Sergei Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18 (1901) {Volodos}
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- Опубліковано 13 лип 2024
- Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 - 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and rich orchestral colours. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output and he made a point of using his skills as a performer to fully explore the expressive and technical possibilities of the instrument.
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Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 (1900-1901)
Dedication: Dr. Nikolai Dahl
1. Moderato (0:00)
2. Adagio sostenuto (10:19)
3. Allegro scherzando (20:38)
Arcadi Volodos, piano and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Ricardo Chailly. Live at the BBC Proms Wed 3 Sep 1997 Royal Albert Hall
Description by Roger Dettmer [-]
Rachmaninov composed this work in 1900, and played the first complete performance on November 9, 1901, with Alexandre Siloti conducting the Moscow Philharmonic Society.
He suffered a shattering career crisis in the 1897 massacre of his First Symphony in St. Petersburg, by its first conductor, Glazunov, who was reportedly disablingly drunk -- a fiasco the critics en masse, led by César Cui, laid at the composer's feet like an animal carcass. The audience -- ever mindful that Rachmaninov had been expelled in 1885 from the local temple of musical instruction -- listened stonily, glad for the failure of a young lion schooled elsewhere (in Moscow, he completed the Conservatory course in 1891, and graduated a year later with highest possible grades). Because of the failure of the Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninov began to drink immoderately. Believing himself unfit to compose, he tried concentrating on parallel courses as a concert soloist and opera conductor, but embroiled himself in a love affair that ended very badly. By the end of 1899, he was an alcoholic whose hands shook, imperiling his keyboard career. Between January and April 1900, Sergey Vassilyevich saw Dr. Dahl, a Moscow specialist in "neuropsychotherapy," daily, and was urged under hypnosis to compose the new piano concerto that a London impresario was asking for. Trance therapy roused the composer from his lethargy; indeed, he worked with great facility on an excellent new concerto -- the Second, in C minor, Op. 18 -- dedicated to Dr. Dahl in gratitude. Never again in the remaining four decades of his life was Rachmaninov immobilized by depression, despite several convulsive changes of fortune.
The opening, C minor, movement in sonata form was composed last; structurally it is the most conventional. Ten bars of unaccompanied keyboard chords lead directly to a palpitant principal theme for violins, violas, and clarinets -- motivic rather than tuneful, despite a melismatic extension for cellos. An episode links this to the second theme, in E flat, one of Rachmaninov's most celebrated melodies, introduced by the piano. Following the development and a maestoso alla marcia reprise, there's a brilliant coda -- but no solo cadenza, yet.
In the E major, Adagio sostenuto movement, after four bars of Tchaikovskian string chords, piano arpeggios introduce a two-part principal theme, played first by the solo flute, then by the solo clarinet. Piano and orchestra develop both parts before a Tchaikovsky-like theme for bassoons nudges the tempo a bit. Further development goes even quicker, culminating in a solo cadenza that's been teasingly postponed, after which the original material returns, soulfully.
The finale is an Allegro scherzando in C major. The strings play a rhythmic figure that builds to a staccato climax. The piano enters with a flourish, setting up the principal subject -- again, as before in I, motivic rather than tuneful, but admirably constructed for developing. This is followed by another of Rachmaninov's signature melodies, lushly undulant, sung by the solo oboe and strings. (In the postwar 1940s, this was garnished with words and performed unrelentingly by big-band vandals as Full Moon and Empty Arms). A fugato brings back the principal subject, followed by a Maestoso statement of "The Tune." Accelerating fistfuls of piano chords set up a crowd-rousing conclusion.
Thanks, Bartje! It's always fun to listen along with the autograph score.
Indeed a splendid rendition of this ultimate romantic piano concerto. Thank You !
Priceless! Thank you so much
I never thought I would see the full manuscript for this work! May I ask how you obtained images of the original manuscript?
Outstanding performance! Amazing along with the manuscript!!
Thanks as usual for sharing the manuscript score!
Woah
Wunderschöne und detaillierte live Aufführung dieses spätromantischen und perfekt komponierten Konzerts mit klarem doch anmutigem Klang des genialen Soloklaviers sowie gut harmonisierten und perfekt entsprechenden Tönen der anderen Instrumente. Der zweite Satz klingt besonders schön und echt melodisch. Im Kontrast klingt der dritte Satz echt lebhaft und auch überzeugend. Der intelligente und ebenso geniale Dirigent leitet das ausgezeichnete Orchester in verschiedenen Tempi und mit effektiver Dynamik. Wunderbar vom Anfang bis zum Ende!
holy where did u find out this manuscript? is it uploaded on imslp?
inside the brain off Sergei Rachmaninoff! The best of all !
Sehr schöne Sendung, Bravo 3x
excellent, you should use also the Rachmaninoff recording of this concerto with his manuscript
love all Volodos Rach stuff, something strange occurs around 13:56 - not sure if function of the recording itself
The tape of the live recording slipped a few times.
1
19:28
A small point. The finale is in C minor. The introduction has no key signature, as there is no key, it's just working its way from E major to C minor, four bars before the piano entry.
By the way, where do you get access to these manuscripts? Are they originals, or just tidied copies?
Original, but brightened, edited to fit UA-cam format. I omitted all empty staffs and/or parts crossed out by Rachmaninoff, which was too bad as it is interesting to see what he exactly did change. But it has to fit the format.
Ends in C Major, therefore in C Major. Every tonal center preceding is just transition to the final key. Can't just look at the key signature. Or lack thereof.
@@johns.4708 Ends in C major, but it is still in C minor. The main theme is in C minor, the second subject is in Eb, which is a very minor key thing to do, going to the relative major. The whole thing has a three flat (C minor) key signature with a minor key feel throughout until the glorious C major coda.
My piano teacher taught classes on analytically listening to music, and Volodos' Rach 3 was course material. This is the first time I hear the 2nd concerto played by him. Absolutely blown away by it...
Please stop saying 'Rach 2' and 'Rach 3'. It's pretentious. No-one says 'Prok2' or 'Prok 3' even though these works are far more challenging whilst still remaining standard repertoire. Move on. Try Messaien's Turangalila or anything by Carter. Above all, remain curious!
Gatekeeping the use of abbreviations based on personal taste? Pretentiousness is nothing you’re not comfortable flirting with, it seems.
@@paulfreeman4900actually, at the university level, we certainly say "Rach 2" "Prok 3" or "Shost 5". Nothing pretentious about it. Abbreviating the titles just makes conversation flow more easily at times. It's a matter of practicality because the complete titles are a mouthful.
@@AntonAchondoa Really! I have an MA in music and I never heard anyone using such terms at 'Uni'. It's lazy and pretentious. BTW, 'Shost' only wrote 2 piano concertos. You should know this if you studied music at 'uni'.😝
@@paulfreeman4900 I was referring to his symphony, not his piano concerto. What you consider lazy, we consider practical and catchy.
You know what's pretentious? Correcting others for using language not to your "elevated" taste.
Too much elitism and stuffiness is why classical music is dying. I'm working on my doctorate in piano performance.
Can you give me a maunscript