At the beginning of March, Cartier perfumer Mathilde Laurent teamed up for the first time with Esa-Pekka Salonen, music director of the San Francisco Symphony, and pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Together they presented a rendition of Alexander Scriabin’s 1910 symphony Prometheus, the Poem of Fire. Their interpretation of the poem was a captivating fusion of sound, scent, and light, creating a truly multi-sensory experience.
Scriabin, a Russian composer famous for his synesthetic experiences, envisioned a comprehensive masterpiece inspired by the Greek myth of Prometheus. His composition for Prometheus intertwined light, color, and music to stimulate all the senses, including smell, despite the technological limitations of his time.
During a recent performance, Luke Kritzeck’s luminous halo illuminated the concert hall. The colors were synchronized with Scriabin’s original color organ concept. Evoking different emotional landscapes, the music ranged from ethereal to thunderous. At the same time, perfumer Laurent introduced subtle yet complex scents at key moments to enrich the sensory experience of the audience. Using an innovative technology developed in St. Malo, these fragrances harmonized with the music, highlighting the similarities between music and fragrance design. Both create fleeting narratives with evolving elements, similar to the notes of a symphony.
Photography by MYNXII WHITE
