City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 9-2018 Rachmaninoff and the Flexibility of the Score: Issues Regarding Performance Practice Tanya Gabrielian The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/2762 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] RACHMANINOFF AND THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE SCORE: ISSUES REGARDING PERFORMANCE PRACTICE by TANYA GABRIELIAN A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts, The City University of New York 2018 Ó 2018 TANYA GABRIELIAN All Rights Reserved ii Rachmaninoff and the Flexibility of the Score: Issues Regarding Performance Practice by Tanya Gabrielian This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Music in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts. Date Anne Swartz Chair of Examining Committee Date Norman Carey Executive Officer Supervisory Committee: Geoffrey Burleson Sylvia Kahan Ursula Oppens THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT Rachmaninoff and the Flexibility of the Score: Issues Regarding Performance Practice by Tanya Gabrielian Advisor: Geoffrey Burleson Sergei Rachmaninoff’s piano music is a staple of piano literature, but academia has been slower to embrace his works. Because he continued to compose firmly in the Romantic tradition at a time when Debussy, Stravinsky, and Schoenberg variously represented the vanguard of composition, Rachmaninoff’s popularity has consequently not been as robust in the musicological community. He left a rich legacy of recorded material which provides a first- hand account of his approach to musical interpretation. Few have analyzed Rachmaninoff’s recordings in great detail, and there are even fewer studies addressing Rachmaninoff’s performances of works by other composers. The aim of this dissertation is to analyze the discrepancies between the printed score and Rachmaninoff’s recordings of his own works and works by other composers, and to explore the reasons for these differences. By charting these variations from the printed scores in his recordings of Schumann’s Carnaval, Op. 9 and Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 35, two recordings that Rachmaninoff identified as some of his finest work, these differences can be shown to reflect his prioritization of the architectural vision over the smaller details written in the score. Rachmaninoff’s revisions to his own scores have direct connections to his interpretive choices and priorities, and his edits aimed to improve the structural projection of the piece as a whole. By examining these differences, the reader can also begin to anticipate what interpretive goals Rachmaninoff might generally have throughout iv his compositions, thereby deriving a deeper understanding of Rachmaninoff’s compositional and interpretive aesthetics, and, for pianists, better and more authentically informing their own interpretive choices. v Table of Contents Introduction . .1 General Statement . 1 State of Research . 3 Chapter I: Rachmaninoff as a Pianist. 7 Early Influences . 7 Rachmaninoff’s Studies in Moscow . 8 Professional Career . 10 Programming Choices . 14 Musical Preparation and Interpretation . 17 Summary . 23 Chapter II: Recordings . 25 History . 25 Editions . 35 A Note on Performance Analyses of Recordings . 36 Schumann Carnaval, Op. 9 . 37 Recording History . 37 Préambule . 37 Pierrot . 41 Arlequin . 42 Valse noble . 43 Eusebius . 44 Florestan . 45 Coquette . 47 Réplique . 48 Sphinxes . 49 Papillons . 50 A.S.C.H. – S.C.H.A.: Lettres Dansantes . 51 Chiarina . 52 Chopin . 54 Estrella . 55 Reconnaissance . 56 Pantalon et Colombine . 57 Valse allemande . 58 Intermezzo: Paganini . 60 Aveu . 61 vi Promenade . 62 Pause . 64 Marche des “Davidsbündler” contre les Philistins . 64 Chopin Sonata No. 2 in Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 35 . 68 Recording History . 68 Movement I: Grave – Doppio movimento . 69 Movement II: Scherzo . 73 Movement III: Marche funèbre . 79 Movement IV: Finale: Presto . 84 Summary . 85 Chapter III: Rachmaninoff’s Compositions: Revisions and Interpretations . 88 Overview . 88 Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp Minor, Op. 1 . 91 Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 36 . 95 Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40 . 98 Chapter IV: Conclusion . 104 Appendix . 110 Score of Schumann’s Carnaval, Op. 9 . 110 Score of Chopin’s Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 35 . 138 Bibliography . 157 vii List of Tables and Examples Table 2.1: Rachmaninoff’s Complete Recordings . 28 Example 2.2: Schumann Arlequin, printed version, measures 25-29 . 43 Example 2.3: Schumann Arlequin, Rachmaninoff’s version, measures 25-29 . 43 Example 2.4: Schumann Réplique, printed version, measures 4-5 . 48 Example 2.5: Schumann Réplique, Rachmaninoff’s version, measures 4-5 . 49 Example 2.6: Schumann Sphinxes, Rachmaninoff’s version, complete . 50 Example 2.7: Schumann Valse allemande, printed version, measures 1-4 . 59 Example 2.8: Schumann Valse allemande, Rachmaninoff’s version, measures 1-4 . 59 Example 2.9: Chopin Sonata No. 2 in B-flat Minor, Op. 35, Scherzo, printed version, measures 81-84 . ..