destined for a legal career. But in 1902 he met Rimsky-Korsakoff in
Heidelberg, and abandoned all idea of studying the law. He studied with
Rimsky till 1906. His "Scherzo fantastique," inspired by Maeterlinck's
_Life of the Bee_, which was produced in 1908, attracted the attention
of Sergei Diaghilew to the young composer, and secured him a commission
to write a ballet for Diaghilew's organization. The immediate result was
"L'Oiseau de feu," which was composed and produced in 1910. "Petruschka"
was written in 1911, the composer residing in Rome at the time. "Le
Sacre du printemps" was written in Clarens, where Strawinsky generally
lives. It was produced in Paris in 1913. The opera "Le Rossignol," of
which one act was completed in 1909, and two in 1914, was produced in
Paris and in London just before the war. A new ballet "Les Noces
villageoises" has not as yet been produced.

Other of Strawinsky's compositions are:

Opus 1, "Symphony in E-flat"; Opus