rhapsodies – Gershwin / Rachmaninov
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Category: Rachmaninoff
August 14, 2019
Hans Hofmann
October 20, 2018
the essential Romantic violin concertos
“The Violin“ (1916)
_____
if I was able to bring up a list of
ten top Romantic piano concertos
throughout the 19th Century earlier,
I can number of violin concertos
only three essential ones, with,
however, two other significant
such compositions, which remain,
for one reason or another,
peripheral, secondary
more about which later
but the exalted three are situated
conveniently, the first, at the very
beginning of the Romantic Era,
Beethoven’s magisterial, even
extraordinary, Opus 61 in D major,
1806, and close doubly with the
two others, Tchaikovsky’s
resplendent work, words cannot
do it justice, and Brahms’ no less
transcendental one, at its very end,
1878, none are negligible, it’d be
like missing the Eiffel Tower while
in Paris, skipping the pyramids
along the Nile, they are part of our
cultural consciousness, it would
be an utter shame to pass them
by, they are our glory, our
magnificent heritage
it should be noted that the
concerto, be it for violin, piano,
cello, what have you, a soloist
in concert with an array of
instruments, is the perfect allegory
for the Romantic Era, an individual
in contention with a community,
under the influence of a conductor,
a mayor, a mentor, a polity, the
individuality afforded by the
proclamation of human rights in
the aftermath of the French
Revolution, and its social
consequences, musically
manifested
the match might be fraught,
should be, though with
compromise, considerate
accommodation, fruitful,
hopefully even transcendental,
if not at least entertaining,
cooperation, music seems to
infer eventual concord,
congress, harmony, a way out
of, even dire, distress, or at
least point the way toward it
concertos die out, incidentally, in
the 20th Century, you don’t hear
of very many, if any at all, after
Rachmaninoff, they are gone,
much like later, in the 1950s, the
waltz, forever, with the wind
may they rest in peace
R ! chard
June 23, 2018
twice upon a violin concerto – Beethoven / Paganini
“The Violin Lesson“ (1889)
_______
to juxtapose two things for consideration,
to my mind, is the best way to sharpen
both one’s aesthetic and, therefore,
spiritual personality, here, thus, are
two contemporaneous, essentially,
violin concertos, concerti, if you like,
Paganini’s 5th, 1830, Beethoven’s
Only, 1806
let me point out that the Classical Era
is over at this point, this isn’t music
for the courts any longer, but music
as spectacle, you can hear it, it’s like
moving from Frank Sinatra‘s
nightclubs to David Bowie’s stadiums
noteworthy about these two pieces is
that the structure in each is identical,
the same lengthy introduction in the
first movement, followed by an
articulate, and eventually mesmerizing,
elaboration on the initial melody by
the soloist, with divergent, however,
intentions, Paganini starts with a
fanfare, promises histrionics, delivers
fireworks, Beethoven begins with
portent, goes instead for drama,
which is to say, your heart, as well
both their second and third movements
are essentially, then, indistinguishable
conceptually, their last movement in
either is even a rondo
the challenge in the Paganini is physical,
the glory is in the player’s technical
prowess
with Beethoven the requirements are
both physical and emotional, he
punches for the heart, which the
player must, therefore, with equally
astounding panache, incidentally,
also conquer
style, in other words, over substance,
substance over style, which is to say
“The Phantom of the Opera“, for
instance, or Cirque du Soleil,
Rachmaninov, maybe, versus
Liberace, you are the judge
history has sided, however, with
substance, Beethoven’s Violin
Concerto is everywhere, it isn’t at
all easy, conversely, to come up
with any of Paganini’s, despite
their incontestable magnificence
maybe it’s time for a Paganini
revival, they did that several years
ago for the inimitable Rossini, an
effervescent light in an otherwise
mostly dour 19th Century, listen,
with counts and countesses here
in attendance, at very, can you
believe it, Versailles, wow
R ! chard
February 14, 2018
an interjection – Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no 3, opus 30
Rachmaninoff in 1921 (photographed by Kubey Rembrandt)
______________
for Barbara
a friend wrote today about memories of her
uncle, a violinist, insisting on the right
pronunciation of Rachmaninov, “with a soft
ch, as the c in cello. It drove my Dad crazy“,
she said, which led me in a response to both
his Second Piano Concerto, which she’d
specifically mentioned, and to what I
think is like comparing oracles with
oracles, his Third
it seemed a wonderful time to shed light
on some of the things I’ve been explaining
about Haydn
I spoke, even in a recent transmittal, about
the idea of extending tempi, from its
Classical four, to, through variations in a
single movement, more than four, and
found Haydn to be awkward, as he
experimented, unimpressive
listen to what Rachmaninov does, however,
in every movement here, take it from its
base through variations in tempi to leave
you reeling with emotion
the adagio, the middle movement, for
instance, starts off slowly, continues apace,
then finds itself embroiled in a whirlwind of
sentiment it finds difficult to control, before
returning, with a nearly audible sigh, to its
distressed slower, and defining, rhythm
there’s a story here, a narrative, and all the
permutations of a drama, a reckoning
watching also the performer, Cyprien Katsaris,
the soloist, and marvelling at the speed of his
fingers, I wondered, should a performer be
impeded by hir conductor, for not acquiescing
to untoward advances, for instance, a recently
significant consideration, raise the beat by one
point merely on the metronome, a novice might
be undone in a very minute, in a blur of
distraught acciaccaturas, arpeggios, and
discombobulated trills
a great player must consequently play the
piece in practice at a quicker pace to ensure
an immaculate, ever, presentation, the work
of a consummate, and immutable, artist
think about it, and watch, indeed marvel,
at this extraordinary performance
R ! chard
July 15, 2016
“Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” – Rachmaninov
_________
no one plays Rachmaninov better than
Rachmaninov, of which we’ve got aural
representations though no visual live
performances
Rachmaninov, of which we’ve got aural
representations though no visual live
performances
but here’s a “Rhapsody on a Theme of
Paganini“ to knock your socks off, in
all its kinetic, electrifying energy
you might remember Daniil Trifonov
from my coverage of the XVth
Tchaikovsky Competition last year,
who has gone on to achieve a
stunning international reputation,
entirely, I submit, deservedly
watch him set the piece on fire, at
a pace I find faster than most, with
nevertheless all the requisite
dexterity, indeed prestidigitation,
necessary to weave the intricacies
of Rachmaninovian sound into
apposite magic, that magic
Rachmaninov would surely ‘ve
looked for
check them both out
Richard
July 2, 2015
at the XVth International Tchaikovsky Competition – Dmitry Masleev
“Portrait of the Composer Sergei Rachmaninov“ (1925)
_____________
after two superb performances on
the last day, June 20, of the Round
1 competitions, I expected to close
up shop, not listen to another
deserving competitor, skipped a
trio of competent but otherwise
uninteresting contenders, and
readied to quickly go on to the
second round nominations
Dmitry Masleev, the very last
performer, wasn’t to go down,
however, without a fight, wowed
me, despite my initial sceptical air
he delivered from the beginning an
unimpeachable Bach, followed by
a “Farewell” Sonata to rival Shino
Hidaka‘s, my queen, from there it
was nowhere but up, his final
Rachmaninov dotted the i’s,
crossed the t’s, of his brilliance,
a fitting hiatus to a powerful
and significant showdown
Richard
July 1, 2015
at the XVth International Tchaikovsky Competition – Daniel Kharitonov
__________
Daniel Kharitonov will be 17 in
December, I think he could win
after the usual misconceived, to
my mind, Bach, which he ends,
however, with lengthened notes
that evoke the organ instead of
the more skittish, less ceremonial
harpsichord, giving credence to
some, at least, rubato in Bach,
for Bach wrote exceedingly for
the organ, he then not only
recaptures your confidence with
an unexpectedly sparkling
“Appassionata”, not easy after
so many, then polishes off his
laurels with virtuosic Liszt,
Chopin and Rachmaninov after
having played a lovely, aptly
contemplative, “Méditation” of
Tchaikovsky
Daniel Kharitonov is going places,
indeed has gone, Carnegie Hall, for
instance, in 2013, he would’ve been
14
Richard
June 29, 2015
at the XVth International Tchaikovsky Competition – the program
“Beethoven, 1987“ (1987)
______
you’ll probably have noted, if you’ve
been following the Tchaikovsky
Competition, that, unlike the
Rubinstein, the selection of works
is much more constrained, though
the mighties nevertheless
predominate
after the third day and into the
fourth, only one contestant has
started with anything other than
Bach, a Tchaikovsky
but unfortunately none of them but
one had given us a Bach worthy of
his name, then followed through
with, not surprisingly, a quite
competent Mozart, the cultural
conditions being not yet all that
different, aristocrats were looking
for their own music instead of the
church’s, secular instead of
ecclesiastical, therefore a tune
rather than an oratorio, Beethoven
and the Revolution would change
all that
afterwards a sonata of Mozart,
Haydn or Beethoven, the Classical
triumvirate, after which Tchaikovsky,
appropriately at this competition,
then études, either “-tableaux”,
“transcendentales”, or plain and
simple, by Rachmaninov, Liszt, or
Chopin, that’s it, you get to hear
the “Appassionata” or the “Grandes
études de Paganini” several times
that way, sharpening discernibly
your musical ear
one was riveting, Andrey Dubov‘s
another, Lukas Geniušas transfixed
me with his opus 2, no 3, of
Beethoven, a work I usually only
ever tolerate, sending it soaring
into the bard’s later mature, and
revelatory, period
others have been competent, even
admirable, several, however, not
ready for this trial, they’ve come
without adequate preparation for
the ball
though I’ve been watching it in
my pajamas, I should talk
Richard
July 16, 2014
my reply to BookInhabiter, a.k.a. Brain
a reader writes
“Hello Richard,
Recently I’ve been watching up on many dance competitions. I knew of the existence of piano competitions but never thought that they would be filmed. I must listen to the top contenders. How did you hear about this competition?”
here is my, admittedly extended, answer, with pertinent links
Richard
_____________
I haven’t missed “So You Think You
Can Dance“, Brain, for 11 years, so
we’ve probably been watching the
same “many dance competitions”
“piano competitions” aren’t much
different, just another art, judged
here by professionals throughout,
rather than entire publics
the competitions are fierce, to a
person the competitors are world
class
the music is often sublime, utterly
transcendent, though more rigorously
intellectual than popcorn – pace
Mozart – this puts some people off
much as you probably find covers of
songs you like, I go out looking for
sonatas, string quartets, concerti I
already know of and admire, I check
out the big names, Chopin, Beethoven,
Rachmaninov, see what might be up
the Internet abounds with nearly
anything you might want to find, the
only obstacle is the quality
the Van Cliburn competition, from
Houston, was dreadful, enough to
put me off it, but looking for musical
counterparts to pieces of interest, I
found the Rubinstein one in Tel
Aviv offering sterling performances
I quickly flew across the globe,
virtually, of course, speaking
the experience has been well worth
it, I heard miracles of music, haven’t
had so much fun since reading Proust,
in French of course, but you must
understand I’m an inveterate egghead,
totally chronic
this week I started Edward Gibbon’s
“The Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire”, text and, to my delight,
audiotape, its reader is extraordinary
check out the Chopin Competition
for, up to this point anyway in my
investigation, only Chopin, but he’ll
do for a significant while, his music
is consistently breathtaking
I’ll also check out the Russian
Tchaikovsky Competition, which Van
Cliburn made famous for us in the late
50’s, by winning it, despite the rancours
of the Cold War, with a still paramount
rendition of Tchaikovsky’s own
monumental First Concerto
wow, I’ve been hooked ever since
thanks for stopping by my blog, Brain,
you’ll find, incidentally, a lot of excellent
performances highlighted there, several
of the best, in fact, from the most recent
Rubinstein Competition, none of which,
to my utter consternation, managed to
win
other recommendations follow, check
it out
I think your blog is wonderful, keep
it up
Richard
July 12, 2014
Andrejs Osokins
the Rachmaninov Three is also a monument
of our culture, mighty and magnificent
Andrejs Osokins makes it resplendent,
transcendent
I’d earlier berated him for being unkempt,
unprepared for his, after all, public, and
surely not gratis, performance, but here
he utterly redeems himself, he is
possessed, an instrument of the music
Andrejs Osokins could win, all bets are
therefore off
Richard
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