January 6, 1872:
Early afternoon. Alyeksandr Nikolayevich Skryabin is born in Moscow, Russian Empire, the only child of aristocratic parents, Nikolay Alyeksandrovich Skryabin, a lawyer, and Lyubov Petrovna Shchetinina, a pianist. Lyubov Petrovna gives birth on Christmas Day (according to the Russian calendar) after a four-day journey by train from Saratov, a distance of some 725 km. She is so seriously ill from the cold that she must be carried to the bedroom at the house of her in-laws.
November 20, 1882:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (10) makes his performing debut at the keyboard before the cadet corps at Moscow. The audience consists of similarly aged boys and invited guests.
December 22, 1888:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (16) makes his debut as composer-pianist at the Great Hall of the Noblemen (Hall of Columns of Union House).
June 9, 1892:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (20) receives a diploma from the Moscow Conservatory making him a “free artist.”
February 23, 1894:
Piano Sonata op.6 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (22) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg by the composer.
March 19, 1895:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (23) gives his debut professional performance, under the patronage of the millionaire music publisher Mitrofan Belayev, at the Petrov School of Commerce, St. Petersburg. He plays the first performance of the tenth of his 24 Preludes op.11.
December 20, 1895:
The ninth and 16th of the 24 Preludes op.11 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (23) are performed for the first time, in Moscow by the composer.
January 15, 1896:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (24) makes his European debut at the Salle Erard, Paris. He plays the premiere of his Deux Impromptus à la Mazur, Prelude op.16/5, Prelude op.17/5, Allegro de concert op.18, and nos. 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, and 14 of the 24 Preludes op.11.
May 5, 1896:
Fantasy Sonata no.2 op.19 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (24) is performed for the first time, in the Salle Erard, Paris by the composer. He also premieres the fifth of the 24 Preludes op.11.
August 27, 1897:
Today ends a five-day formal nuptial service joining Alyeksandr Nikolayevich Skryabin (25) and Vera Ivanovna Isakovich, a pianist and conservatory gold medalist. "I didn't love Vera in the slightest." (Copley, 61)
October 23, 1897:
Concerto for piano and orchestra op.20 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (25) is performed for the first time, in Odessa the composer at the keyboard.
January 31, 1898:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (26) and his new wife Vera, give a joint all-Skryabin recital in the Salle Erard, Paris. Included on the program is the premiere of the Polonaise in b flat minor op.21 and the Impromptu op.12/2.
September 17, 1898:
Rêverie op.24 for orchestra by Alyeksandr Skryabin (26) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg, conducted by Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (54).
March 6, 1900:
The Piano Sonata no.3 op.23 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (28) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
November 24, 1900:
The Symphony no.1 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (28), without the sixth movement or a chorus, is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg. See 29 March 1901.
March 29, 1901:
The First Symphony of Alyeksandr Skryabin (29) is given it’s first complete performance, in Moscow. See 24 November 1900.
January 25, 1902:
Symphony no.2 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (30) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg.
March 18, 1902:
Three Mazurkas op.25/1, 3, 4 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (30) are performed for the first time, in Moscow, by the composer.
June 6, 1902:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (30) formally resigns from Moscow Conservatory.
April 1, 1904:
Deux Impromptus op.14 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (32) are performed for the first time, in Moscow.
April 9, 1905:
Romance WoO 2 for voice and piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (33) is performed for the first time, in the Salle Erard, Paris, the composer at the keyboard.
May 29, 1905:
Symphony no.3 “Le poème divin”, by Alyeksandr Skryabin (33), is performed for the first time, in the Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris.
July 12, 1905:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (33) leaves his wife and children in Geneva to go to Italy and his lover Tatyana Fyodorovna Schloezer, who is pregnant.
July 15, 1905:
The first born child of Alyeksandr Skryabin dies in Geneva. Skryabin is stricken with guilt, but not enough to return to his wife.
January 23, 1906:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (34), in Bogliasco, Italy, writes to his wife, in Moscow, for the last time. He is living with Tatyana Fyodorovna Schloezer, his lover and soon-to-be common law wife, mother of his newly born daughter.
March 15, 1906:
The Impromptu op.12/1, Poème satanique op.36, two Preludes op.37/1, 4, Prelude op.39/3, Etudes op.42/1, 5, and Poème op.32/1 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (34) are performed for the first time, in Moscow by his estranged wife, Vera.
June 30, 1906:
Poème op.32/2 and the Valse op.38 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (34) are performed for the first time, at the Geneva Conservatory by the composer.
November 21, 1906:
Two Preludes op.37/2, 3, Quasi Valse op.47, Four Preludes op.48, and the Trois morceaux op.45 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (34) are performed for the first time, in Brussels by the composer.
December 1, 1906:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (34) sails second class aboard the Ryndam from Rotterdam bound for Hoboken, New Jersey. His only confirmed playing engagement is gratis. Skryabin will eventually perform in Cincinnati, Chicago, and Detroit but will see no profit from the trip. He will reach Paris with 30 francs in his pocket.
December 20, 1906:
Alyeksandr Skryabin (34) makes his playing debut in the United States with a performance of his Piano Concerto in New York.
January 23, 1907:
Four Preludes op.33 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (35) are performed for the first time, in New York, by the composer.
February 24, 1907:
Fantaisie op.28 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (35), is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
November 24, 1907:
Fantaisie op.28 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (35), is performed for the first time.
December 1, 1908:
Piano Sonata no.5 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (36) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
December 10, 1908:
The Symphony no.4 “Poem of Ecstasy” by Alyeksandr Skryabin (36) is performed for the first time, in New York.
February 1, 1909:
Sergey Prokofiev (17) attends with his friend and fellow composer, 21-year-old Nikolay Myaskovsky, the Russian premiere of Alyeksandr Skryabin’s (37) Poem of Ecstasy in St. Petersburg. Both men are embarrassed to concede that they understand neither the music nor its meaning. See 10 December 1908.
February 13, 1909:
Deux morceaux op.57 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (37) are performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg by the composer.
December 9, 1909:
Among the four second prizes of the Glinka Prize, one goes to Alyeksandr Skryabin (37) for his Piano Sonata no.5 and one to Igor Stravinsky (27) for his Scherzo fantastique.
February 23, 1910:
Feuillet d’album op.58 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (38) is performed for the first time, in Moscow by the composer.
May 10, 1910:
Sixty members of the Imperial Bolshoy Orchestra, along with four soloists, pianist Alyeksandr Skryabin (38), violinist Alyeksandr Yakovlevich Mogilevsky, tenor Vasily Damayev and cellist Erlich, two German journalists and the leader of all, Sergey Koussevitzky, board a steamboat on the Volga River at Tver. They will cruise the river as far as Astrakhan playing 19 concerts in 11 cities, bringing concert music to these regions for the first time.
November 20, 1910:
Quatre morceaux op.56 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (38) are performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg by the composer.
March 15, 1911:
Prométhée, le poème du feu, for orchestra, piano, organ, chorus, and light machine by Alyeksandr Skryabin (39), is performed for the first time, in Moscow. The composer is at the piano while Sergey Koussevitzky conducts. This performance is without the light machine. See 20 March 1915.
November 19, 1911:
Morceau op.51/3 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (39) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg by the composer.
December 23, 1911:
In the Great Nobleman’s Hall, Moscow, Alyeksandr Skryabin (39) and Sergey Rakhmaninov (38) perform a joint concert. Skryabin plays the first half as pianist while Rakhmaninov conducts in the second half. The audience is filled with partisans of the two who see the evening as a rivalry between the performers and each other. The antagonists are a microcosm of Russian artistic thought: Slavophiles follow Rakhmaninov while cosmopolitans support Skryabin.
February 29, 1912:
Deux morceaux op.59 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (40) are performed for the first time, in Moscow by the composer.
March 5, 1912:
Alyeksandr Skryabin’s (40) Piano Sonata no.7 op.64 is performed for the first time, in the Great Noblemen’s Hall, Moscow by the composer.
April 21, 1912:
Deux Poèmes op.63 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (40) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg by the composer.
December 23, 1912:
Poème-Nocturne op.61 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (40) is performed for the first time, in St. Petersburg by the composer.
October 25, 1913:
Piano Sonata no.9 op.68 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (41) is performed for the first time, in Moscow by the composer.
October 30, 1913:
Prelude op.67/1 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (41) is performed for the first time, in Moscow by the composer.
December 25, 1913:
Piano Sonata no.10 op.70 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (41) is performed for the first time, in Moscow by the composer.
January 27, 1915:
Flammes sombres op.73/2 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (43) is performed for the first time, in Moscow by the composer.
March 14, 1915:
Vers la flamme op.72, a piano work by Alyeksandr Skryabin (43), is performed for the first time, in Kharkov, the composer at the keyboard.
March 19, 1915:
The Piano Sonata no.6 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (40) is performed for the first time, in Moscow.
March 20, 1915:
Prométhée, le poème du feu, for orchestra, piano, organ, chorus, and light machine by Alyeksandr Skryabin (39), is performed for the first time with the light machine, in Carnegie Hall, New York. The composer is at the piano. See 15 March 1911.
April 2, 1915:
Guirlandes op.73/1 for piano by Alyeksandr Skryabin (43) is performed for the first time, at Petrograd Conservatory by the composer.
April 15, 1915:
In Petrograd, Alyksandr Skryabin (43) plays the final recital of his life.
April 20, 1915:
In Moscow, with a rising temperature due apparently to the growing pimple on his upper lip, Alexander Skryabin (43) takes to his bed, cancelling a Moscow concert set for 24 April.
April 25, 1915:
A prominent Moscow surgeon makes two incisions into Alyeksandr Skryabin’s (43) swollen lip. A blood test reveals the presence of streptococcus and statilococcus.
April 26, 1915:
Alyeksandr Skryabin’s (43) swelling has been reduced remarkably during the night and he feels well enough to desire to compose. But pleurisy due to blood poisoning has already set in. A lung specialist is summoned.
April 27, 1915:
08:05 Alyeksandr Nikolayevich Skryabin dies of septicaemia, in Petrograd, Russian Empire, aged 43 years, three months, and 21 days.
April 29, 1915:
Funeral services for Alyeksandr Skryabin are held in the Church of the Miracle Worker in Moscow. Because of the great desire of the public to attend, tickets are issued. Among those attending are his sometime rival, Sergey Rakhmaninov (42). Rakhmaninov will play a number of recitals of Skryabin’s music for the benefit of his widow. The earthly remains of Alyeksandr Skryabin are laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery.
September 9, 1915:
Sergey Rakhmaninov (42) performs the Piano Concerto of Alyeksandr Skryabin (†0) in Petrograd. It is the first time he plays music by another composer with orchestra in public. He sees it as the beginning of a new period in his career.
November 18, 1915:
Piano Sonata no.8 op.66 by Alyeksandr Skryabin (†0) is performed for the first time, in Petrograd.
January 16, 1916:
Fantasie WoO 18 for two pianos by Alyeksandr Skryabin (†0) is performed for the first time, in Moscow, 27 years after it was composed.
December 29, 1918:
The first performance of the Society for Private Performances takes place in Vienna. The program includes Alyeksandr Skryabin’s (†3) Piano Sonatas nos.4&7, four songs and Proses lyriques by Claude Debussy (†0) and the Seventh Symphony of Gustav Mahler (†7) in an arrangement for piano-four hands.
January 17, 1927:
Nikolay Roslavets (46) gives a lecture at the Igor Stravinsky Music Polytechnic in Moscow, entitled The New System of Tonal Organization and New Methods of Teaching the Theory of Composition. “With Debussy (†8), in my opinion, begins tonal anarchy.” He compares the anarchy and individualism of western music with the individualism of capitalism and dismisses the work of Skryabin (†11) and Stravinsky (44) as dead ends.