What Makes Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninoff? by Dr
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What makes Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninoff? By Dr. Stephanie Owen & Gill Cerbin We will be eaiig oo haateistis of Rahaioff’s opositios i his oks fo piano 4 hands. Works included in this study: Suite No. 1, Opus 5 (1893) Six Morceaux, Opus 11 (1894) Suite No. 2, Opus 17 (1901) I. Barcarole I. Barcarolle I. Introduction II. A Night For Love II. Scherzo II. Waltz III. Tears III. Theme Russe III. Romance IV. Russian Easter IV. Valse IV. Tarantella V. Romance VI. Slava! Rachmaninoff the pianist composer (1873-1943) Rachmaninoff, himself a very accomplished pianist, knew the capabilities of the piano and used it to the full to develop melodic romanticism and lyricism. We shall see how he used his knowledge of advanced chord progressions, studied at the Moscow Conservatory, to create lush harmonies amidst heart-wrenching melodies. As musicologist Dr. Steven D. Coburn puts it when talking about Opus 5, Rahaioff’s usi has swirling accompaniets, lugubrious harmonies, repeated sequences isig to a lia ad poeful hthi die, hih ae eidee of Thaikosk’s geat ifluee on the composer and Rahaioff’s own mature style. Indeed, Opus 5 was dedicated to Tchaikovsky by Rachmaninoff. We will see how Rachmaninoff demonstrates virtuosic passages requiring finger dexterity and layers textures for atmospheric effect. D. Cou sas of “uite that Rahaioff’s total command and mastery of the pianistic idiom permeates the etie suite. We will also look at pedal use, span of chords, haunting melodies, tempi, cross meters and poly rhythms, key modulations, and thematic or programmatic treatments. Pedal There are very few pedal markings, assuming the pianist knows what is required. Most pedaling is harmonic, romantic in nature. Biographer Haold C. “hoeg desies Rahaioff’s own playing as: aked peisio, hthi die, otale use of staato ad the ailit to aitai lait he playing works with cople tetues. Pedal is used to support the harmonic progressions, anchor bass notes, and create texture which is not muddled. Barcarole and A Night for Love have zero pedal markings, allowing the pianist discretion. In Romance, a pedal suggestion is started, but not continued, assuming the pianist will adopt a siile stle of pedalig: Barcarole p.25-27: Secondo harmonic pedal across 2 measures Romance p.25: Secondo opening Romance p.35: Secondo chord progressions 1 Chord progressions We know that Rachmaninoff worked on chord exercises extensively whilst at the Moscow Conservatory, studying under Zverev and Arensky. D. Ade Adas’ ook, “egei Rahaioff School of Musiiaship ad Tehiue shos soe tpial hod pogessio studies, such as: A - Am - F 6/3 - F aug 6/3 - F# m 6/3 - D 6/4 - Dm 6/4 - A7 - F 6/5 - D 4/3 - B 4/2 - A dim7 where the common tone on the bottom is A. It would then be transposed to 12 different keys. This extensive chord knowledge is put to good use in Rahaioff’s ompositions: Barcarole p.5: Primo Gm dominant 7th on raised 7th of harmonic minor Barcarole p.7: Secondo Cm9 to F Major 9 7, BbMajor to Eb Major 9 Barcarole p.25: Primo Bb to A to Ab to Gm Barcarole p.27-28: Secondo Eb 7 to AbMajor 9 Romance p. 30: Secondo B 7 to Em9, and G 6/3-D-A-G# 7 Span of chords Rahaioff’s had eeptioall ig hads. Biogaphe Haold C. “hoeg ote that Rahaioff’s hads ee supple, spetaula, ad pheoeal. That his hads ee eteel large is a well documented fact, but Schonberg also tells us that Rachaioff ould aeue though the most complex chordal configurations. His left hand technique was unusually powerful. His playing was marked by definition—where other pianists' playing became blurry-sounding from overuse of the pedal or deficiencies i fige tehiue, Rahaioff's tetues ee alas stal lea. Reseahes o oside the possiilit that he suffeed fo Mafa’s “doe o Aoegal, which could account for this. D.A. Young who first suggested this theory in the British Medical Journal did hoee ualif that it as Rahaioff’s atisti geius, ot lage hads, that made Rahaioff’s pefoae so eoale. Piaist Eal Wild i A Walk o the Wild “ide ofis that Rahaioff’ ould spa a telfth. Pianist, Cyril Smith, who is said to have known Rachmaninoff personally, reported that with his left hand Rachmaninoff could stretch C- E b – G - C - G, and with his right hand C (2nd finger) – E – G – C – E (thumb under)! Rachmaninoff uses 7th & 9th chords extensively, in various inversions and spans: Barcarole p.7: Secondo Cm9 C-G-Bb –Eb with Bb -Eb-G-D (23rd) His use of unusually widely spaced chords for bell-like sounds (discussed further under program music) is found in many pieces; A Night for Love p.30: Primo opening chords Romance p.34-35: Secondo G to Ab with a span of 16 notes and E b to A b with 18 notes and some chords are uncomfortable or even unplayable to many players: A Night for Love p.41: Secondo A- Bb –D-A A Night for Love p.42: Secondo octave Bb with Cb and G 2 Virtuosic Display Passages Filigree passages are essential to the music, not purely decorative. They are often chordal or chromatic i tetue, ad a use Rahaioff’s eloed tiplets. The ae ot over sentimentalized, nor have superfluous ritardandos. Rahaioff has ee alled the Puita Piaist fo his stit adherence to the written score. Coburn efes to floid, ople passageok of the seod suite ad das paallels ith Rahaioff’s 2nd Piano Concerto, written the same year, although this is also evidenced also in the earlier suite: A Night for Love p.31: Primo arpeggios A Night for Love p.36: Secondo arpeggios A Night for Love p.39: Secondo scale against Primo split chords A Night for Love p.44: Secondo chromatic 32nds, Primo chromatic 8ths Romance p.28: Primo triplets Tempi and Mood Changes Rachmaninoff is known for his generally fast tempi, which we see in some of the movements such as the Waltz and Tarantella, which are marked presto. We know that Rachmaninoff and fellow students sparred with each other to play the most fast and furious in virtuosic displays. However, some of the most haunting melodies and rich sonorous tones are to be found in the more lyrical movements, such as the Barcarole, Night for Love, and Romance. Within these, there are tempi changes, reflecting changing moods and even questions about the relativity of tempi changes: Barcarole p.23-24: Pio ad “eodo un poco meno mosso, a tempo to original theme of page 2 – not demonstrated A Night for Love p.30: Primo and Secondo adagio sostenuto to p.37 agitato (calm p.40, where end? – not demonstrated Cross Meters, Poly Rhythms, and Texturing Rachmaninoff layers various themes and rhythms over each other to create a rich and full sound. Many examples of this can be found in his piano concertos, where the orchestra and solo parts have different rhythms, as well as his piano duos and duets. Some examples here are: Barcarole p.13: Secondo RH triplet 16th over LH triplet 8th, Primo 3/4 8th notes Barcarole p.18: Primo 9/8 over Secondo 3/4 Barcarole p.29: Secondo triplets against Primo quadruplets Night for Love p.33: Primo 3 groups of 9-note 32nds over Secondo 3/4 Night for Love p.37: Secondo triplets under Primo duplets Romance p.33: Primo triplet 16ths virtuosic filigree over Secondo LH melody and RH octave span chords in 6/8 Romance p.35: Primo 6/8 over Secondo beamed 3/4 texturing Key Modulations - not demonstrated Barcarole p.2/10/18: G minor to G major to G minor 3 Romance p.25/27/32: Ab major to C# minor to Ab major Thematic Treatment of Longing, Despair and Loss Rachmaninoff uses the full, expressive capabilities of the piano to reflect themes of longing and despair. Rachmaninoff was not allowed to pursue his first love, Vera Skalon, and later forbidden for 3 years from marrying his first cousin Natalia Satina, who did ultimately become his wife. Within the duo repertoire we have Romance, A Night for Love, and Tears. In Romance, Coburn desies ho a oatiall lush elod ises fo a apeggiated aopaiet, folloed a longing section in the minor, and culiatig i a estati lia: Romance p.25: Secondo arpeggios, Primo melody Rachmaninoff lost 2 of his sisters to illnesses while still a boy. Sophia died of diphtheria when Sergei was only 10, and Yelena died of pernicious anemia at 18. This loss is often reflected in falling patterns of descending chromatic passages: A Night for Love p.40-41 and 47: Secondo falling chromatic pattern Tears - not demonstrated Program Music The Fantasy Tableaux, Suite 1, written in 1893, when Rachmaninoff was only 20, is a perfect example of a musical depiction of art and poetry. The poems preceding each movement set the tone for each piece. Biogaphe Ma Haiso alls the a seies of usial poes, but disagrees that the usi is pogaati hile the poes oe soethig of the eotioal toe of the usi….the music itself is ot pogaati. Ma of Rahaioff’s oks ae ko to e ispied at o literature (Etudes-tableaux, The Isle of the Dead, Prelude Op.32 no.10 – paitig The Retu etc.) or a usial eatio to the atisti stiulus. Boating While growing up Rachmaninoff developed a love of rowing whilst at a farm retreat on the Volkov River, and two of the oks studied egi ith a Baaolle boat song, with lilting triplet configurations: Barcarole p.2: Primo triplet 16ths followed by a half note Barcarolle(duet) p.2: 6/8 meter – not demonstrated Bird Call Grace notes and trills permeate the duos and replicate bird sounds of the countryside: A Night for Love p.