Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninov’s Prelude in B Minor, Op. 32, No. 10: Longing for the Return

by

The 1887 painting, Die Heimkehr (“The Homecoming” or “The Return”), by Swiss Symbolist Arnold Böcklin (1827–1901), shows a solitary figure seated with his back to a square reflecting pool. His attention is focused on a shadowy house with a single lit window. The late autumnal landscape suggests the falling veil of mortality, greeted with a blend of quiet anxiety, detachment, and inevitability. It was this painting which inspired Sergei Rachmaninov to write the …

Read more

Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony: The Majesty of Melody

by

Sergei Rachmaninov’s First Symphony was nearly his last. During the work’s disastrous premiere in Saint Petersburg on March 28, 1897, the 23-year-old composer hid in a backstage fire escape with his ears plugged as an under-rehearsed orchestra, led by an inebriated and disinterested Alexander Glazunov, desecrated the score. Catcalls erupted throughout the hall, and César Cui colorfully derided the new Symphony as music that would “delight the inhabitants of Hell.” The confidence-shattering …

Read more

Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto: A Musical Affirmation

by

For three years, following the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony, Sergei Rachmaninov was unable to compose. “I believed I had opened up entirely new paths,” Rachmaninov later recalled. At the work’s premiere in St. Petersburg on March 28, 1897, the 23-year-old composer hid in a backstage fire escape with his ears plugged as a possibly drunk Alexander Glazunov led the underrehearsed orchestra through a passionless reading. The audience reacted with catcalls, …

Read more

Rachmaninov’s “The Rock”: An Homage to the Romantic Tone Poem

by

Sergei Rachmaninov was twenty years old when he composed the orchestral tone poem, The Rock, Op. 7 in the summer of 1893. It is music which looks back as much as forward. We hear Rachmaninov’s distinctive voice coming into focus. At the same time, this early work pays homage to an existing Russian Romantic tradition. The influence of Rimsky-Korsakov, to whom the piece was dedicated, Tchaikovsky, and Borodin is evident. At moments, The Rock develops with that …

Read more

Sviatoslav Richter Plays Rachmaninov: Prelude in D Major, Op. 23, No. 4

by

Sergei Rachmaninov’s Prelude in D Major, Op. 23, No. 4 (Andante cantabile) is a dreamy nocturne in triple meter. Its sensuous melody floats above continuous eighth note waves which rise and fall gently. Moving from intimacy to soaring passion, it takes us on a journey filled with revelatory harmonic turns. Rachmaninov’s Ten Preludes, Op. 23 were composed between 1901 and 1903. “How well he hears the silence,” observed the writer, Maxim Gorky, after …

Read more

Rachmaninov’s “The Bells”: A Choral Symphony Inspired by Poe

by

During a vacation in Rome in 1907, Sergei Rachmaninov received an anonymous letter which contained an intriguing text. It was Edgar Allan Poe’s 1849 poem, The Bells, freely translated and adapted by the Russian symbolist poet, Konstantin Balmont. Included was a note from the mysterious sender which suggested that the verses were ripe for a musical setting and that they were well-suited to the composer’s temperament. After Rachmaninov’s death, it was revealed that the …

Read more

Rachmaninov’s Suite No. 1 “Fantaisie-tableaux”: Vivid Musical Pictures

by

Sergei Rachmaninov’s Fantaisie Tableaux for two pianos, better known as Suite No. 1, Op. 5, was conceived as “a series of musical pictures.” The piece is made up of four vivid and magical soundscapes, each loosely inspired by a poem. It’s music of the young Rachmaninov, written in the summer of 1893, a year after his graduation from the Moscow Conservatory. The score was dedicated to Tchaikovsky, who offered the young composer support. Following …

Read more