Rachmaninov

Rachmaninov’s Elegie, Op. 3, No. 1: Gary Graffman

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Sergei Rachmaninov was 19 when, in 1892, he composed his set of five solo piano Morceaux de fantasie (“Pieces of fantasy”). The collection was dedicated to Anton Arensky, Rachmaninov’s harmony teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. It includes the famous Prelude in C-sharp minor, with its allusion to the Bells of Moscow. Shortly after publication, the young composer gave a copy to Tchaikovsky, who commented on the quality of the work. The set begins …

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Remembering Gary Graffman

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Gary Graffman, a renowned American pianist, teacher, and administrator, passed away last Saturday, December 27, at his Manhattan home. He was 97. A child prodigy, Graffman entered the Curtis Institute of Music at the age of 7, and studied with Isabelle Vengerova. In 1946, he made his professional debut, appearing with conductor Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. After winning the prestigious Leventritt Competition in 1949, he studied extensively with Vladimir Horowitz …

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“The Star-Spangled Banner”: The National Anthem as Arranged by Rachmaninov and Stravinsky

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On September 14, 1814, after witnessing the bombardment of Fort McHenry by the Royal Navy during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812, Francis Scott Key penned the words that would later form the National Anthem. The defining image of the poem was the sight of the U.S. flag, with its fifteen stars and strips, flying defiantly above the Fort following the battle. The triumphant image was central to the …

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Rachmaninov’s “Blessed Is the Man”: Meditative Music from the “All-Night Vigil”

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Blessed is the Man forms the third movement of Sergei Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil, Op. 37 (also known as the “Vespers”). Scored for a cappella chorus, the All-Night Vigil was composed over the course of two weeks in January and February of 1915. It has been called “the greatest musical achievement of the Russian Orthodox Church.” The monumental liturgical work, completed during the First World War, represents the culmination of a sacred musical tradition which included music …

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Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini: Virtuosity with a Twinkle in the Eye

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As a musical form, the “theme and variations” is pure fun. For the composer and performer, it can represent the ultimate display of cleverness—as if to say, “listen to what I can do!” We can imagine Mozart, Beethoven, or Schubert showing off at a party with a series of increasingly intricate keyboard variations on a given theme. Sergei Rachmaninov’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 is filled with this kind …

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

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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 …

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Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony: The Majesty of Melody

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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 …

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