A Style Study of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s and Lowell Liebermann’s Rhapsodies on a Theme of Paganini
A document submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Cincinnati in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Musical Arts
in the Keyboard Studies Division of the College-Conservatory of Music
by
Ji Young Lee
MM, Eastman School of Music, 2003 BM, Ewha Womans University, Korea, 2001
Commitee Chair: bruce d. mcclung, PhD
ABSTRACT
This document examines two Rhapsodies on a Theme of Paganini by Russian-American composer-pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff (18731943) and American composer Lowell
Liebermann (b. 1961). Rachmaninoff borrowed his theme from the set of variations that concludes Paganini’s Twenty-four Caprices for his 1934 Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. For his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, composed and premiered in 2000, Liebermann employed the Campanella (little bell) theme from the third movement of Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7 (1826), but he also included the same Paganini theme that Rachmaninoff had borrowed for the end of his own Rhapsody. This document compares and contrasts the two
Rhapsodies as it attempts to answer the question of why did Liebermann employ the same title as
Rachmaninoff had? Although Liebermann has maintained that Rachmaninoff’s style has not influenced his music, a number of similarities exist between the two works including the use of continuous variation form within a continuous rhapsody, a dance section, comparable rhythmic complexities, the combination of primary and secondary themes, thematic transformation and motivic manipulation, and a humorous and unexpected two-measure cadence.
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Copyright © 2015
Ji Young Lee
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my thesis advisor, Dr. bruce mcclung.
Without his patience, encouragement, and many hours of reviewing drafts, this document would not have been possible.
I would also like to thank Mr. Eugene Pridonoff and Mrs. Elisabeth Pridonoff for being my piano professors and mentors at CCM. They have shown me unwavering dedication and passion in teaching, and have contributed tremendously to my growth as a musician. I thank them for serving as readers for this document.
I also would like to thank Mr. Lowell Liebermann for kindly consenting to an interview and sending me an mp3 file of his Rhapsody.
I wish also to express special thanks to my parents, my husband, and my baby boy, David, for their love, support, and help. Finally, I would like to thank God for everything I have achieved.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABSTRACT ...... ii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... iv
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ...... viii
INTRODUCTION...... 1
CHAPTER 1 RACHMANINOFF’S RHAPSODY ON A THEME OF PAGANINI, OPUS 43…..7
Introduction...... 11
Variation 1...... 11
Tema…………………………………………………………………………………………..…12
Variation 2...... 13
Variation 3...... 14
Variation 4...... 15
Variation 5...... 16
Variation 6...... 18
Variation 7...... 18
Variation 8...... 19
Variation 9...... 20
Variation 10...... 21
Variation 11...... 22
Variation 12...... 25
Variation 13...... 26
Variation 14...... 27
Variation 15...... 28
Variation 16...... 29
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Variation 17...... 31
Variation 18...... 32
Variation 19...... 33
Variation 20...... 34
Variation 21...... 35
Variation 22...... 36
Variation 23...... 39
Variation 24...... 39
CHAPTER 2 LIEBERMANN RHAPSODY ON A THEM E OF PAGANINI, OPUS 72
About the composer……….……………………………..………………………………………42
Background of the piece...... 43
Introduction ...... 46
Variation 1...... 47
Theme ...... 48
Variation 2...... 50
Variation 3...... 52
Variation 4...... 55
Variation 5...... 58
Variation 6...... 62
Variation 7...... 63
Variation 8...... 65
Variation 9...... 67
Variation 10...... 69
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Variation 11...... 71
Variation 12...... 72
Variation 13...... 74
CHAPTER 3 COMPARISON BETWEEN RACHMANINOFF’S RHAPSODY AND
LIEBERMANN’S RHAPSODY
Continuity within sets of variations…………………………………………………………...... 79
Dance sections…………………………………………………………………………………...80
The Combination of primary and secondary themes………………………………………….....82
Thematic transformation and motivic manipulation…………………………………………...... 83
Humorous and unexpected two-measure cadences………………………………….…..……….85
Other similarities…………………………………………………………………………………85
CONCLUSION ...... 87
BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 89
APPENDIX A Interview with Lowell Liebermann...... 93
APPENDIX B Liebermann Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Program Note………………..105
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COPYRIGHT PERMISSIONS
Liebermann, Lowell. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.72. Copyright 2004 by Thedore Presser Company. Used by permission.
Rachmaninoff, Sergei. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 43. Copyright 1999 by A Warner Music Group Company. Used by permission.
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LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Example Page
1. Paganini, Caprice No. 24, mm. 112………………………………...……………………….10
2. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 120…………………..…….…..…12
3. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 3439……………………...…...….13
4. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 7481………………………...... ….14
5. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 8285…………...……………...….15
6. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 11320………………………....….16
7. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 17179………………………....….17
8. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 199202……………...……...... ….18
9. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 24349………………………....….19
10. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 31015………………………..….20
11. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 35663………………...……...….21
12. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 39799………………………..….22
13. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 400408………...……………...... 24
14. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, m. 414……………………………...….25
15. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 42830…………...…………...….26
16. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 44042……………...………...….26
17. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 44751………………………..….27
18. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 48790………………………...... 28
19. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 54648………………...……...….29
20. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 56164…………………...…...….29
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21. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 57077………………………..….30
22. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 6028…………………..…...... ….31
23. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 61315………………………...... 32
24. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 63840………………………...... 33
25. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 68689………………………...... 34
26. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 7068…………………..…...... ….35
27. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 73742………………………..….36
28. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 81719……………...………...….38
29. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 82932………………...……...….39
30. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 87374………………………..….40
31. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 93641………………………...... 41
32. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 15…………………………..…..….47
33. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 57……………………………....….48
34. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 1620………………………..…...…49
35. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 2127………………………..…...…50
36. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 3845………………………..…...…51
37. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 4660………………………..…...…52
38. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 6163………………………..…...…53
39. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 6668………………………..…...…54
40. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 7577………………………..…...…54
41. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 8084………………………..…...…55
42. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 89104…………………………...…57
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43. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 11416…………………………...…59
44. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 11718 and 12425……………...…60
45. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 12629 and 15661……………...…61
46. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 17682…………………………...…62
47. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 18386…………………………...…63
48. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 200207………………………….…64
49. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 21424…………………………...…64
50. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 22938…………………………...…66
51. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 26667 and 27577……………...…68
52. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 27883…………………………...…69
53. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 28184…………………………...…71
54. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 32126…………………………...…72
55. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 37478…………………………...…74
56. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 40416…………………………...…77
57. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 46872…………………………...…78
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Introduction
This document examines two Rhapsodies on a Theme of Paganini: the first by Sergei
Rachmaninoff (1873and the second by Lowell Liebermann (b. 1961). It addresses the question of why Liebermann used the same title for his Rhapsody as Rachmaninoff had for his, and includes a style study of each piece and a comparison of the two. Despite differences in style and musical language, and despite Libermann’s claims to the contrary, there are many similarities between Rachmaninoff’s Op. 43 (1934) and Liebermannn’s Op. 72 (2000).
Rachmaninoff composed his Rhapsody in 1934. With Leopold Stokowski and the
Philadelphia Orchestra, he premiered the work in Baltimore on 7 November 1934, and this same orchestra made the first recording of this piece later that year on Christmas Eve with the composer as soloist. The work is a set of variations, and Rachmaninoff took the theme that
Paganini had composed for the last of his Twenty-four Caprices, Op. 1 (1820), itself a set of theme and eleven variations.
The Board of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra commissioned Liebermann’s
Rhapsody for a concert on 23 May 2001 to honor Raymond Leppard’s ten-year tenure as music director. Stephen Hough was the pianist for the premiere.1 Liebermann’s piece is also a set of variations, but he employed the Campanella (little bell) theme from the third movement of
Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in B minor, Op. 7 (1826).2 Liebermann has said that it was his intention to give the audience an unexpected surprise by using Rachmaninoff’s title but not the same theme. However, he does include the theme of the Twenty-fourth Caprice at the final
1 There are currently no commercial recordings of this piece; however, the composer graciously provided me with an audio recording of the premiere.
2 Liszt had used the same theme in his Grandes Etudes de Paganini, S. 141, No. 3, “La Campanella.”
1 cadence, in counterpoint with the Campanella theme.
Traditionally, a rhapsody is a one-movement work, without repetitions, in free form. It has also tended to have an improvisatory-like affect and often a highly emotional character. The word “rhapsody” is derived from the Greek rhapsodos, a recitation of epic poetry, and it became associated with readings of epic poems, collections of miscellaneous writings and, later, with extravagant expressions of sentiment or feeling. Literary rhapsodies eventually became linked with music; the earliest rhapsodies hail from the eighteenth century and are vocal pieces, such as
Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart’s Musicalische Rhapsodie (voice with keyboard accompaniment, 1786). In the early nineteenth century, several keyboard rhapsodies marked the beginning of the instrumental rhapsody. Three such works are Count Wenzel Robert von
Gallenberg’s Op. 5 (1802), and Vaclav Tomášek’s Opp. 40 and 41 (1810). All three of these rhapsodies are in ternary form with a contrasting middle section. Late nineteenth-century composers, including Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms, and Antonín Dvořák, also contributed to the genre. Liszt’s nineteen Hungarian rhapsodies for solo piano are based on folk elements, while
Brahms’s have no such folk-music associations.3 Dvořák composed four rhapsodies, one as Op.
14, and three as Op. 45. All are orchestral, and the last three, called the Slavonic Rhapsodies, have nationalist overtones. Though composed later, Maurice Ravel’s Rhapsodie Espagnole
(19078) and Ralph Vaughan Williams’s two extant Norfolk Rhapsodies (1906) continued this trend of works for orchestra with ethnic allusions and folk sources. In the twentieth century, the rhapsody was commonly a piece for orchestra and solo instrument, in single-movement free form and with contrasting sections. What sets apart the rhapsodies of Rachmaninoff and Liebermann is that they are both sets of continuous variations.
3 Jonathan Bellman, The Style hongrois in the Music of Western Europe (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1993), 20115.
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By composing a rhapsody for orchestra and solo instrument, Rachmaninoff participated in a nineteenth-century tradition (the Rhapsody) in which twentieth-century composers, such as
Debussy and Gershwin, participated. But, in utilizing this genre for a set of continuous variations while still employing three large sections—the first (Variations 1 predominantly fast; the second (Variations 11slow; and the third (Variations 19fast—which correspond to a conventional cycle of movement for a concerto,4 Rachmaninoff provided as unusual blending of two genres. By using the theme from the last of Paganini’s Twenty-four Caprices in a set of variations, he engaged in another tradition (sets of variations for piano) that included those by both Liszt and Brahms, among others. Similarly, Liebermann, who clearly referenced
Rachmaninoff by using the same title for his Rhapsody.
Literature Review
For general information on Rachmaninoff’s life and works, Victor Seroff and Geoffrey
Norris have written two reliable biographies.5 Seroff’s focus is on the composer’s life and relationships, and he reproduces many of the composer’s letters and other documents.6 Norris categorizes Rachmaninoff’s works by genre, and briefly discusses the structure and form of most of the composer’s works. Such is the case with the Rhapsody, and although a thorough analysis of the work is not included, his discussion provides a starting point in terms of the work’s form and Rachmaninoff’s use of Paganini’s theme. There are two theses that explore musical aspects of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody. Heejung Kang’s “Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by [sic]
Paganini, Op. 43: Analysis and Discourse” and Ying Zhang’s “A Stylistic, Contextual, and
4 Geoffrey Norris, Rachmaninov, ed. Stanley Sadie (London: J. M. Dent, 1976), 120.
5 Ibid.
6 Victor Seroff, Rachmaninoff (London: Cassell & Company, 1951).
3
Musical Analysis of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43” both provide valuable analyses that have been helpful in my comparison of Rachmaninoff’s and Liebermann’s
Rhapsodies.7 For example, Kang includes historical background on the piece, a Schenkerian analysis, and a discussion of performance practice. Zhang also gives a musical discussion of each variation related to phrase structure, thematic relations, rhythmic patterns, and performance challenges. Kang and Zhang have both analyzed Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody in general ways; however, I focus on the musical style characteristics of Rachmaninoff’s and Liebermann’s
Rhapsodies, and the similarities between these two pieces. I discuss what elements Liebermann borrowed from Rachmaninoff since he intended his piece as an homage to the Russian-American composer.
There is virtually no information about Liebermann’s Rhapsody other than the program note that the composer provided for the premiere. However, there are several articles and dissertations about his other works. William T. Spiller’s “Review of Lowell Liebermann:
Keyboard Music” introduces the composer’s musical style periods.8 He calls Liebermann a postmodern tonalist and a neo-romantic who is preoccupied with expressive melodies. Spiller focuses on compositional techniques, harmonies, key-schemes, rhythmic displacement, chromaticism, and polytonality. He does not consider the Rhapsody, but his discussion of other pieces has been helpful in approaching the musical style of the Rhapsody, despite the many differences. Wei-Hui Yu’s thesis, “A Stylistic Analysis of Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 36 by
Lowell Liebermann,” and Hsiao-Ling Chang’s thesis, “Lowell Liebermann’s Concerto No. 1 for
7 Heejung Kang, “Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by [sic] Paganini, Op. 43: Analysis and Discourse” (DMA thesis, University of North Texas, 2004); Ying Zhang, “A Stylistic, Contextual, and Musical Analysis of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43” (DMA thesis, Rice University, 2008).
8 William T. Spiller, “ Review of Lowell Liebermann: Keyboard Music,” Notes 60 (2004): 1034
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Piano and Orchestra, Opus 12: An Historical and Analytical Study,” have been useful for understanding Liebermann’s approach to composing for piano and orchestra, and their interviews with the composer have helped explain his overall compositional style.9 Especially beneficial for the present study have been Yu and Chang’s discussions of how Liebermann develops thematic motives as this procedure is also present in his Rhapsody.
Methodology
This document is based on a style study of each work and a comparison of the similarities between them. The style studies detail characteristics of every variation as well as compositional styles and forms. Along with obvious differences in harmonic language between the two pieces, other important distinctions exist between the two Rhapsodies. In regards to the relation of the theme and individual variations, Rachmaninoff typically employs Paganini’s entire theme for each of his variations with a wide range of thematic transformation, whereas Liebermann often works with small motives drawn from Liszt’s theme. However, when examining aspects such as the utilization of the main theme, form, meter, tempo, use of secondary quotations, harmonic language, instrumentation, rhythmic complexity, and mood, and affect, there are a number of similarities between the two Rhapsodies. First, both works are sets of variations in a genre often associated with free form, but they both rely on a formal structure that corresponds to the cycle of movements in a concerto. Second, both works contain an emphasis on continuity. Third, both composers are preoccupied with a particular rhythmic complexity. Fourth, both include dance sections (a minuet for Rachmaninoff’s Variation 12 and a waltz for Liebermann’s Variation 8
Fifth, they both feature an additional quotation (the Dies Irae for Rachmaninoff, Paganini’s
Twenty-fourth Caprice for Liebermann), which is combined in counterpoint with the main
9 Wei-Hui Yu, “A Stylistic Analysis of Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 36 by Lowell Liebermann” (DMA thesis, University of Northern Colorado, 2003); Hsiao-Ling Chang’s “Lowell Liebermann’s Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 12: An Historical and Analytical Study” (DMA thesis, University of North Texas, 2010).
5 theme. Finally, Liebermann’s Variation 12 is similar to Rachmaninoff’s famous Variation 18 in terms of its Romantic harmonic language, inverted theme, and emphasis on melody. The humorous and unexpected cadences are also nearly equivalent in the manner in which they conclude the Rhapsodies. These resemblances seem to counter Liebermann’s comment to me in our conversation (see Appendix A) that he does not consider Rachmaninoff an influence on his musical style, though he is fond of the composer’s piano music.
Scope
I do not consider reception history, performance practice, or the various commercial recordings of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody. Rather, I show the stylistic similarities between the two
Rhapsodies and address why Liebermann used Rachmaninoff’s title for his Rhapsody.
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CHAPTER 1
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 43
Rachmaninoff composed his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, between 3 July and 18 August 1934 (hereafter Rhapsody). In the common periodization of his music, this work belongs to his last period. His early style (till about 1899) had been heavily influenced by
Tchaikovsky, and saw his first symphony (Op. 13) and the Moments Musicaux, Op. 16. In his second period from about 1900 to 1923, Rachmaninoff had found the compositional voice for which he is most famous. In this time, he composed his second and third symphonies, his second and third piano concertos, and two sets of Études-Tableaux (opp. 33 and 39), among other important works. It was also during this period that he left Russia (1917) and immigrated to the
United States. His last period is from about 1924 to the end of his life and during this time,
Rachmaninoff focused more on conducting and concertizing as a pianist than on composition; however, among the six works (Op. 40–45) that he composed in this late stage, several, including the Rhapsody as well as the Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, are among his most performed and recorded works.
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody crosses several different genres. It was not originally titled a
“Rhapsody” but rather a “Fantasy” as evinced by a letter that the composer wrote to his friend,
Vladimir Vilshau in 1934:
Two weeks ago I finished a new piece. It is called a Fantasy for piano and orchestra in a form of Variations on the theme of Paganini. It is a very long piece, about twenty to twenty-five minutes. That is the size of a piano concerto. I am not going to have it published before next spring. I am going to try it out in New York and London, so that I can make the necessary corrections.1
1Victor Seroff, Rachmaninoff (London: Cassell & Company, 1951), 21011.
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In terms of a piece exploring many thematic, emotional and stylistic concerns, either “Rhapsody” or “Fantasy” would be appropriate. However, Rachmaninoff’s
Rhapsody is a set of variations. Using the theme from Paganini’s Twenty-fourth Caprice, which is itself a set of variations, Rachmaninoff composed twenty-four variations. In this regard, the composer joined a tradition begun by Liszt and Brahms of composing variations on this particular Paganini theme. One final formal consideration is that the
Rhapsody also follows a normative fast-slow-fast cycle of movements of a concerto with variations 1–11 serving as the first movement; 12–18, the second; and 19–24, the finale.
Five years after the completion of the Rhapsody, Rachmaninoff’s music was used for a
Ballet called Paganini, with choreography by Michel Fokine. Rachmaninoff wrote a letter to Fokine on 29 August 1937 to share his thoughts on the project:
About my Rhapsody I want to say that I will be very happy if you will do something with it. Last night I was thinking about a possible subject, and here is what came into my head. I will give you only the main structure now; the details are still in a haze. Why not resurrect the legend about Paganini, who, for perfection in his art and for a woman, sold his soul to an evil spirit? All the variations which have the theme of Dies Irae represent the evil spirit. The variations from No. 11 to No. 18 are love episodes. Paganini himself appears in the “theme” and again, for the last time, but conquered, in Variation No. 23. The first twelve measures after all the variations to the end of the composition represent the triumph of the conquerors. The evil spirit appears for the first time in variation No. 7, where at the place marked 19 one can have the dialogue with Paganini about his own theme and the one of Dies Irae. Variations Nos. 8, 9, 10 are the development of the “evil spirit.” Variation No. 11 is a turning point into the domain of love. Variation No. 12the Menuetportrays the first appearance of the woman. Variation No. 13 is the first conversation between the woman and Paganini. Variation No. 19—Paganini’s triumph, his diabolic pizzicato. It would be interesting to represent Paganini with his violin—not a real violin, of course, but something fantastic. Also, it seems to me that the other personages representing the evil spirit at the end of the piece should be drawn as caricatures in their fight for the woman and Paganini’s art. Definitely as caricatures
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resembling Paganini. They also should be with violins but even more fantastic and grotesque. You are not going to laugh at me, are you?2
The Royal Ballet premiered the ballet on 30 June 1939 at the Royal Opera House in
Covent Garden. As is suggested by the above letter, the scenario—a type of Faustian legend with a happy ending—explores common associations with Paganini. For this ballet,
Rachmaninoff revised the Rhapsody, and included a new ending.
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody, along with his second and third piano concertos, are mainstays for concert pianists. The Rhapsody is highly dramatic and virtuosic, and thus has remained popular among concert audiences. Rachmaninoff noted its difficulty in the same letter to Vilshau: “The composition is very difficult and I should start practicing it, but with every year
I become more and more lazy about this finger work. I try to shirk practicing by playing something old, something that already sits firmly in my fingers….”3 Many pianists have since come to agree with Rachmaninoff’s assessment of the Rhapsody’s technical difficulties.
Within the emotional and thematic content of a fantasy of rhapsody and the technical demands of a set of variations, there exists typical tempo and harmonic outlines of a concerto.
The first section incorporates the introduction, theme and variations 111, with the eleventh variation serving as a transition to the slow second section. This opening section is in A minor, and the variations are generally fast, simple, and straightforward. Along with the Paganini theme,
Rachmaninoff employs the Dies Irae appears as well in Variation 7. The second section comprises Variations 12–18 and takes on the character of a lyrical second movement. The harmony moves from D minor in Variations 12 and 13 to F major in Variations 14 and 15, and from B-flat minor in Variations 16 and 17, to D-flat major in Variation 18. The famous Variation
2 Ibid., 212.
3Ibid., 211.
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18, an inversion of the main motive, becomes the climax of the second section. The third section,
Variations 19–24, returns to A minor. It is energetic and victorious in nature with the tempo accelerating and rhythmic excitement increasing. The tension between the Paganini theme and
Dies Irae builds in the last variation.
In addition to the concerto structure, Rachmaninoff plays with the listener’s expectations.
In an unusual move, he placed the first variation ahead of the actual theme. He will subsequently introduce the Dies Irae, which will compete with the main theme.
The Paganini theme itself is a repeated four-measure antecedent phrase followed by an eight-measure consequent phrase (4+4+8) (see Example 1). The five-note motive (A4-C5-B4-
A4-E5) is the most important aspect of this theme for the following variations, and
Rachmaninoff alters it in many interesting ways including inversion. He emphasizes the tonic
(A) and dominant (E).
Example 1. Paganini, Caprice No. 24 in A minor, mm. 112.
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Variations 111
Introduction (Allegro vivace)
The introduction to Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody is short, dramatic, and strong. It begins in
2/4 and in A minor, the same time and key signature as Twenty-fourth Caprice. The orchestra starts the main motive (A4-C5-B4-A4-E5), a fragment of the theme repeats four times while ascending. The piano marks the down-beat in mm. 2, 4, and 6 (see Example 2).
Variation 1 (Precedente)
Variation 1 begins on the last notes (A1/A2/A3/A4) of the introduction. Rachmaninoff scored this variation for orchestra alone. It presents the main outline of the harmony— alternating between the tonic and dominant— in punctuated eighth notes. Rachmaninoff maintains Paganini’s original phrasing, 4+4+8[+8]. Originally, the Introduction gave way to the statement of the Theme, but late in his composition process, Rachmaninoff added this variation before the theme4 (see Example 2).5
4 Barrie Martyn, Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor (Aldershot, UK: Scolar Press, 1990), 332.
5 Rachmaninoff : Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini Opus 43 in two-piano version, reduction by Rachmaninoff (Miami: Warner Bros. Publications, 1999).
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Example 2. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 1–20.
Tema (L’istesso tempo)
Rachmaninoff repeats the theme in the same twenty-four-measure structure as Variation
1 (4+4+8+8). The orchestra plays the complete theme while the piano plays the same harmonic punctuations that the orchestra had played in Variation 1 (see Example 3).
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Example 3. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 3439.
Variation 2 (L’istesso tempo)
Again, the structure and the theme are the same in Variation 2 as in Variation 1
(4+4+8+8). The harmonic punctuations are included here as well, but Rachmaninoff returned them to the orchestra while the piano plays the theme in a straight-forward manner through the first eight-measure phrase. In the second eight-measure phrase, Rachmaninoff uses the same harmonic structure as in the Paganini theme but with arppeggiated figures of the original melody in the right hand to make a descending sequence (A-G-F-E-D-C-G#-A) (see Example 4).
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Example 4. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 74–81.
Variation 3 (L’istesso tempo)
Rachmaninoff maintains the same tempo for the Introduction and first three variations.
However, he changes the structure of the theme from 4+4+8+8 to 6+6+9+10 in Variation 3.
Both hands of the piano part double the melody with the basic rhythm of the theme, eighths, quarters, and half notes, played legato. Meanwhile the orchestra plays a very soft (pp), leggiere accompaniment based on the fragmented motive A4-C5-B4-A4-E5 in running sixteenth notes
(see Example 5). The pizzicato heard in the Violas lends excitement to this variation.
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Example 5. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 82–85.
Variation 4 (Più vivo)
Rachmaninoff increases the tempo for the fourth variation. He uses only the first four measures of the theme for this variation and repeats it as a motive in four groups (1: 4+4, 2: 4+4,
3: 4+4+4, 4: 4+4+4). For the final two groups he adds one more four-measure phrase to each. In the third group, Rachmaninoff changes the five-note motive (A4-C5-B4-A4-E5) to the major mode (A4-C#5-B4-A4-E5), which continues through the fourth group (see Example 6). Both the orchestra and piano use this five-note motive in descending steps (A3/A4-G#3/G#4-F#3/F#4-
E3/E4), but in imitation with the orchestra part starting a beat later. This contrapuntal writing maintains a straightforward thematic transformation before the texture in the piano part returns to chords alternating between the hands. This sudden change anticipates the fifth variation.
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Example 6. Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 113–20.
Variation 5 (Tempo precedente)
In Variation 5 Rachmaninoff keeps the tempo and key the same but extends the phrase structure even more (4+4, 14+14). He includes increasingly varied transformations of the theme heard in the piano part, which start on the off-beats and include chords that alternate swiftly between the hands. Rachmaninoff reverses the grace notes (G#-A) of Variation 2 here (i.e., right hand plays A4, left hand, G#4). When the piano part rests the orchestra plays chords on the down-beats. Rachmaninoff creates much rhythmic excitement in this variation through a mix of quarter, eighth, and sixteenth rests. The piano part has the five-note motive and also a four-note motive in which the first note of the five-note motive has been omitted (see Example 7). In the
16 two fourteen-measure phrases, the piano part plays the motives descending by step: 4
(A3/A4/A5/A6) + 4 (G3/G4/G5/G6) + 2 (F4/F5/F6) + 2 (E4/E5/E6) + 2 (D4/D5/D6) = 14 measures.
Example 7. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 171–79.
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Variation 6 (L’istesso tempo)
Rachmaninoff again employs the five-note motif (the first and second measures of
Paganini’s theme) four times in the orchestra (A3/A4-C4/C5-B3/B4-A3/A4-E4/E5 and E4/E5-
G#4/G#5-F#4/F#5-E4/E5-A4/A5). The piano part has continuous sixteenth notes, which obscure the theme. Rachmaninoff composed colla parte with fermatas in the orchestra, which gives the pianist the freedom to play cadenza-like parts but in a soft dynamic relaxing the end of each phrase with a poco ritardando (see Example 8). This results in a longer variation than its fifty- four measures (A section 7+7=14 measures, B section 8+8, 6+6 = 28 measures, A section 4+4= 8 measures, cadence 4 measures).
Example 8. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 199–202.
Variation 7 (Meno mosso, a tempo moderato)
The tempo of Variation 7 is a little slower than previous variations, and the mood changes from fast and harmonically straight-forward to calm with more varied chord progressions. Rachmaninoff introduces the Dies Irae, a chant that he frequently quotes in his pieces, to great effect in this variation, and it contrasts nicely with Paganini’s theme (see
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Example 9).6 Throughout the Rhapsody, Rachmaninoff uses only the first seven notes of the chant though he will at times embellish and vary them. In this variation, while the orchestra plays the five-note motive of the Paganini theme many times, the pianist plays the first seven notes of the Dies Irae, doubled in both hands, in half-note chords. The chant will be heard in varied presentations in variations 10 and 24.
Example 9. Rachmaninoff , Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 243–49.
Variation 8 (Tempo I.)
In variation 8 the original tempo returns (Allegro vivace). This is an intense variation with continuous, strong staccato eighth-note chords, and Rachmaninoff changes the mood significantly from that of Variation 7. The piano part includes the five-note motive from
Paganini’s theme in a modified rhythm in eighth notes, while the orchestra plays the motive with the original rhythm three times and two more times in doubled values. The register increases
6 Among Rachmaninoff’s pieces that include the Dies Irae are his Piano Sonata no. 1, Op. 28 (1907), Symphony no. 1, Op. 13 (1895), and Symphony no. 2, Op. 27 (1907).
19 with each repetition with a large crescendo. The melody between the piano and orchestral parts creates a hocket effect towards the end of this variation (see Example 10).
Example 10. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 310–15.
Variation 9 (L’istesso tempo)
Variation 9 mixes duple and triplet rhythms (mostly duple with the piano playing eighth notes on the off-beats). Meanwhile, the orchestra plays triplet rhythms creating hemiola, which creates much tension and excitement. The difficulty for the performers increases as, in the orchestra part, the final note of the triplet figure is often missing. This variation is symmetrical in structure (A 4+4; A 4+4; B 4+4+4; B 4+4+4). In the final measure of the four-measure phrases in the A sections, the piano plays the triplet figure with orchestra. The left hand of the piano part almost continually doubles the right hand throughout this variation. Each of the four-measure phrases from rehearsal 24 till the end of this variation starts softly and gradually grows louder by the end of each phrase (see Example 11).
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Example 11. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 356–63.
Variation 10 [No tempo marking]
The meter changes in Variation 10 to common time. The composer again combines the modified Paganini theme and the varied Dies Irae. The piano plays the first seven notes of the
Dies Irae and then varies them; the orchestra plays various figures from Paganini’s theme. At rehearsal 28, Rachmaninoff changes the meter to three-four for one measure as the piano plays the first four notes of the Dies Irae in a syncopated rhythm. At rehearsal 29, the right hand of the piano part has the variant Paganini theme (the first four notes of the sixteenth-note phrase), the left-hand part plays the Dies Irae in chordal harmony on every up-beat, and the orchestra plays the Dies Irae on the down-beat. After this dialogue between Paganini’s theme and the Dies Irae,
21 the orchestra plays the Dies Irae two times and in last two measures the Paganini theme is heard when the piano plays A3/A4-C4/C5-B3/B4-A3/A4-E4/E5 followed by the orchestra’s statement of E4/E5-G#4/G#5-F#4/F#5-E4/E5-A4/A5, essentially concluding the first movement of the three movement structure (see Example 12).
Example 12. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 397–99.
Variation 11 (Moderato)
With its slower tempo and three-four time, Variation 11 serves as a transition to the second movement. After the continuous running sixteenth notes of Variation 10, Variation 11 employs rolled chords and cadenza-like parts in the piano part (a capriccio), tremolos in the strings, and rolled chords in the harp. The piano part plays the Paganini theme motive three times each time extending the phrase (A4-C5-B4-A4-E5) (A4-C5-B4-A4-E5-G5-F5-E5-A5) (A4-
C5-Bb4-A4-E5-G5-F5-E5-A5-C6-Bb5-A5-E6) (see Example 13). This variation also features rhythmic complexities. The left-hand part has triplet rhythms while the right- hand part plays sixteenth notes creating a three-against-four rhythm between the hands. When the orchestra plays the primary motive (A4-C5-Bb4-A4-E5) in a slower tempo than the original Paganini caprice, the piano part has ascending chromatic scales that have regular and irregular groupings (eight notes per beat, then ten and eleven, respectively). This complexity is further manifested before
22 the cadenza section as the harpist plays glissandi creating four-against-five and four-against- seven rhythms. At the end of this variation, the piano part has a series of four ascending and modified Paganini motives (see Example 14).
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Example 13. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 400–408.
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Example 14. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, m. 414.
Variations 128
Variation 12 (Tempo di Minuetto)
Variation 12, a Minuet, is in D minor. It has graceful, gentle, and melancholic characteristics. Opening with pizzicati in the violins, the piano joins in with punctuated rhythms following the first beat of Paganini’s theme. The repeated rhythm pattern of the piano part
(eighth note, sixteenth rest, and sixteenth note) is derived from the rhythm of the every first beat of Paganini’s theme (see Example 15). In this rhythm, the piano part continues the lyrical melody while the orchestra sustains a tonic chord. Main notes from the piano melody are F5
(from the tonic) and E5 (from the dominant). Rachmaninoff emphasizes the tonic and dominant relationship here just as in Paganini’s theme. The composer introduces the inversion of
Paganini’s theme in four sixteenth notes, which hints at Variation 18 at rehearsal 33 (see
Example 16).
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Example 15. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 428–30.
Example 16. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 440–42.
Variation 13 (Allegro)
In triple meter and in D minor, Variation 13 has a contrasting mood with the previous variation. The phrase structure is simple (A: 4+4, B: 8+8), but Rachmaninoff includes almost the entire Paganini theme in unison but doubles the values of the original notes, and uses tenuto and staccato with marcato markings in the orchestra. The piano part provides accompaniment with leaping chordal figures on the up-beat while the orchestra plays a relatively straight-forward
26 statement of the modified Paganini theme. This contrasting and strong variation flows to the next variation changing key to the relative major (see Example 17).
Example 17. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 447–51.
Variation 14 (L’istesso tempo)
Variation 14 is energetic with rhythmic complexity and loud dynamics. The orchestra once again plays the melody with triplet figures from the inversion of Paganini’s theme. The pianist plays repeated chords in triplets (eighth note, eighth note, and eighth rest) creating hemiola with the orchestra. At rehearsal 37, the orchestra frequently has a duple rhythm creating a hemiola between the piano and orchestra. Again, Rachmaninoff hints at what is to come by including a statement of the inverted theme in triplets in the orchestra part (see Example 18).
The end of this variations overlaps with the beginning of Variation 15. In a sense, Variations 14 and 15 could be considered a pair: they are both in the same meter and key and both include inversions of the theme.
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Example 18. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 487–90.
Variation 15 (Più vivo. Scherzando)
Variation 15 is in a fast tempo like that of Variations 4–6, but is a cadenza-like passage demonstrating the pianist’s technical ability. It begins with piano alone and includes running sixteenth notes from beginning to end, between the hands and together. The orchestra joins after twenty-eight measures introducing color with strings playing staccato in a high register accompanied by low strings (cello and double bass).
Rachmaninoff placed the melody in long note values in the piano part in mm. 53549
(see Example 19). This variation is extremely difficult with hand crossing, resulting in large leaps for the left hand, meter changes, fast ascending and descending passages for the right hand, hemiola, and three-against-four and three-against-two rhythms between the piano and orchestra.
The piano part concludes this variation with a soft F-major chord (see Example 20).
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Example 19. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 546–48.
Example 20. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 561–64.
Variation 16 (Allegretto)
Rachmaninoff returns the meter to 2/4 in the sixteenth variation in B-flat minor. It is a quiet, dance-like variation with soft dynamics, and utilizes con sordini and pizzicato for strings.
The composer employs repeated staccato eighth notes on F4, the pivot pitch between Variation
15’s tonic and Variation 16’s dominant, in the violin at the beginning of this variation. The
29 pianist accompanies using four sixteenth-note and eighth-note rhythm of Paganini’s caprice. The winds (oboe and English horn) play the melody including the Paganini five-note motive (see
Example 21). This variation also includes a new motive (senza sordino) (Bb5-Cb6-Bb5-Ab5) played first by the first violin and later played by the clarinet. Rachmaninoff uses various modified theme fragments in several solo instruments in the orchestra (oboe, violin, English horn, clarinet). He also again utilizes hemiola rhythms between the piano and orchestra (at rehearsal numbers 45 and 46) and later three-against-four between the hands in the piano part (see
Example 22).
Example 21. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 570–77.
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Example 22. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 602–8.
Variation 17 (M.M. ♩ = ♩.)
Rachmaninoff connects variations 16 and 17 with a three-measure transition scored for orchestra. Variation 17 is also in B-flat minor, but the meter is in twelve-eight. Rachmaninoff repeats the motive Bb1/Bb2-Cb2/Cb3-Bb1/Bb2-A1/A2 with broken chords figures, both at the beginning and at the end in the piano part (see Example 23). This motive is from the previous variation where it was played several times by the orchestra with A-flat sometimes replacing A
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(derived from the oboe, violin solo, English horn, and clarinet parts of variation 16). This chromatic variation employs soft dynamics and long notes sustained in the orchestra.
Example 23. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 613–15.
Variation 18 (Andante cantabile)
Variation 18 is in D-flat major and triple meter. It is one of the longest of the variations and serves as the climax of the ballet’s love episodes (according to Rachmaninoff’s ballet scenario for Fonkine) and the crux for the work. Rachmaninoff utilizes the inversion of the five- note motive from Paganini’s theme (see Example 24). The pianist plays the lyrical melody alone first in the right hand while the left-hand accompaniment features with broken chords with big leaps; when the melody is heard in the orchestra at rehearsal 50, the pianist fills in the harmony with full chords in both hands. Rachmaninoff employs triplets constantly throughout this variation, with four sixteenths often on the last beat. This structure creates three-against-four and two-against-three rhythms between the piano and orchestra. This variation concludes the second section of the tri-partite work.
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Example 24. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 638–40.
Variations 19–24
Variation 19 (A tempo vivace, L’istesso tempo)
Rachmaninoff again gives the orchestra a six-measure introduction in 2/4 and A minor.
He employs a triplet arpeggio figure alternating between the hands in the piano part in four-four
(see Example 25). The composer marked this giga quasi pizzicato (staccato in the piano part) reflecting Paganini’s violin pizzicato in the Caprice. Again A and E are used as the main notes of this variation, reinforcing the tonic and dominant. The structure is A: 4+4 and B: 6+6. The orchestra supports the piano with sparse writing consisting mostly of quarter notes and rests.
Twice Rachmaninoff employs a one-measure meter change (3/4) to accommodate the changing rhythmic accents.
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Example 25. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 686–89.
Variation 20 (Un poco più vivo)
In Variation 20 Rachmaninoff increases the tempo and changes the meter to common time. He uses the structure of A, 5+5 and B, 9+9. He emphasizes the notes A and E especially in the piano part as he had done in Variation 19. Both hands play nearly the same material octaves
(see Example 26). While the orchestra plays running eighth and sixteenth notes (i.e., E4-D4-C4-
D4-C4-D4-E4-D4) throughout this variation, the piano plays intervals of fourths and fifths with the same rhythm as the Minuet (Variation 12). These intervals are derived from the first beats of
Paganini’s theme. In this straightforward variation, the composer completely changes the mood from that of Variation 12.
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Example 26. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 706–8.
Variation 21 (Un poco più vivo)
Rachmaninoff again increases the tempo in the twenty-first variation. The piano part plays constant triplets. The three-against-four rhythm appears here as well when the strings play
Paganini’s theme. The composer achieves rhythmic complexity with meter changes to two-four creating hemiola effects between the piano and orchestra (see Example 27). The left hand mostly doubles the right hand in the piano part except during the hemiolas. The fragment of the theme is first played by the strings (viola and violin) and later the cello and wind instruments (flute, oboe, and clarinet) join, creating a dramatic climax, which will be extended in Variation 22.
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Example 27. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 737–42.
Variation 22 (Marziale Un poco più vivo [alla breve])
Rachmaninoff composed this somewhat longer variation with sections that highlight either duplet or triplet rhythms, and sometimes both. The composer still employs common time but with the feeling of alla breve, so this variation feels even faster and livelier than the previous variation. He chose a very similar style for the orchestral accompaniment as he had in Variation
21. The strings continue playing the theme, and the pianist repeats the eighth-note and the eighth-rest rhythms in a descending step-wise motion in both hands. At rehearsal 63, the piano part has triplets against the orchestra’s duplets. Both hands participate in the repetition of
36 ascending and descending chromatic scales (octave doublings) in triplets with occasional four sixteenth notes or quintuplets. At rehearsal 66, as the strings play a fragment of Paganini’s theme, the harp accompanies with chords, and the piano plays harp-like arpeggiated figures, which alternate between the hands. This passage leads to the cadenza, which begins with doubled octaves in both hands first in triplets and then moving to duplets as the pianist reiterates the
Paganini fragment (see Example 28).
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Example 28. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 81719.
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Variation 23 (L’istesso tempo)
Rachmaninoff continues the tempo of Variation 22 in Variation 23 but changes the meter to 2/4. The pianist plays the Paganini theme very quietly (pp) in A-flat minor before the orchestra enters with the theme in a bombastic fortissimo A minor. While the orchestra hammers out the first four measures of the theme, the piano plays an accompaniment figure, which is doubled between the hands. This passage gives way to another fast cadenza for piano at the end of the variation. Here, the pianist begins with a relatively straightforward statement of the theme in A-flat minor, and orchestra plays an exact statement of the theme in A minor (see Example
29). Then, both the piano and orchestra parts feature the original theme fragment as well as modified theme fragment fourteen times.
Example 29. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 829–32.
Variation 24 (A tempo, un poco meno mosso)
After the driving music in Variations 19–23, Variation 24 slows down slightly and returns to common time. Again Racmaninoff employs fast and soft staccato triplets, as in
Variations 19 and 21, but places both the piano part and orchestral scoring in high registers.
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Increasingly the piano part has leaps greater than an octave in the right hand. While the piano rests, the orchestra plays the Paganini theme in a minuet-like figure (see Example 30). This reiteration of the theme is followed by the più vivo section, in which the meter changes to 2/4.
The orchestra sounds out the Paganini theme fragment (E4-G#4-F#4-E4-A4) (E5-G#5-F#5-E5-
A5) (E3-G#4-F#4-E4-A4) (E6-G#6-F#6-E6-A6) changing registers four times while the pianist plays chords that alternate between the hands. Rachmaninoff repeats the Dies Irae at rehearsal 78 in long-note values in the orchestra, and the pianist takes over Paganini’s theme. In this last dramatic dialogue between the two themes, Rachmaninoff displays many virtuosic techniques in the piano part including glissandi and full chords. The two-measure coda is an unexpectedly witty and soft ending after all the fast and strong passages that preceded it. The composer employs the second measure of the Paganini theme for the end but concludes with A major instead of A minor (G#4-F#4-E4-A4) (see Example 31).
Example 30. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 873–74.
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Example 31. Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 936–41.
This style study has demonstrated and explored Rachmaninoff’s compositional style in his Rhapsody as it relates to each variation and has shown how the composer manipulates the source material. After the next chapter in which Liebermann’s Rhapsody will be examined in a similar manner, the observations in this style study will be used to compare and contrast the two works.
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CHAPTER 2
Liebermann’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 72
About the composer
Lowell Liebermann is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. He was born in
New York City on 22 February 1961. He began piano studies at the age of eight and composition studies at fourteen. Liebermann received some important recognition at an early age. When he was sixteen, he enjoyed his first Carnegie Hall premiere: he performed his own first piano sonata.
This work would later garner prizes from both the Music Teachers National Association (1978) and the Yamaha Music Foundation (1982).
Liebermann attended the Julliard School where he achieved his baccalaureate (1982), master’s (1984) and doctoral degrees (1987). He studied composition with David Diamond and
Vincent Persichetti, and piano with Jacob Lateiner at the Juillard School. He served as assistant conductor of the Nassau (Long Island) Lyric Opera Company in 1982 and has remained a frequent conductor and performer of his own music. From 1998 to 2002, he served as Composer- in-Residence for the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, a role he has also filled for Sapporo’s Pacific
Music Festival (2001) and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (2001).
Liebermann is prolific and has composed over one hundred works in various genres and for various performance forces, several of which have entered the standard repertoire, including his Sonata for Flute and Piano (1987), which has been recorded more than twenty times to date, and his Gargoyles for Piano (1989), which has been recorded fifteen times.1 Liebermann has composed two full-length operas, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1996) and Miss Lonelyhearts
(2006), two symphonies, three piano concertos, Concerto for Flute and Orchestra (1992),
1 Lowell Liebermann, “Biography,” accessed 9 May 2014; http://www.lowelllibermann.com.
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Concerto for Flute and Harp (1995), Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (2001), Concerto for
Trumpet and Orchestra (2000), four string quartets, four cello sonatas, and numerous solo piano pieces. His music is widely performed and has been played by many distinguished performers, including flutist James Galway, clarinetist Jon Manasse, and pianist Stephen Hough. The
Theodore Presser Company publishes his works.
Background of the piece
The Board of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra commissioned Liebermann’s
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 72, for a concert on 23 May 2001 to honor Raymond
Leppard’s ten-year tenure as music director. Pianist Stephen Hough was soloist for the premiere.2 The idea for the piece involved both Leppard and Hough. In the program note for the premiere, Leppard recalled:
One night in New York, Stephen, Lowell and I were joking around in Lowell’s apartment. Surely there must be another tune [from Paganini] to write variations on rather than the famous caprice which served for Brahms and Rachmaninoff, so I said “ Come on, Lowell, write some variations.” Stephen joined and played a bit of the Liszt (La Campanella). The idea stuck, and this work developed from that time. I think that it will become most successful and will enter the major repertoire. But it is truly difficult for soloist and orchestra. But, then again, Stephen likes all that!103
Liebermann added, “I had a lot of fun writing it and mischievously laughing at some of the things which poor Steve would have to learn.” The length of this piece is eighteen-and-a half minutes, but Liebermann took only about a month to compose it. The Rhapsody is an extremely
2 There are currently no commercial recordings of this piece; however, the composer graciously lent me an audio file of the premiere.
3 Lowell Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 72, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Concert, 23 May 2001.
43 difficult and virtuosic piece. Nonetheless, Liebermann termed it “pretty straight-forward and all about thirds and fifths.”4
The use of La Campanella as the theme for a set of variations plays with audience expectation. Instead of using the last of Paganini’s Twenty-four Caprices, he selected La
Campanella theme (No. 3) from Liszt’s Six Grandes Études de Paganini. Sacheverell Sitwell has commented on the history of that work: “At first Liszt intended to transfer all twenty-four of the Paganini Caprices to the piano but was deterred from doing so by the manifest impossibility of the task, and also more probably the monotony of such labor.”5 Out of this motivation and reconsideration, six etudes emerged, the third of which, La Campanella (the little bell), is based not on any of the Capricci, but on the last movement of Paganini’s second violin concerto.
Liebermann’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is a set of variations based on Liszt’s realization of Paganini’s theme from his Grandes Études. Liebermann borrowed the key of the beginning and many of the musical aspects from Liszt’s etude.
Though Liebermann’s Rhapsody is a set of variations like Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganini, a difference concerns the melding of the two genres. Liebermann has claimed that he “had more in mind a rhapsody rather than a clear-cut set of variations,”6 and his piece demonstrates this emphasis. Like Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody, Liebermann follows a concerto-like cycle of movements, but his piece is even more clearly through-composed. He does not provide numbering for the variations like Rachmaninoff had done, and though the
Rhapsody begins with variations, it moves into a fluid setting in which thematic fragments
4 Lowell Liebermann, interview by author, Weehawken, NJ, April 10, 2012.
5 Sacheverell Sitwell, Liszt (New York: Dover Publications, 1967), 89.
6 Lowell Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 72, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Concert, 23 May 2001.
44 coalesce and meld into one another. For purposes of this style study, I have divided
Liebermann’s Rhapsody into thirteen variations by key, meter, tempo, or mood : Introduction
(Cadenza) (mm. 1–5), Varation 1 (mm. 6–16), Theme A (presentation of theme by orchestra),
Theme A’ (presentation of theme by pianist) (mm. 16–31), Variation 2 (mm. 32–60), Variation 3
(mm. 61–84), Variation 4 (mm. 85–113), Variation 5 (mm. 114–83), Variation 6 (mm. 184–99),
Variation 7 (mm. 200–228), Variation 8 (mm. 229–63), Variation 9 (mm. 264–82), Variation 10
(mm. 283–319), Variation 11 (mm. 320–37), Variation 12 with a cadenza section (mm. 338–90),
Variation 13 (mm. 391–472), Cadenza (mm. 391–452), and Coda (mm. 453–72).
Although Liebermann does not indicate key signatures, the key of the Rhapsody can be generally analyzed in G# minorthe same key as Liszt’s La Campanella etude. Liebermann uses the pitches D#, C#, and B for several variations, which are derived from the La Campanella theme, and this in turn creates a descending major third. He employs thematic fragmentation throughout the Rhapsody, especially the first three-note motive (D#-D#-C#) and the second three-note motive (D#-C#-B), as well as the theme (D#-D#-C#-B-B-A#-G#). Liebermann achieves thematic transformation through inversion of the theme, repeated notes, changes in rhythm or hiding the theme in chord progressions. He also uses polytonality and an abundance of rhythmic complexities, such as 5:7, 20:21, 20:25, 20:27, 3:11, 6:5, 8:5, 5:24, 2:3, 4:5, and 3:4.
His suggested tempo marking for each variation includes a metronome marking.
Liebermann’s variations explore the potential found in La Campanella theme. In
Variation 5 he includes a conga in 10/16 meter. He imitates a startling gunshot to launch the second cadenza, which is a retrograde of the first cadenza. In the following iteration of the theme, Liebermann includes bells, a clever reference to the nickname of Liszt’s etude.
Liebermann orchestrated his Rhapsody for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 B-flat clarinets, 2
45 bassoons, 4 F horns, 2 C trumpets, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, tubular bells, glockenspiel, cymbals, triangle, xylophone, vibraphone, wood block, suspended cymbal, snare drum, bass drum, bongos, cowbell, tam-tam, gunshot, piano, and strings. Liebermann has claimed that he
“wanted to write a fun, entertaining piece, something that would go against what would be expected,”7 and with this Rhapsody, he accomplished his goal.
Introduction (mm. 15)
With a tempo of Allegro (quarter note = c. 120) and a time singature of 3/4, the introduction begins with a strong F#-major chord in the orchestra, then moves to A minor, A major and to a GMm7 chord by m. 5. The first cadenza begins in m. 5 with octaves in both hands of the piano part in a rhythm of 7:5. The right hand plays repeated octaveseight notes on D#, ten notes on E, five notes on G, eight notes on A-flat, and ten notes on A# followed by a
B-major chordrecalling the beginning of the La Campanella etude (see Example 32).
7 Ibid.
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Example 32. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 15.
Variation 1 (mm. 6
Liebermann returns to the same tempo as the Introduction but changes the meter to 6/8.
Like Rachmaninoff had in his Rhapsody, Liebermann presents the first variation before he introduces the theme. The orchestra introduces the fragment of the Campanella theme (D#-D-#-
C#-B-B-A#...) three times gradually extending it each time from four pitches (D-D-C#-B) in a half measure to over four measures. The piano plays a harp-like accompaniment during the orchestra’s statements of the theme but towards the end of the variation takes over the melody
(see Example 33).
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Example 33. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 57.
Theme (mm. 16–31)
The tempo slows to moderato (eigth note = c. 120) for the theme, but the meter remains the same. Liebermann derived the eight-measure Campanella theme from Liszt’s own statement of the theme in the etude. Liebermann will transform the theme in each subsequent variation.
The orchestra begins on a pivot pitch, an enharmonic equivalent (E-flat, D#) that ends Variation
1, and presents the theme with violins, violas, tubular bell, glockenspiel, cymbals, xylophone, vibraphone, trumpet, piccolo, oboe, basson, and triangle in an almost pointillistic orchestration.
Most of the instruments play one note of the theme, which creates a hocket effect (see Example
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34). According to Liebermann, this passage was influenced by Spike Jones, an American bandleader known for humorous and satirical arrangements of popular songs. Immediately following, the piano plays the theme in a straight-forward manner in G# minor, the original key of Liszt’s La Campanella etude (see Example 35).
Example 34. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 1620.
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Example 35. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 2127.
Variation 2 (mm. 32–60)
For the second variation, Liebermann changes the tempo mark to Piu mosso (dotted quarter note = c. 56), but keeps the same time and key signature. He varies the theme in
Variation 2, and the orchestra and piano pass the melody back and forth in mm. 39–45 (see
Example 36). Liebermann composed a chromatically descending melody D#5 (G# minor) to D5
(G minor) to C#5 (F# minor) in mm. 44–46 (see Examples 36 and 37). This sequential pattern, during which the meter frequently changes during the next thirteen measures (6/8, 5/16, 8/16,
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5/16, 6/16, and 4/8), creates accent and rhythmic displacements. The fragment of the theme remains recognizable in mm. 47–60 (see Example 37).
Example 36. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 3845.
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Example 37. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 4660.
Variation 3 (mm. 61–84)
Liebermann increased the tempo (dotted quarter note = c. 120) for the third variation, marked Più mosso, and changed the time signature to 10/8. He groups the rhythms 3+3+2+2 in
52 mm. 61–71 and then changes this grouping to 3+2+3+2 in mm. 72–9 in the piano part while the orchestra keeps the original subdivision. The pianist’s hands play in contrary motion as the right hand plays the descending melody of the Campanella theme three times in different registers. The melody in E-lydian mode is heard in the left hand in mm. 61–62 (see Example 38) and then in D-dorian in mm. 66–67 (see Example 39). Liebermann repeats this same melody in the orchestra in E-lydian in mm. 75–77 (see Example 40). The Campanella fragment heard in the beginning of this variation repeats first in the flute (m. 75), then in the oboe (m. 76), and finally in the clarinet (m. 77), while the basson and cello play the E4-D#4-C#4 and B3-A#3-G#3 fragments (see Example 40). Liebermann also uses modified sequential patterns in mm. 78–79 in the piano part. The bridge to the next section employs frequent measure changes: 10/8, 6/8,
9/8, 4/4 in mm. 80–84 (see Example 41).
Example 38. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 6163.
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Example 39. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 6668.
Example 40. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 7577.
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Example 41. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 8084.
Variation 4 (mm. 85–113)
Liebermann changes the meter and tempo for the fourth variation to 2/4 and Allegro
(dotted quarter note = c. 120); he returns the key to G# minor. In the beginning of the variation, he writes octave doublings in the piano part with a rhythm of four eighth notes per measure for eight measures. In m. 93 right-hand legato figures in the chords contain the Campanella theme:
D6/D7-C#6/C#7-B5/B6-A#5/A#6-G#5/G#6, changing to E-flat6/E-flat7-D6/D7-C6/C7-
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B-flat5/B-flat6-A5/A6 in m. 97, all while eighth-note octaves continue in the left-hand part.
In m. 100 the violins and piccolo take over the eighth notes while the pianist plays what the orchestra had at the beginning of the variation: sixteenth-triplet chordal figures doubled in both hands. Liebermann employs time signature changes also in this variation in mm. 99–100 where he switches from 3/4 to 2/4 and at the end of this variation from 3/4 to 2/4 to 3/4 during the bridge to the next variation (see Example 42).
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Example 42. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 89104.
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Variation 5 (mm. 114–83)
The fifth variation, much longer than the previous ones, is an Allegro (eighth note = c. 184) with a time signature of 10/16. Liebermann mixes B minor/major at the beginning but changes to C minor/major at m. 122. He employes percussive rhythms, and scores the melody for both piano and orchestra. He introduces a conga rhythm by continuous repetitions of groups of five sixteenth notes. It begins in the left hand of the piano part at first with a repeated ostinato bass (B0-C#2-D2-E-flat3-E-flat2) (see Example 43). The piano part is quite rhythmically complex and includes 21:20, 27:20, 24:20, and 25:20 between the hands (see Example 44). The piano and orchestra have a close relationship in transmitting the conga rhythm and the theme.
For instance, the pianist plays the theme with the conga rhythm at m. 114, then the orchestra at m.
126, and pianist again at m. 156 (see Examples 43 and 45), until m. 160 where the orchestra plays it and then the pianist once again at m. 163. The right hand of the piano part joins with the same rhythm (5+5); however, the tie between the fifth and sixth notes creates a syncopated rhythm and adds to the percussive affect. In the orchestra the contrabass plays with the first and second notes of each five note group highlighting this rhythm. The rhythmic groupings change from 5+5 to 6+4 (3+3+2+2) but later back to 5+5. Liebermann employs the orchestra to highlight the percussive rhythms in this variation. The suspended cymbal plays for the first time in mm. 114–25, and at rehearsal letter K (from m. 132), the bongo, cowbell, and bass drum all play together. The contrabass plays just two notes per measure, repeating B2 in mm. 114–18 and then in mm. 119–25 ascending in a step-wise motion: C3-D3-E-flat3-E3-G-flat3-G3-G#3-A#3-
B3. This figure will reappear later as the contrabass repeats B2 (two notes per measure) in mm.
156–59 (see Example 45) before ascending in steps from G2-G#2-A#2-B2-C#3-D3-E-flat3 in
58 mm. 163–68. At rehearsal letter O, the oboe plays a fragment of the Campanella melody in inversion (see Example 46).
Example 43. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 11416.
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Example 44. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 11718 and 12425.
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Example 45. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm 12629 and 15661.
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Example 46. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 17682.
Variation 6 (mm. 184–99)
Liebermann marked Variation 6 Lento (half note = c. 40) and frequently changes the time signature between 4/2, 3/2 and 2/2. The orchestra plays alone during this sixteen-measure, G#- minor variation (8+8). The composer hid the Campanella melody in the harmony of the chords played by the strings for the first eight measures and then features it in the oboe and glockenspiel over string accompaniment for the second eight measures. In this slow and quiet variation, the dynamics never exceed p (see Example 47).
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Example 47. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 18386.
Variation 7 (mm. 200–228)
Liebermann assigned 2/4 for the time signature of this variation, an Adagio (quarter note
= c. 50). It begins in G minor with the pianist repeating an accompaniment figure based on the quartal chord (D4-G4-A4) in the left hand and F#4 and Bb4 in the right.
The right hand also plays the Campanella fragment, which is heard in the high descending thirds, F#5-E5-D5, A5-G5-F#5, C6-Bb5-A5 in mm. 200–210 (see Example 48). At the same time, a solo cello plays a cantabile melody in duet with the piano. At rehearsal letter S, the first violins, along with flute, oboe, and clarinet, play quintuplets with an ostinato pattern of eighth notes creating a 4:5 rhythm. A modified Campanella theme is heard in the trumpet at rehearsal letter S. At rehearsal letter T, F-major chords are heard in the orchestra in the ostinato pattern for ten measures while the piano plays synchopated doubled notes with the characteristic five grace notes (see Example 49).
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Example 48. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 200207.
Example 49. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 21424.
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Variation 8 (mm. 229–63)
Liebermann employs two tempo markings for the eighth variation: Lento, used for the first three measures (rehearsal letter U) and quarter note = c. 120 (rehearsal letter V). This variation begins in G# minor as the vibraphone plays a modified Campanella theme with a changed rhythmic pattern of quarter-note and dotted-half-note alternately (see Example 50). At rehearsal letter V, a gentle and unexpected waltz appears. Liebermann forgoes the typical 3/4 time signature and composed this waltz in two-four using triplets. He derived the melody from the Campanella theme and employed various tonalities: G# minor (mm. 235–39); B-flat minor
(mm. 240–46); D major (mm. 247–50); A minor (mm. 251–57); and D minor (mm. 258–63). The piano accompanies with harp-like figures of six or ten notes per beat. These figures are repeated by measure as an ostinato: C#4-F#4 in B minor (mm. 23238); D#4-G#4 in C# minor
(mm.23940); F#4-A#4 in B minor (m. 245); F#4-A4 in F# minor (mm. 24650); F4-A4 in D minor (mm. 25157); and F4-A-flat4 in D-flat major (mm. 25860). Against the orchestra’s tonalities, the piano part creates polytonality. This variation is soft and quiet with dynamics of p and pp.
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Example 50. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 22938.
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Variation 9 (mm. 264–82)
The nineteen-measure ninth variation has the tempo mark quarter note = c. 100 and is in common time. It continues the soft dynamic levels of the eighth variation. Liebermann employs many statements of the descending three-note Campanella fragment heard in long note values in the treble: A5-G#5-F#5, B5-A5-G#5 in mm. 266–67 and G5-F#5-E5, A5-G5-F#5 in mm. 276–
77 (see Example 51). Using this motive, Liebermann composed a lyrical and poignant melody.
The piano technique employed here is reminscent of Liebermann’s Gargoyles in which accompanying chords alternate rapidly between each hand while the melody appears in the treble.
Liebermann created polytonality as the right-hand part has chords of C major, B major, B-flat major, A major-A-flat major and C major, while the left-hand part has E-flat major, E major, F major, E-flat major, A-flat major, and D-flat major chords in mm. 27982 (see Example 52).
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Example 51. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 26667 and 27577.
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Example 52. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 27883.
Variation 10 (mm. 283–319)
The tenth variation is in 9/8 and 6/8, and has the tempo of dotted quarter note = c. 40.
Liebermann makes full use of enharmonic writing. For example, the melody in the right hand of the piano part (mm. 297–301) in C# minor is the same as in the clarinet (D-flat minor) in mm.
303–307. Liebermann employs the key area of D-flat major at rehearsal letter X, and rehearsal letter Y begins in D-flat major but moves to E-flat major, D-flat minor, A-flat minor, C#/D-flat minor, D-flat major, C# minor, F major, and A major. The orchestra plays a progression of
69 quartal chords (see Example 53, mm. 283–84). The left hand of the piano part repeats the same three notes, F2/F3-Db3-Db3 (a falling major third), and this ostinato helps create the harp-like quality throughout this variation. Polytonality is important as the left-hand part’s D-flat major is heard with the right-hand part’s D-major tonality (mm. 286–88). The right-hand part’s descending major third, F#5-E5-D5, is a thematic fragment that Liebermann then inverts in mm.
289–90 (A4-B4-C#5). At rehearsal Y, polytonality is also apparent as the left-hand part’s D-flat major is now combined with the right-hand part’s C# minor (mm. 297–301 and mm. 312–17).
Here the right hand plays a melody derived from the Campanella theme, G#5-F#5-E5-D#5-C#5-
D#5-E5-A4-C# 5 (mm. 312–14). In mm. 302–11, E-flat major can be found in the piano part, and the solo clarinet has the modified Campanella theme in D-flat minor.
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Example 53. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 28184.
Variation 11 (mm. 320–37)
Liebermann assigns the tempo of Adagio molto rubato (quarter note = c. 60) and a time signature of 3/4 for the eleventh variation. After the previous two variations that were soft and calm, this variation changes mood. The composer included rhythmic complexity at rehearsal letter Z. The left-hand part has quintuplet figures against three notes in the right-hand part.
Polytonality can be found here too as the right-hand part is in G# minor/major and A-flat major
71 while the left-hand part is in B-flat major and E minor (see Example 54). The music of the right- hand part is a descending thirds fragment of the Campanella theme (G#-F#-E). The orchestra plays long sustaining chords as an accompaniment (mm. 32027 at rehearsal letter Z). At rehearsal letter AA, the pianist plays accented full chords, which include the Campanella theme while the orchestra plays a melody based on the descending third fragment first heard in the right-hand part at rehearsal letter Z (mm. 328–31). In the bridge to the next variation,
Liebermann uses the inversion of the theme for the piano part in mm. 332–33 (D4/D5-D4/D5-
E4/E5-F4/F5-F4/F5-G4/G5, G#4/G#5-G#4/G#5-A#4/A#5-B4/B5-B4/B5-C#5/C#6), and then in the violins in mm. 334–35.
Example 54. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 32126.
Variaion 12 (mm. 338–90)
Liebermann chooses a tempo of quarter note = half note = c. 60 for the twelfth variation.
The time signature changes from 4/4 (BB) to 6/8 (CCEE) and from 4/4 to 8/9 and 6/8 (FF). The tonality changes frequently at rehearsal letter BB: F# major (mm. 338–40), G# major (m. 341),
A major (mm. 342–43), G major (m. 344), A-flat major (m. 345), A major (m. 346), B-flat
72 major (m. 347), B major (m. 348), and A-flat major (mm. 349–50). The pianist’s left hand plays the repeating pattern of quintruplets as it had in Variation 11 but with a chromatic melody that ascends measure by measure. The pianist’s right hand plays the Campanella melody but with a different rhythm than it had in Variation 11. Complicated rhythms such as 5:24 and 4:5 are also present here (mm. 34448) with frequent key changes.
At the rehearsal letter CC, Liebermann changes the tempo to dotted quarter note = c. 40.
Immediately preceding the pianist’s cadenza, the orchestra plays the inversion of the ten-note
Campanella theme three times. The tonality changes through a descent from A minor
(mm.351–54) to G minor (mm. 355–58) and F minor (mm. 359–64). Lisztian pianistic gestures are heard in both hands of the piano part in a high register. As the cadenza begins, the pianist plays an inversion of the Campanella theme in A minor (mm. 364–66) and then in B minor
(mm. 365–74).
At rehearsal letter EE, Liebermann slows down the tempo to Molto lento, indicating “as if in slow motion” in the score. This time the piano plays a modified inversion of the Campanella theme while the orchestra plays thematic material from the piano’s cadenza. Polytonality is present as the right-hand part is in G major, the left-hand part is in C major, and the orchestra is in G# minor (see Example 55).
At rehearsal letter FF, the chord progression in the piano part presents a Campanella fragment, and then the orchestra repeats it. Another small cadenza serves as a bridge to the final variation, and the composer places the Campanella fragment in contrary motion between the hands in two-note groups, then three-note groups before the right hand plays trills in thirds over the left hand’s descending scales.
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Example 55. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 37478.
Variation 13 (mm. 391–472)
Liebermann begins the final variation with Molto allegro (dotted quarter note = 144, dotted quarter note = c. 50, dotted quarter note = 144, dotted quarter note = c. 50), but there are frequent tempo and time signature changes in this loud variation with dynamics ranging from f to fff. Liebermann even employs palm technique in the piano part in mm. 446–49.
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At rehearsal letter GG, the pianist plays a two-measure phrase, and the orchestra plays a transformed descending three-note fragment (A-flat5/A-flat6-G-flat5/G-flat6-F5/F6, B-flat5/
B-flat6-A-flat5/A-flat6-G5/G6) from the Campanella theme in mm. 392–99. The tonality for this section moves from B-flat major to G-flat major in mm. 391–96, C major in mm. 397–401,
D major in mm. 402–6, and G-flat major in mm. 407–12. The pianist plays restless eighth-note chords with the left hand on the down-beats and in the right on weak beats. The intensity is increased by frequent time signature changes (9/8, 6/8, 4/8, 6/8, 9/8, 3/4, 6/8, 3/4, 7/8, 6/8).
Meanwhile, the orchestra repeats the three-note motives again expanding them each time getting closer and closer to the Campanella theme (see Example 56).
At rehearsal letter HH, Liebermann creates a feeling of accelerando through frequent meter changes. Here, the right-hand part has the Campanella theme (B4/B5-B4-A#4-G#4/G#5-
G#4-F#4) and its inversion (E#4/E#5-E#4-F#4-G#4/G#5-G#4/G#5-A#4) for the next measure while left-hand part has the inversion and the Campanella theme, passing them back and forth between the hands (mm. 41821). The orchestra accompanies with full accented chords. After the gunshot at the climax (m. 451), the pianist starts the final cadenza (mm. 451–52), which is a retrograde of the first cadenza at m. 5 including its complex 2:3 and 5:7 rhythms. After the cadenza the tempo slows in the coda (dotted quarter note = c. 50; in 6/8). The composer employs two themes simultaneously in the orchestra. The Campanella theme is played by the first violins and glockenspiele in dotted quarter notes while Paganini’s theme is played by the violas and tubular bell at rehearsal letter KK. Liebermann uses 3:4 with the Campanella theme in three and the Twenty-fourth Caprice theme in four.
At rehearsal letter LL, the tempo suddenly changes to dotted quarter note = c. 144 with a loud outburst from the orchestra before disappearing in a diminuendo. The last two measures are
75 in a slow tempo (dotted quarter note = c. 50), and the pianist ends with the last two-measures of the Campanella theme (see Example 57).
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Example 56. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 40416.
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Example 57. Liebermann, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, mm. 46872.
In this chapter I have identified the variations of Liebermann’s Rhapsody on a Theme of
Paganini and discussed the structure, tempo, key change, rhythm, thematic transformation of the
Campanella theme, and motivic manipulation in each variation. As there is currently very little written about this piece, this style study can provide performers with a description of this musical work. In the next chapter, I will discuss the similarities between Rachmaninoff’s and
Liebermann’s Rhapsodies on a Theme of Paganini.
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CHAPTER 3
Comparison between Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody and Liebermann’s Rhapsody
In the first and second chapters, I explored compositional techniques and styles of both
Rachmaninoff’s and Liebermann’s Rhapsodies on a Theme of Paganini. Utilizing those style studies, I will demonstrate that Liebermann’s Rhapsody exhibits many conscious similarities with the older work and uses some of its compositional framework as its basis. While
Liebermann’s Rhapsody and Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody borrow and manipulate different
Paganini themes, there are similarities between these two works that go well beyond the title.
They both consist of sets of variations while maintaining the dramatic character of a rhapsody and also have the fast-slow-fast structure of the cycle of movements in a concerto. Both rhapsodies also feature an introduction and first variation before the theme and include another theme that participates with the main theme. Both rhapsodies include variations that feature rhythmic complexity. They both include a transformation of the theme into a dance (a minuet and waltz, respectively), and a lyrical variation based on an inversion of their respective themes.
Further, they both conclude with a two-measure ending, which is a cadential figure derived from the main theme.
Continuity within sets of variations
Rachmaninoff’s and Liebermann’s rhapsodies are both works without repeated sections.
However, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini employs the fast-slow-fast cycle of movements, which retains both the dramatic qualities of a rhapsody and the idea of continuity while maintaining demarcations between variations. Only rarely does a variation elide into the next one, such as between the Introduction and Variation 1 where the A-minor cadence serves to end the former and begin the latter. In subsequent variations Rachmaninoff generally signals an
79 often brief, but clear, cadence. These are generally followed by rests of some duration (the first five variations employ an eighth rest). Occassionally, Rachmaninoff overlaps variations, such is the case between Variations 13 and 14, and 14 and 15. Variations 16, 17, and 18 are all elided with a cadence that serves as the beginning of the next variation. However, compared to
Liebermann’s Rhapsody, Rachmaninoff’s is much more likely to provide cadences between variations. However, Rachmaninoff created continuity by maintaining a mood across several variations as he does for the first six variations until the Dies Irae enters in the seventh. He follows the same procedure in the slow section, and in the final build up in the last section. While contrasts in thematic material and expression exist, Rachmaninoff was able to maintain a basic affect in his Rhapsody.
In contrast, Liebermann’s tendency is to dovetail the endings and beginnings of variations. For example, Variation 1 and the Theme are elided with an enharmonic pivot pitch
(Eb/D#) as are Variations 7 and 8 with a G#-minor chord. Variations 2 and 3 are connected by running notes in the piano part while the orchestra links Variations 3 through 7 with brief bridges.
Indeed had Liebermann not marked each variation, many could easily be missed. But he demarcates each variation through contrasts of meter, key, rhythm, character, mood, tempo a much different approach than had Rachmaninoff.
Dance sections
Rachmaninoff and Liebermann both include a dance idiom as one of their variations.
Rachmaninoff utilized the minuet (Tempo di Minuetto) for Variation 12 and Liebermann a waltz for Variation 8. Rachmaninoff’s minuet is a fairly typical representation of that dance where
Liebermann’s waltz is in 2/4 and uses triplets to provide the meter of the dance.
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In Rachmaninoff’s minuet variation, the pianist has the melody in D minor. He provides a graceful, gentle, and melancholy minuet in which he adapts the rhythm of the first beat of
Paganini’s theme and uses an eighth-note, sixteenth-rest, sixteenth-note rhythm for the right hand of the piano part throughout this variation. That he is able to map the sharp and punctuated rhythm of Paganini’s theme to the elegant minuet showcases his ability as a composer. This variation is also structurally and dramatically important. Rachmaninoff foreshadows the eighteenth variation by briefly introducing an inversion of Paganini’s theme. Several years later, when providing a scenario for a ballet, Rachmaninoff wrote that this minuet represented the first appearance of a woman.
Liebermann’s dance idiom comprises Variation 8 (mm. 235–64). This gentle and unexpected waltz begins in G# minor which is the original key of Liszt’s La Campamella. The orchestra plays a modified Campanella theme. Liebermann changed the rhythm to long-note values (quarter and half notes) and included hemiolas within the triplets (mm. 235–39). The pianist, meanwhile, plays a harp-like accompaniment, which imbues this variation with a mysterious mood. As in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody, this moment is a soft and reflective variation.
Both Rachmaninoff’s and Liebermann’s dances are similar. The tonalities are both minor and their dynamics are soft. In each case, the composers gave the theme to the orchestra. There are also arpeggiated accompaniments in each, though in Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody, the harp provides it while in Liebermann’s work, it is the piano. Formally, Rachmaninoff’s dance variation embarks on a completely different mood from that of the beginning of the rhapsody and serves to start the second (slow) section. Liebermann’s dance variation functions in the same manner. Finally, both composers use the dance variations to hint at the inversion of their themes,
81 which will be developed later. For Rachmaninoff, this occurs at rehearsal 33 in sixteenth notes
(G5/6-E5/6-F5/6-G5/6) and for Liebermann at m. 253 (G#4-A4-B4) and in m. 257 (C#5-D5-E5).
The combination of primary and secondary themes
In addition to the borrowed themes for their variation sets, both Rachmaninoff and
Liebermann also employed a secondary theme. For Rachmaninoff it was the Dies Irae, and for
Liebermann it was the theme upon which Rachmaninoff based his Rhapsody, Paganini’s
Twenty-fourth Caprice. In Rachmaninoff’s work, the Dies Irae theme first appears in Variation 7 and it returns in Variations 10 and 24. He combines the two themes in the piano part at the perfect fifth at rehearsal 78. The pianist plays a modified fragment of the five-note Paganini motive several times in different transpositions. Within these reiterations, Rachmaninoff accents the second beat of each measure to sound out the Dies Irae. This dialogue occurs for eight measures: (C5/C7-B4/B6-A4/A6-E4/E5/E6/E7-A4/A6-C5/C7), (G4/G6-Bb4/Bb6-A4/A6-
G4/G6-D4/D5/D6/D7-G4/G6-Bb4/Bb6), (A4/A6-C5/C7-B4/B6-A4/A6-E4/E5/E6/E7-A4/A6-
C5/C7), (F4/F6-A4/A6-G4/G6-F4/F6-C4/C5/C6/C7-F4/F6-A4/A6), (G4/G6-Bb4/Bb6-A4/A6-
G4/G6-D4/D5/D6/D7-G4/G6-Bb4/Bb6), (Eb4/Eb6-G4/G6-F4/F6-Eb4/Eb6-Bb4/Bb5/Bb6/Bb7-
Eb4/Eb6-G4/G6), (F4/F6-A4/A6-G4/G6-F4/F6-C4/C5/C6/C7-F4/F6-A4/A6), and (F4/F6-
A4/A6-G4/G6-F4/F6-C4/C5/C6/C7-F4/F6-A4/A6). Through the use of the fifth relationship inherent in the theme, he doubles the Dies Irae (both in orchestra and piano and between each first beat and each second beat) : (A4/A6-E4/E5/E6/E7), (G4/G6-D4/D5/D6/D7),(A4/A6-
E4/E5/E6/E7), (F4/F6-C4/C5/C6/C7), (G4/G6-D4/D5/D6/D7), (Eb4/Eb6-Bb4/Bb5/Bb6/Bb7), and (F4/F6-C4/C5/C6/C7). The orchestra supports the lower transposition of the Dies Irae
(A2/A3/A4-G2/G3/G4-A2/A3/A4-F2/F3/F4-G2/G3/G4-Eb2/Eb3/Eb4-F2/F3/F4). Each first beat
82 includes four sixteenth notes while each second beat has triplet figures creating repeated eight measures of 4 (sixteenth-notes) +3 (triplet eighth-notes) rhythm in these measures as well.
In modeling his Rhapsody on Rachmaninoff’s work, Liebermann not only also employs a secondary borrowed theme, but also combines it with the Campanella theme to conclude his
Rhapsody much in the way Rachmaninoff had combined the theme of Paganini’s Twenty-fourth
Caprice with the Dies Irae in his last variation. Liebermann also uses a relationship of a perfect fifth between the two themes. The orchestra plays in G# minor, the original key, as the two themes are combined. The Campanella theme is played at rehersal letter KK by the first violins and glockenspiel, and the Twenty-fourth Caprice is played by the viola’s pizzicato and tubular bell. The tubular bell plays G# and D# to emphasize the fifth relationship of the Twenty-fourth
Caprice. It is played by the violas in G-sharp minor (G#3-G#3-G#3-B3-A#3-G#3-D#4-D#3-
D#3-Fx3-E#3-D#3...), while the Campanella theme is also played in G# minor. Liebermann scored this combination in a very soft dynamic, which allows the theme to be clearly heard by the viola’s pizzicato.
Thematic transformation and motivic manipulation
Besides the differences between the two composers’ harmonic language, the most striking difference in their respective Rhapsodies is their approach to variation technique.
Rachmaninoff usually employs the entire theme in each variation. Sometimes he includes only the harmony in the beginning phrases of the variation, sometimes the melody, but often both. His modifications include augmenting the note values in Variation 7, slightly altering the melody in
Variation 8, or when he changes the normal intervallic relationship of A4-C5-B4-A4 to A4-C5-
B-flat4-C4 in Variation 11. He also embellishes the harmony in Variation 13 after maintaining it since the beginning of the piece. Occasionally he uses five-note fragments from the original
83 melody (A4-C5-B4-A4-E5 and E-4G#4-F#4-E4-A4), but most often Rachmaninoff utilizes the entire theme in his variations.
In contrast, Liebermann rarely employs the entire Campanella theme in his variations, but rather fragments and modifies the theme and uses thematically derived motives throughout.
As discussed in chapter two, Liebermann often employs the motive D#-D#-C#. It can be found throughout the work, and he combines it in sequential transpositions. One exception, where
Liebermann presents most of the theme is Variation 8, which is the waltz section. Here he presents the Campanella theme several times, transposing through G# minor, B-flat minor, D major, A minor, and finally D minor. But again, in contrast with Rachmaninoff, Liebermann seems more intent in using motivic fragments rather than the entire theme.
Both composers feature an inversion of their theme, which for Liebermann represents an homage to Rachmaninoff who inverted the theme and transposed it to a major mode for the lyrical and romantic Variation 18. Liebermann inverts his primary theme and presents it several times in Variation 12. As in Rachmaninoff’s variation, the pianist plays the inversion first and repeats it in several keys, A minor, B minor, and G major, before the orchestra joins in.
Liebermann’s variation is also lyrical and romantic. Though his harmonic language is different, he manages to come close to Rachmaninoff’s variation in style and mood. A distinction between the two is in that Rachmaninoff maintains a key throughout his variation while making changes to the shape of the melody, while Liebermann constantly reharmonizes his melody. However, both variations serve as climaxes to their respective rhapsodies.
Humorous and unexpected two-measure cadences
Rachmaninoff and Liebermann both employ a humorous and unexpected two-measure final cadence. Rachmaninoff, after all the variation, expansion, and inversion of Paganini’s
84 theme uses the cadential figure E4-G#4-F#4-E4-A4 to end his rhapsody. Liebermann, in imitating Rachmaninoff’s cadence, concludes his Rhapsody with a reduced texture and the cadence of the original theme. In both cases, the orchestra with pizzicato strings as well as timpani punctuate the first and last notes (short eighth notes) in the two-measure cadences (see
Examples 31 and 57), while the pianist plays the theme.
Other Similarities
The texture of Liebermann’s Variation 4 is similar to the beginning of Variation 8 of
Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody. They both included doublings in the piano part with a rhythm of four staccato eighth notes per measure in the beginning of each variation. Liebermann employed a fragment of the Campanella theme in inversion in his Variation 5 in mm. 17678. It serves as a hint at what is to come in a similar fashion as Rachmaninoff had in his Variations 12 and 14.
Rehearsal letter T of Liebermann’s Rhapsody Variation 7 is reminiscent of the last variation at rehearsal 78 of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody in which the Dies Irae interacts with the Paganini theme in long-note values, with the doubled notes in the piano part and decending thirds (even the beginning three notes are same: C5/C7-B4/B6-A4/A6 in Rachmaninoff and C3/C4/C5/C6-
B2/B3/B4/B5-A2/A3/A4/A5 in Liebermann). In Liebermann’s last variation (Variation 13, mm. 44649), which the pianist plays with the palms, is perhaps a reference to the glissando that
Rachmaninoff called for in his last variation (Variation 24, mm. 92526).
I have discussed the many similarities between Rachmaninoff’s and Liebermann’s
Rhapsodies. I considered continuity within the sets of variations, dance sections, combination of primary and secondary themes, thematic transformation, motivic manipulation, humorous and unexpected two-measure endings, and several other similarities. Liebermann directly borrowed the title as well as the ending of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody. In addition, by tracing the
85 similarities between these two pieces, I contributed to an understanding of these two composers’ stylistic characteristics. By showing how much of Liebermann’s style borrows procedures that are common to many composers, I reveal that Liebermann is not as far removed from the classic- romantic tradition as he implied during my interview with him.
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CONCLUSION
This document has examined the Rhapsodies on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff and Liebermann, and has demonstrated many similarities between the two works including continuity within sets of variations, manipulation of meter to create dance sections, the combination of primary and secondary themes, thematic transformation and motivic manipulation, inversion, and final cadences. These specific allusions coupled with Liebermann’s often neo-Romantic harmonic language and lyricism connect these pieces in a way that seems to belie Liebermann’s own assessment that other than the title there is little that connects them.
While admitting that he imitated the ending of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody, Liebermann has essentially denied any further influence. Still, many of these similarities are too close to be accidental.
While outside of the scope of this study, the role of these allusions in Liebermann’s
Rhapsody begs discussion. Like many composers before him, Liebermann seems to chafe at
1many of the categories that critics and commentators use to define his music. For instance, he does not like the terms “neo-Romantic” or “Romanticism” in connection with his style but rather considers his music as having been influenced by Shostakovich and Britten. And while it is true that his harmonic language often ventures beyond tonality, his preoccupations with lyrical writing, large formal elements, and technically showy instrumental parts connect his music to the
Romantic period. One critic found Liebermann’s Rhapsody to be an “acerbic take on Paganini,”
1though one could argue that Rachmaninoff—though often held up as one of the last bastions of
Romanticism—had already accomplished this feat. Many of the seemingly postmodern elements in Liebermann’s work, the dance (congo), manipulations of the theme, thematic transformations,
1 Andrew Adler from The Louisville Courier-Journal.
87 and the abrupt and simple ending to an energetic and large finale were already present in
Rachmaninoff’s work.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. Lowell Liebermann
Book, Dissertations, and Articles Bellman, Jonathan. The Style hongrois in the Music of Western Europe. Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1993.
Chang, Hsiao-Ling. “Lowell Liebermann’s Concerto No. 1 for Piano and Orchestra, Opus 12: An Historical and Analytical Study.” DMA thesis, University of North Texas, 2010.
Clark, Adam. “Modern Marvels: A Pedagogical Guide to Lowell Liebermann’s Album for the Young, Op. 43.” DMA thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2008.
Dennis, Jeannine. “The Life and Music of Lowell Liebermann with an Emphasis on His Music for the Flute and Piccolo.” DMA thesis, University of Cincinnati, 1999.
Garner, Lisa M. “Lowell Liebermann: A Stylistic Analysis and Discussion of the Sonata for Flute and Piano, Op. 23, Sonata for Flute and Guitar, Op. 25, and Soliloquy for Flute Solo, Op. 44.” DMA thesis, Rice University, 1997.
Kevles, Barbara. “Lowell Liebermann: A New ‘Tonalist’ Thrives on Old Harmonies.” American Record Guide 66 (March/April 2003): 2627, 33.
Kikuchi, Mayumi. “The Piano Works of Lowell Liebermann: Compositional Aspects in Selected Works.” DMA thesis, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1999.
Kirby, F. E. Music for Piano: A Short History. Cambridge: Amadeus Press, 2004.
McArthur, Lisa R. “Lowell Liebermann: His Compositional Style as Derived from Three Flute Works and Applied to Other Selected Instrumental Works.” PhD diss., University of Kentucky, 1999.
Nichols, Dean Alan. “A Survey of the Solo Piano Works of Lowell Liebermann.” DMA thesis, University of Kentucky, 2000.
Pomp-Baldi, Antonio. “Three Impromptus by Liebermann: Music Performed in the 2001 Cliburn Competition.” Clavier 41 (September 2002): 269.
Rink, John. “Rhapsody.” In The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed., edited by Stanley Sadie, 20:75559. London: Macmillan Publishers, 2001.
Spiller, William T. “Review of Lowell Liebermann: Keyboard Music.” Notes 60 (2004): 10341039.
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Struble, John Warthen. The History of American Classical Music: MacDowell through Minimalism. New York: Facts On File, 1995.
Teachout, Terry. “Back to the Future.” Time 6 (March 2000): 75.
“The New Tonalists.” Commentary 104, no. 6 (December 1997): 5357.
Yu, Wei-Hui. “A Stylistic Analysis of Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 36 by Lowell Liebermann.” DMA thesis, University of Northern Colorado, 2003.
Scores
Liebermann, Lowell. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 72. Solo Piano and Piano Reduction. King of Prussia, PA: Theodore Presser Company, 2004.
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 72. For Piano and Orchestra. King of Prussia, PA: Theodore Presser Company, 2004.
Online Sources
Liebermann, Lowell. Lowell Liebermann. Accessed 26 February 2012. http://www.lowellliebermann.com.
______. Lowell Lebermann. Accessed 26 February 2012). http://www.presser.com/composers/liebermann.html.
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B. Sergei Rachmaninoff
Book, Dissertations, and Articles
Belaiev, Victor. “Sergei Rakhmaninov.” The Musical Quartely 13 (1927) 35976.
Bertensson, Sergei, and Jay Leyda. Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Lifetime in Music. New York: New York University Press, 1956.
Boyd, Malcom. “‘Dies Irae’: Some Recent Manifestations.” Music and Letters 49 (1968): 34756. Cannata, David. “Rachmaninoff’s Changing View of Symphonic Structure.” PhD diss., New York University, 1992.
Cooke, James Francis. Great Pianists on Piano Playing. Philadelphia: Theo. Presser Co., 1913.
Coolidge, Richard. “Architectonic Technique and Innovation in the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto.” The Music Review 40 (1979): 176216.
Culshaw, John. Rachmaninov. New York: Oxford University Press, 1950.
Flanagan, William. “Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Twentieth-Century Composer.” Tempo 22 (Winter 19511952): 48.
Kang, Heejung. “Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme by [sic] Paganini, Op. 43: Analysis and Discourse.” DMA thesis, University of North Texas, 2004.
Kendall, Alan. Paganini. London: Chappell and Co., 1982.
Martyn, Barrie. Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor. Aldershot, UK: Scolar Press, 1990.
Norris, Geoffrey. Rachmaninov. The Dent Mast Musicians series, edited by Stanley Sadie. London: J. M. Dent, 1976.
Palmieri, Robert. Sergei Vasil’evivh Rachmaninoff: A Guide to Research. Garland Composer Resource Manuals 3, ed. Guy A. Marco. New York: Garland Publishing, 1985.
Piggott, Patrick. Rachmaninoff. Cambridge: Faber and Faber, 1978.
Rachmaninoff, Sergei. “Some Critical Moments in My Career.” The Musical Times 1047 (1930): 55758.
Riesemann, Oskar von. Rachmaninoff’s Recollections Told to Oskar von Riesemann. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1934.
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Saussine, Renée. Paganini. London: Hutchinson, 1953.
Seroff, Victor. Rachmaninoff. London: Cassell & Company, 1951.
Sutton, Wadham. “A Theme of Paganini.” Musical Opinion 94 (1971): 28788.
Threlfall, Robert. Sergei Rachmaninoff. London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1973.
Vodarsky-Shiraeff, Alexandria. Russian Composers and Musicians. New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1940.
Walker, Robert. Rachmaninoff: His Life and Times. Neptune City, NJ: Paganiniana, 1981.
Zhang, Ying. “A Stylistic, Contextual, and Musical Analysis of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43.” DMA thesis, Rice University, 2008.
Discography
Rachmaninoff, Sergei. Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini/Études- tableaux/Piano Sonata No. 2. EMI Classics, 1934, CD.
Score
Rachmaninoff, Sergei. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 43. Seoul: Chunchu Music, 2001.
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APPENDIX A
Interview with Lowell Liebermann
The following is a transcription of a taped interview the author conducted with Lowell Liebermann at his home in Weehawken, New Jersey, on Tuesday, April 10, 2012. The transcript has been lightly edited to remove Liebermann’s talking about his two dogs and my friend. Ji Young Lee as JL, Lowell Liebermann as LL.
JL: Which composers have influenced your compositional style?
LL: You know, I couldn’t say for this specific piece. But you know, early on I was very influenced by Bach, Beethoven, Shostakovich, late Liszt, Franck, Busoni, and, later on, just almost everything that comes into my influence.
JL: What is the background of your Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini?
LL: Oh, well, Stephen Hough has played my second piano concerto with the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra with Raymond Leppard conducting. I was having dinner with Raymond
Leppard, and he asked me to commission a piece for his farewell concert. He wanted it to be with piano with Stephen Hough as soloist; however, he didn’t want it to be a concerto. He said he would like it to be a variation or something, and I actually made a very bad joke. I said, “Well, if it is for Stephen, it should be Campinelli variation. We were just joking around, but Raymond didn’t realize I was making a joke. So a few couple of months later, he said, “Oh, I already made a program about Campanella variations.” So then I had to do it. It was very difficult, as the theme was just five measures long. I mean there is nothing in the theme to work with. It was actually a big challenge.
JL: It is very interesting story. Why did you choose the genre of the rhapsody for this composition?
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LL: Because I just thought it would be funny, in a way, to write a piece that had the same title as such a well-known piece, which there is only one. And that point, some critics said my music was old-fashioned, conservative, and influenced by Rachmaninoff, which I never felt was the case. I thought about the fundamental core of the piece with the form being like Rachmaninoff’s variations, but with my variations being continuous and Rachmaninoff’s sectional.
JL: When I just saw the title, I thought, “Oh, I can write a DMA document about these two
Rhapsodies because they have same title.” But you just said you’re not very much influenced by
Rachmaninoff.
LL: I’ve grown to like Rachmaninoff music a lot more later in my life. But earlier on I wouldn’t say he wasn’t too much of an influence.
JL: How long did it take for you to compose this work?
LL: I don’t actually remember. You know it’s hard to say because I thought of the piece a long time and then the time I actually spend writing notes down takes usually a month or less. But you know there’s time when I’m just thinking and make little sketches. But I really don’t remember that far back.
JL: Okay. Maybe about a month, then?
LL: Well, that’s just when I actually would really be writing from beginning to the end but before there are sketches on and off. It’s hard to say exactly.
JL: Oh, I see. I believe that you used the theme of Twenty-fourth Caprice once for only seven measures at the end. Is this correct?
LL: Yes.
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JL: And you also used the theme of Paganini’s Violin Concerto (Liszt La Campanella) also with the opposite motion of the theme (inversion of the theme) for the slow and beautiful melody.
Are there additional hidden melodies besides the theme of Paganini? I saw the program note, and
Leppard mentioned about the song “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean.”
LL: Let me see that. Oh, no, that’s not a quotation. I think it’s not exactly “My Bonnie Lies
Over the Ocean.” You know when I quote something like that, it is not really for any programmatic reason, but it has some thematic connection with the intervals, you know. I haven’t looked at this piece for a long time actually. You know, I don’t remember using any other themes in it. It is just similar intervals with this song.
JL: Just the Campanella?
LL: Yeah, I don’t think there are any others.
JL: Okay. Your tempo and time signature changes remind me of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Is your approach to variation form similar to Rachmaninoff’s? The influence of Rachmaninoff Rhapsody seems prominent in m. 220. Was this your intention?
LL: No, it is certainly not my intention. You know I cannot say how my variation technique compares to Rachmaninoff’s. Because I never really studied Rachmaninoff. I certainly heard it.
But I think in the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody, he sticks closer to a kind of a to z presentation of the theme in each variation. I mean he follows the harmonic theme, and most of my variations are much freer. Rachmaninoff takes fragments of the theme and builds on them. So I think my approach is much freer than Rachmaninoff’s.
JL: Maybe I want to make a connection between you and Rachmaninoff.
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LL: You could probably find them anyway.
JL: Your title invokes Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Is your compositional technique in this piece influenced by Rachmaninoff or Liszt (La Campanella), or both?
LL: Using the title was, in part, ironic. Because you know people would hear Rachmaninoff
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and they expect the same theme. And then they get a different theme, so it was kind of setting the expectation and going against it.
JL: The orchestra has an important role in your Rhapsody. The melody passes between the piano and orchestra. This struck me as a conversational effect. Was that your intention for the orchestra in this piece?
LL: Yes, I wanted it very much to be back and forth between the soloist and the orchestra.
JL: At Rehearsal Letter A, the orchestra presents a fragment of the theme. It is extended the second time and extended even more the third time.
LL: Yep.
JL: Is your use of fifths intended to imitate the sound of bells (see m. 7)?
LL: No, it just has to do with what intervals are in the theme itself if it goes back to the original.
JL: I think you used all the fifths for the harmony, and five-note groups, I thought it was interesting. A lot of fifths and five-note groups. Is it your intention? This variation has a lot of groups of five note.
LL: Right. Well, it’s just kind of another rhythmic theme.
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JL: So that was your intention to write five-note groups?
LL: Yeah.
JL: And then are the falling and rising thirds in mm. 286290 also the Campanella theme?
LL: Oh, sure. I mean everything. If you analyze that, it is related to the Campanella theme.
JL: From the beginning to the ending.
LL: You know, you’ve got a third, you’ve got thirds, you’ve got fifths. Harmonically it just goes one to five. So really those are what I used to build. There are a lot of thirds and a lot of fifths, I use a lot of fives.
JL: Is it related to the bell sound?
LL: Not specifically. I do use bells in here.
JL: At Rehearsal letter B, your orchestration reminds me of Webern’s Klangfarben technique.
Do you also hear this?
LL: Well, I wouldn’t say Webern. I would say more Spike Jones. You know Spike Jones? He was popular, and did funny and weird music. Look up Spike Jones, but the old one in the forties.
There’s a newer Spike Jones, I think. But the Spike Jones I liked was comic and his orchestration was supposed to be very funny. At Rehearsal letter B, it has this unexpected instrumentation playing like Spike Jones. Each instrument plays the single note of the
Campanella theme.
JL: At Rehearsal Letter F, you repeat the melody but change the register. Is this one of your composition techniques?
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LL: Sure.
JL: I figured out you repeated those three times.
LL: Yeah.
JL: You used many meter changes at Rehearsal Letter N. Why so many changes?
LL: Well, I mean it’s just stylistic. Also, I mean, because there really is very little variety in the theme. You know you have to do something to grow in tension?
JL: At Rehearsal letters N and O, I am reminded of the introduction to La Campanella with the repeated notes. Was this an influence?
LL: Right. Yeah, I mean it all comes from whatever elements are in the theme.
JL: At Rehearsal Letter P, did you hide La Campanella theme in the harmony?
LL: Yes, notes as they are added are subtracted.
JL: At Rehearsal letter R, is this phrase also a transformation of the La Campanella theme?
LL: You can get those fragments out of the theme itself if you trace the notes.
JL: Okay. In the program note to the premiere, you mentioned a gentle and unexpected waltz section. Is this at Rehearsal Letter V? Even though the time signature is 2/4, I see that you notated triplets in the orchestra.
LL: Yeah. I haven’t looked this piece for a long time. Yeah, that is V.
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JL: I was looking for ¾ for the waltz. Oh, no, it’s not gentle and warm in rehearsal letter Z. At
Rehearsal letter W, is the lyrical melody related to a fragmentation of the La Campanella theme?
(Descending three notes and falling fifth?)
LL: Yeah. This is third and fifth. I mean, that’s all thirds and fifths.
JL: Could you discuss the cadenza in measure 355 for orchestra?
LL: Oh, that’s just extremely free. The piano is supposed to sound improvisatory, where as the orchestral introduction is obviously related to the theme. What the piano is doing is not.
JL: Usually, a cadenza has no orchestra part. You alternate orchestra and piano. And then you present Paganini’s theme twice, once at the beginning and then again in the coda. Does your presentation of the theme at the end have any special meaning of having the Campanella and
Caprice themes together?
LL: Well, just a joke that people would be expecting a variation on the Caprice. And then I finally give them the theme but they are simultaneous.
JL: Actually, you used the bell sound there.
LL: Yes. You recap the sonata.
JL: And then, I find the ending of your Rhapsody to be soft, witty, humorous, and similar to the ending of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody. Was that your intention?
LL: Yes, that is similar. I was thinking of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody.
JL: In the program note to the premiere, you write that the last cadenza is the “backwards of the first cadenza.” Was this for unification of the piece?
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LL: Yes.
JL: Does this have any meaning for your compositional style?
LL: No. Just another technique.
JL: My interpretation is that your Rhapsody has an introduction, theme, and thirteen variations even though they are continuous and without a break. Is that your sense of the overall structure of the piece, also?
LL: Yes, we’ve got the introduction, and the theme, and then I think it is more than ten.
LL: So, we have one, still in a way smaller variation. It kind of mixes up a little. But, yeah… this variation is in ABA form, well, kind of…this variation is kind of a different variation, right?
JL: Yes.
LL: And you have this combining of many forms, comprising two different variations in a way like this little bridge being a smaller variation.
JL: You mean, rehearsal letter O?
LL: Yeah. Because it’s not really thematic and not really related. We have one very clear idea of fives with running things, and this is something else, almost like a conga. We go back to this again, in a kind of ABAB and then there is a little coda which is its own variation in a way, but it gets mixed up. So that’s why they are free but they’re not clearly defined as some of them are a little mixed up. Some are very clear, then there is very clearly one variation, clearly another, clearly another, clearly another, clearly another, and another one….um…this I would call a new variation. This is new variation. I mean you could start maybe here. You can start here. This is
100 just a little bridge going on. Just the way that bridge back there comes in on its own variations, right?
JL: Yes.
LL: Because it’s not really thematically related, these little bridges are almost separated from that. So this is its own variation. Then we get the cadenza. Then, another variation. I mean this gets a lot freer. You have many fragmented variations, but this I think is clearly defined. And we continue with the cadenza, which from here on is really a coda. Working for the coda in a way is too fragmented, as it almost falls into another variation. Yes, you could. And interrupting the cadenza again. But this is almost a stretto. I would consider this kind of stretto as things going on. Well, variation, beginning of the coda, or stretto, is really up to you. I don’t get too hung up on terms.
JL: Your piece is very free and has a very dramatic effect. Was that your intention? I played your piano piece Gargoyles, and it was a very dramatic four-movement piece.
LL: Otherwise, audiences are going to fall asleep.
JL: Yes, that’s true. I read one of your interviews and realized you don’t like minimalism.
LL: No. I like variety in music. I like changes and the feeling you’re entering a whole world rather than just one color.
JL: I can tell. Do you have any performance suggestions for this piece?
LL: Not really except it needs a lot of rehearsal time. With orchestra, I mean in the coordination between the pianist and the orchestra is quite tricky. Just pay attention to the markings in the score.
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JL: How would you describe your musical style?
LL: It’s always melodically based and though I don’t like the term, some people say it’s neo- romantic. For certain, my pieces are melodically based.
JL: Is this piece typical of your style?
LL: Yes, I think so.
JL: What were your reactions to the premiere of your piece?
LL: Oh, it went very well. I was happy with it, and it was well received. It was a good, successful premiere.
JL: Are you aware of any subsequent performances of your Rhapsody?
LL: No, it hasn’t been performed since, and I think part of this is the difficulty to get the piece coordinated. It is very tricky piece.
JL: Do you usually revise the piece after the performance?
LL: Not really. I mean whatever changes, and they usually very minor things like dynamics, will be done in rehearsing. But very minor, as I don’t like changing anything.
JL: Are there plans for a commercial recording of your Rhapsody?
LL: Nope, not yet. Stephen keeps saying that he wanted to play it. But he never got any other dates to do it. The thing is that somebody wanted to have another concert of this Rhapsody and was supposed to do it the following year, but somehow the program got changed, and I don’t know why. I think it’s because of Stephen actually. They were going to do it the following year,
102 and it was listed in the season of announcement in the program and it was changed. So, I just assume that it was Stephen.
JL: I just started to analyze your piece. Do you have any tips for that?
LL: Really just…. If you go through the theme and see what elements you get out of the theme and analyze it harmonically, and then just relate whatever there is. It’s pretty straight-forward.
And I don’t think there is anything really tricky that is written. It is all about thirds and fifths and…
JL: I’m still thinking about writing a DMA document on Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of
Paganini or just maybe only your piece.
LL: You can certainly contrast them and compare formally how they differ. Again,
Rachmaninoff’s are much more standard traditional variations. He sticks much closer to a presentation of the whole theme rather than the fragmented theme. The other thing you might want to do is look at some of my other variations such as the Bruckner (Variations on a Theme of
Anton Bruckner, Op. 19) for solo piano. In these variations, there is slow variation that I took the whole theme and composed it backwards, as in Rachmaninoff’s Variations, var. 18. That was an idea I took from Rachmaninoff obviously. I don’t think I quite did that here in the Rhapsody with the whole theme backwards, did I? Was it for this one? I used an inversion. Unless it was…. I don’t think I did totally backwards here. But anyway, in Bruckner variations, I did backwards. And there’s also my Mozart variations, you can see if the variations are handled the same way. They’re actually a lot of pieces with variation form like Second String Quartet basically. And I often used the variation composed backwards like a Passacaglia, but this is not.
These are true variations. Are you actually learning the piece?
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JL: I tried. It is hard, but I like it.
LL: It is very tricky. That’s why Stephen didn’t want to play it again. And in the concert he did memorize it.
JL: That’s amazing. All the rhythmic complexity and all the leaps… I want to play this piece in the future. Thank you for the interview, and I’ll email you if I have some more questions.
LL: Sure. Anytime.
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APPENDIX B
Liebermann Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini World Premiere Program Note
Portia:
How many things by season season’d are.
To their right praise and true perfection!
Peace, ho! The moon sleeps with Endymion,
And would not be awak’d.”
(Soft stillness and the night
Become the touches of sweet harmony.)
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 72 (World Premiere)
Lowell Liebermann
(Born February 22, 1961 in New York City)
“Debonair and brilliant, Lowell Liebermann is one of Americas most talented and significant composers. His music is appreciated for its vibrant emotional contact, lavish orchestral color, stunning intellectual control and witty imagination. His national and international acclaim is richly deserved. Recording companies clamor to produce his works.
Orchestras worldwide eagerly present his music to great acclaim while commissions rain down upon this young man who is currently composer-in-residence at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
In addition to this premiere, 2001 will bring a Violin Concerto for Chantel Juillet and the
Philadelphia Orchestra (premiering August 2001) and an orchestral work for the NHK
Symphony in Japan, celebrating their 7th anniversary in October. This summer he will be composer-in-residence for the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan. He is truly an American
105 treasure and an impacting musical ambassador for our country. Both Liebermann and Stephen
Hough, soloist at this concert, are personal friends of Maestro Leppard. It was in the context of that friendship that this work was born.
“Maestro Leppard recalls that, ‘One night in New York, Stephen, Lowell and I were joking around in Lowell’s apartment. Surely there must be another tune to write variations on rather than the famous caprice which served for Brahms and Rachmaninoff, so I said ‘Come on
Lowell, write some variations.’ Stephen joined in and played a bit of the Liszt (La Campanella).
The idea struck, and this work developed from that time. I think that it will become most successful and will enter the major repertoire. But it is truly damned difficult for soloist and orchestra. But, then again, Stephen likes all that!’ Liebermann added that, ‘I had a lot of fun writing it and mischievously laughing at some of the things which poor Steve would have to learn.’
“Liebermann was very gracious in conversation and has offered helpful perspectives. ‘I had more in mind a Rhapsody rather than a clear-cut set of variations,’ he began. In place of the numbering of the Rachmaninoff set, Liebermann has opted for clear-cut variations only at the start, moving from these into a more fluid setting in which thematic fragments coalesce and meld into one another. The work opens with an introduction before the presentation of the
Campanella theme, quoted from Liszt. In its final iteration the orchestration of the theme includes bells, adding a clever reference to the title.
“‘I wanted to write a fun, entertaining piece, something that would go against what would be expected,’ the composer continued. And so, instead of using the famous tune from the last of the Paganini 24 Caprices for violin, he selected the Campanella theme from Liszt’s etudes as a basic theme, only momentarily quoting the famous 24th caprice at the conclusion. Sacheverell
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Sitwell commented that, ‘At first Liszt intended to transfer all twenty-four of the Paganini
Capricci to the piano but was deterred from doing so by the manifest impossibility of the task, and also more probably the monotony of such labor.’ Six etudes emerged, of which La
Campanella (the little bell) is the third. Liebermann’s variations realize fascinating potential within the Campanella theme and offer many unforgettable moments. At one point a conga line, in 10/16 meter, prances into the scene and a startling gunshot launches the final cadenza (which is the first cadenza backwards) before the final re-statement of the theme. Another variation leads us into a gentle and unexpected waltz. Maestro Leppard has commented that there are many hidden melodies and associations in the work, including My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean,
‘and others which I have yet to find…but I know they are there. It really is a marvelous puzzle!’
True to its title, the music moves rhapsodically into virtuosic passages both for orchestra and soloist, presents wonderful surprises, yet never loses the controlled, intentional hand of the composer.”
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