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. ii Copyright © 2015 Ji Young Lee iii 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. iv 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 v 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 vi 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