Scriabin's "Le Poème de l'ecstase" is representative of everything he produced as a composer. The extravagant nature of his compositions practically overwhelms the listener. Writer Boris Pasternak confessed, "I could not listen to this music without tears." Tchaikovsky describes many more earthly joys and pains in his fantasy overture, "Romeo and Juliet." Balakirev had drawn the composer's attention to Shakespeare's tragedy. Out of gratitude, Tchaikovsky dedicated the score to him.