Rachmaninoff's Piano Works and Diasporic Identity 1890-1945: Compositional Revision and Discourse
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 8-7-2018 12:30 PM Rachmaninoff's Piano Works and Diasporic Identity 1890-1945: Compositional Revision and Discourse Renee MacKenzie The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Nolan, Catherine The University of Western Ontario Sylvestre, Stéphan The University of Western Ontario Kinton, Leslie The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Music A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Musical Arts © Renee MacKenzie 2018 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Music Performance Commons Recommended Citation MacKenzie, Renee, "Rachmaninoff's Piano Works and Diasporic Identity 1890-1945: Compositional Revision and Discourse" (2018). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 5572. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/5572 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract This monograph examines the post-exile, multi-version works of Sergei Rachmaninoff with a view to unravelling the sophisticated web of meanings and values attached to them. Compositional revision is an important and complex aspect of creating musical meaning. Considering revision offers an important perspective on the construction and circulation of meanings and discourses attending Rachmaninoff’s music. While Rachmaninoff achieved international recognition during the 1890s as a distinctively Russian musician, I argue that Rachmaninoff’s return to certain compositions through revision played a crucial role in the creation of a narrative and set of tropes representing “Russian diaspora” following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. These revisions produced multi-version works that exist alongside each other, offering an invaluable lens through which to examine the complex nature of Rachmaninoff’s own sense of national identity and how that identity attends the performance and appreciation of his music. I examine the confluence of composition revision, national identity, and several discourses as they are articulated surrounding these works. I use Pierre Bourdieu’s conception of “cultural capital” to argue that Rachmaninoff consciously intended his works to construct what I term “diasporic capital.” I contextualize my analysis with a brief history of Rachmaninoff and a discussion of diasporic capital embedded in his music. The main part of the monograph consists of three detailed case studies: an analysis of the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 1; the first movement of Piano Sonata No. 2; and the first movement of Piano Concerto No. 4. I consider historical, artistic, and cultural aspects of the composition and reception of each work, and how Rachmaninoff’s revisions created a site of constructing diasporic capital. ii Keywords Music, Rachmaninoff, Russia, National Identity, Russian Revolution, Soviet Union, United States, Exile, Russian White Émigré, Compositional Revision, Pierre Bourdieu, Diasporic Capital, Habitus, Intertextuality, Extra-Musical Significance, History, Biography, Music Formal Analysis, Discourse, Concert Program, Concert Review, Personal Correspondence, Charity, Semiotics, Nostalgia, Memory, Diaspora Studies, Blair Johnston, Pandiatonic Idioms, Equal-Interval Idioms, Piano Concerto, Piano Sonata iii Acknowledgments I am deeply thankful to many individuals for their support throughout this project. The Faculty of Music at Western University has provided an exceptionally valuable, stimulating, and challenging place to study piano performance. I would like to thank my committee: Catherine Nolan, Leslie Kinton, and my piano instructor Stéphan Sylvestre. From my initial program discussion with Catherine Nolan, to the course Contexts of Music Analysis, to Catherine becoming the chair of my monograph committee, I have greatly benefitted from her experience and expertise. I have appreciated her insightful suggestions and comments, and her wide breadth of knowledge on differing and multidisciplinary topics. Leslie Kinton’s piano performances inspired me from a young age. Both in class and out of class, he has offered a wellspring of insight into new ways of listening to and thinking about music and countless other topics. The prospect of studying with Stéphan Sylvestre drew me to Western in the first place. As my piano instructor, I have found his musical insight and expertise both as pianist and as pedagogue to be significant and inspiring. I feel privileged to be Stéphan’s student. As well, I have relied on his counsel and criticism throughout the research and writing process of this monograph. Throughout my time at Western, Stéphan has been an invaluable mentor, advisor, and instructor. During my years at Western’s Faculty of Music, I have enjoyed working with numerous outstanding teachers and musicians. I have learned a great deal from each one, notably Brett Kingsbury and Peter Lea. I would also like to thank my doctoral colleagues in music performance. I have benefited from Western’s encouraging student culture, and my individual relationships iv have made this program so much more fruitful. I would like to thank Natalia Skomorokhova in particular, for reviewing my Russian translations. In August of 2016, I spent a rewarding week at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. I would like to thank the exceptional staff at the Music Division for their assistance during that time. I am also thankful to Ettore Volontieri of the Rachmaninoff Foundation, from whom I received full support to research and copy materials from the Library of Congress’s Rachmaninoff Archives. I would like to express my thankfulness to my parents. To my husband and our precious children, thank you and I love you. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13. v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iv Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... vi List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Appendices ............................................................................................................. xi Preface............................................................................................................................... xii Chapter One. Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Rachmaninoff and Diasporic Capital ........................................................................ 1 1.2 Need for Study .......................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Literature Review ...................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Methodology ............................................................................................................. 9 1.5 Scholarly Contribution ............................................................................................ 16 Chapter Two. Rachmaninoff’s Compositional Revisions: Identity, Diaspora, and Negotiating Habitus .......................................................................................................... 17 2.1 Historical Background............................................................................................. 17 2.2 Pianism and Compositional Style ........................................................................... 25 2.3 Concert Performance Style...................................................................................... 27 2.4 Virtuosity ................................................................................................................. 29 2.5 Exile ........................................................................................................................ 30 2.6 Post-Exile Compositions ......................................................................................... 33 Chapter Three. Case Studies ............................................................................................. 35 3.1 Diaspora at the Door: Concerto No. 1, Mvt. 1 ........................................................ 35 3.1.1 Compositional Context and Russian Tropes .................................................... 35 3.1.2 Revision Process and Habitus Development .................................................... 43 3.1.3 Reviews, Correspondence, and Diasporic Capital ............................................ 58 3.2 Diaspora and Intertextuality: Sonata No. 2, Mvt. 1 ................................................ 64 3.2.1 Compositional Context and Russian Tropes .................................................... 64 3.2.2 Revision Process and Habitus Development .................................................... 71 3.2.3 Reviews, Correspondence, and Diasporic Capital ............................................ 97 3.3 Diaspora and Memory: Concerto No. 4, Mvt. 1...................................................