Ignácz Ádám

Finding Time Again
Time Approach in Alexander Scriabin’s Prelude Op. 74 Nr. 1
Ádám Ignácz

Allen Forte published a study entitled A Theory of Set-Complexes for Music in the winter of 1964, in which the affective and controversial theory of set-complexes was first introduced. This theory had a great influence on the post-2^nd-worldwar Scriabin-reception too – it contributed to the development of regarding the Russian composer as one of the important forerunners of serialism. Despite all its advantages, Forte and his follower's method has a serious deficiency: it concentrates only on spatial correspondences, while practically ignoring the dimension of time.
In my study I try to find out: what can be revealed from the last piano pieces referring to Scriabin's time-concept? Is it possible to use the results of the set-theory in this kind of an analysis? The Prelude Nr. 1 of the Op. 74 series has an unusual answer to these questions.

Beyond the Mystic Chord – Compositional Questions in Alexander Scriabin’s Prometheus: The Poem of Fire
Ádám Ignácz – Máté Csaba Szigeti

The core topic of Scrjabin’s analytics is the chord complex so called “mystic chord”. Most of the writings on Scrjabin’s late music concentrate on this chord phenomenon when examining the compositional structure of these opuses. Besides these sometimes very much different analyses, we offer a new alternative: our essay is focused on the chord construction and formal problems of the orchestral piece, Prometheus: The Poem of Fire, tied up with the cultural and philosophical background of the work.

How to Beat the Sun?
Reflections on a futurist opera
Ádám Ignácz

My paper focuses on an composition of the Russian avantgarde of the early 20th century. The work - a futurist opera titled "Victory Over the Sun", first performed it 1913 - was co-composed by Alexei Kruchenykh, Kasimir Malevich and Mikhai Matyushin. I present information about the genesis and reception of this composition. I attempt to reconstruct the intentions of the composers and discuss the difficulties of classifying the piece as belonging to the genre of opera. In connection with this I also discuss the ambiguity of the genre itself and argue that thi: futurist work - a representative piece of various avantgarde aspirations - is in fact an heir to the Romantic idea of the Gesamtkunstwerk.