Master Thesis Scriabin's Synaesthesia

Thesis and research about the relation between color and harmony in the music of Alexander Scriabin. This includes its practical applications in the field of performance practice as well as music education.

In April 2022 Martin Kaptein finished his Master’s Thesis and Research at the Fontys Conservatory of Tilburg, The Netherlands. The topic of the presentation was Colors in Alexander Scriabin’s Sonata No.8 Op.66: Exploring the relation between color and harmony in Scriabin’s music. This can be described as the first step to revolutionize the perception of music, with wide-ranging effects for piano performance practice, music education and audience perception.

You can read the full Master Thesis here (PDF).

Scriabin’s colors

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Martin also recorded a summary of the research as a screencast presentation.

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Scriabin Sonata 4 Astronomy Film

Alexander Scriabin composed his magnificent fourth piano sonata in 1903, and wrote a poem to go with the composition. The poem talks about an ecstatic flight towards a distant blue star. In this film, made in the library of the Arcetri Observatory in Firenze (Florence), the sonata is performed by Marco Rapetti.

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Vers La Flamme Astronomy

Composer Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) believed that the world would eventually be immersed in, and purified by the heat of the sun: an ecstatic abyss of sunshine. This film was produced on the occasion of the composer's 150th anniversary (1872-2022).