SERGEI RACHMANINOV (1873-1943) Russian Pianist and Composer
Sergei Rachmaninov is unique to me in that he is one of my favorite composers and one of my favorite pianists. His name is legend as the great romantic composer of the 20th Century. His second piano concerto was the basis of the musical scores for several of the most romantic films ever made, and was the inspiration for what was the ideal of a magnificent piano concerto by a fictional composer in one of the most romantic novels of the 20th Century, Ayn Rand's ATLAS SHRUGGED. The beauty and quality of his not inconsiderable output was sustained from his earliest published works to his final masterpiece, Symphonic Dances Op. 45, completed only three years before his death.
But had he not composed any works of note, he would still be considered one of the greatest concert pianists in history, perhaps the greatest. While he often claimed, as have many others, that Jozef Hofmann had the right to that title, Hofmann is known to have said that Rachmaninov was his better. Fortunately for us all, his recording speak for themselves.
SERGEI RACHMANINOV PLAYS
Rachmaninov Piano Concerto N° 3 in D minor, Op. 30 Eugene Ormandy conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra Recorded in 1939
i. Allegro ma non troppo (beginning)
i. Allegro ma non troppo (conclusion)
ii. Intermezzo: Adagio iii. Finale: Alla breve (beginning)
iii. Finale: Alla breve (conclusion)
Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A Minor, Op. 43 Leopold Stokowki conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra Recorded in the 1934
Part I
Part II
Part III
"Elegie" Opus 3 n°1 in E flat Minor piano roll made in 1919
"Prelude" Opus 3 n°2 in C sharp Minor
Here Rachmaninov plays his beautiful Melodie from Opus 3 in two versions, the original and a revision from 1940, only a few years before his death. This is one example in which the composers interpretation is not the ideal, and another, Dutch pianist
Cor de Groot
, plays this piece as I think it must be played.
"Melodie" Opus 3 n°3 in E Major
piano roll made in 1919
1940 Revised version, recorded in 1940
"Polichinelle" Opus 3 n°4 in F# minor piano roll made in 1919
"Sérénade" Opus 3 n°5 in Bb minor piano roll made in 1923
And here we have an opportunity to compare two different recordings of Rachmaninov playing the same prelude. Granted one is from a piano roll, but the interpretations are so unalike, it certainly doesn't account for the differences. I find the first of the two much more to my liking.
Prelude Opus 23 No 5 in G Minor
Prelude Opus 23 No 5 In G Minor Ampico piano roll
Étude Tableau Op. 33 N° 2 in C Major Étude Tableau Op. 33 N° 7 in E flat Major "Scene at the Fair" Moment Musicale Op. 16 N° 2 in E flat minor Recorded in 1940
Almost in spite of his standing as the arch-romantic of the 20th century,
Rachmaninov's Chopin
is elegant and refined. He eschews the exaggerated dramatic tendencies of many of his contemporaries in favor of allowing the music to speak for itself. One can almost hear Chopin playing.
