"A composer's music should express the country of his birth, his love affairs, his religion... It should be the sum total of the composer's experiences. I compose music because I must give utterance to my feelings, just as I talk because I must give utterance to my thoughts... I am a Russian composer, and the land of my birth has inevitably influenced my temperament and outlook."
-Sergei Rachmaninoff
Welcome to a part of my world, for those of you who do not know me I am a student of music, currently working on getting a Ph.D. in Music Education. It is essentially the driving force in my life and what I enjoy more than anything. I created this world on my account as I wish to share, even if just a tiny bit, some of that love I have for what is commonly referred to as classical music. Like an Overture, which is an introductory piece often designed to initiate an opera or other dramatic work, I intend to do the same with some of the works I love best.
I can’t imagine my life without it and I am sure that many of you understand this feeling all to well. We all have that music that is close to our hearts and gives us inspiration, moves us to tears and has us cheering for more. Because without music, life is a mistake. ;) So stay tuned as I’ll be back with a post in due time.
I guess I should give you a fair warning or hint as to how posts here will most likely go. You see I am rather passionate about what I do for a living and my love for what is commonly known as classical music by the casual listener. I really enjoy Sergei Rachmaninoff's work and as such can get rather long winded on the subject. So in addition to a clip of music which I will be providing, the following details will be a jump into the history surrounding the piece itself.
Now having said that I intend to start with one of my favorites by Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto No. 2. To start with I present a link to a video over at YouTube. it is not the best quality, however, it is one of Rachmaninoff himself playing. This unique recording with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra directed by Leopold Stokowski was made for RCA in 1929. Considering the date, I'm sure you can see why the recording would be a little off.
Now while you listen to that enjoy the brief history lesson. ; )
Piano Concerto No. 2
Piano Concerto No. 2 is a work in C minor for piano accompanied by orchestra. The dedication of the Second Concerto, to Dr. Nikolai Dahl, is of unusual significance, for Dr. Dahl was godfather to this particular work in an odd sense. After the dismal failure of his First Symphony early in 1897 Rachmaninoff, who was given to brooding even at happy times, went into a period of depression that was to tie up his creative capacity for nearly three years. Finally, toward the end of 1899, he consulted Dr. Dahl, whose specialty was treating such disorders by means of auto-suggestion, and who had a special interest in understanding his musical patients since he himself was an amateur violinist.
Dr. Dahl’s treatment consisted of daily sessions from January through April of 1900, during which he more or less hypnotized Rachmaninoff and repeated to him over and over again: “You will begin to write your concerto… You will work with great facility… Your concerto will be of excellent quality…” We have Rachmaninoff’s own testimony that this treatment was successful; before the year was out he performed the second and third movements of the Second Concerto at a concert conducted by Siloti, and on Novermber 9, 1901, he played the work in full with the Moscow Philharmonic.
Complete self-confidence was a particularly elusive quality even then. Less than a week before the premiere, Rachmaninoff was tormenting himself with doubts about the new Concerto. Nikita Morozov, with whom he had shared his feelings about the First Concerto a decade earlier, had undertaken an analysis of the Second, and Rachmaninoff wrote to him that in playing through the first movement “it only now becomes clear to me that the transition from the first theme to the second is not any good, that as it stands now the first theme is not the first theme that it is the beginning of the Concerto. I feel that whole first movement is spoiled, and that from this minute on it is repulsive to me. I am simply in despair. And why did you start with this analysis of yours five days before the performance!!!”
Despite these misgivings, the Concerto was a huge success. Less than a year after the premiere Siloti played the solo part in St. Petersburg, and they then took the work on a very successful tour throughout Europe. In 1904 the Concerto won for Rachmaninoff the first of his two Glinka Prizes (the second came four years later, for the Second Symphony), and by then it had already established itself as a favorite with audiences everywhere; it remains to this day the most popular concerto composed in the last century, and is regarded as the prototype of the post-Tchaikovsky, super-expressive romantic concerto.
Like Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff knew how to create a good tune, and themes from both the first and last movements of this Concerto were adapted for popular songs in the 1940’s (when there was still such a thing as “popular song,” a genre more or less plowed under by today’s rock production numbers). The first-movement theme became the dreamy I Think of You, while the big theme in the final (not actually created by Rachmaninoff, but given to him by the aforementioned Morozov) was fitted out with the deathless words Full Moon and Empty Arms. Neither text, fortunately, is likely to intrude itself into the minds of today’s listeners.
Between these outer movements, both of which are filled to the brim with striking color and rhythmic effects as well as an abundance of strong melody, is a slow movement that must be reckoned as one of the most exalted products of Rachmaninoff’s inspiration. It is an Adagio sostenuto in E major in which the piano, the strings, the winds - variously and combined - project a mood of intimate reverie. The delicacy of the scoring, the tasteful balance of the various elements, the unforced genuineness of the writing add up to a quality which may be described as not only expressive but downright poetic.
But, as the exquisite slow movement is no mere interlude, the dramatic outer movements are no mere frame for it. The measure of Rachmaninoff’s genius is in the even and sustained level of this remarkable work’s appeal, from first bar to last.
In Popular Culture: (Taken from Wiki)
The concerto, especially the last movement, is mentioned favorably by the heroes of Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead.
The adagio sostenuto is the basis for the melodic theme of the 1976 pop/rock hit "All by Myself" by Eric Carmen.
The adagio sostenuto is also the basis for the popera song "Nostalgia" by Amici Forever.
The allegro scherzando theme is the basis for Frank Sinatra's 1945 "Full Moon And Empty Arms".
The songs "Space Dementia", "Butterflies and Hurricanes", "Megalomania" and "Ruled by Secrecy" by the band Muse all contain quotes from the moderato.
In the movie The Seven Year Itch, Tom Ewell plays a recording of the concerto in the hopes that the passionate music will seduce Marilyn Monroe.
Other movies that mention the concerto are The World of Henry Orient; Center Stage; and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement. It features prominently as the sound track to Brief Encounter. In September Affair (1950), Joan Fontaine plays a pianist who is preparing to perform the concerto; the music appears often throughout the film, and near the end, she plays the concerto. In Rhapsody (1954), it features prominently towards the end of the film, when one of the two leading men (played by John Ericson), who had been suffering from depression and alcoholism, performs it at a concert, thereby demonstrating that he has overcome his personal weaknesses.
The concerto was played by a character on the TV series Smallville.
The concerto was featured in Nodame Cantabile (anime and drama version), with the piano solo played by Shinichi Chiaki, and the orchestra conducted by Franz von Stresemann.
The concerto was background music in Harry's apartment in Spider-man 3.
The concerto was featured in the anime Gankutsuou, with the piano solo played by Eugenie Danglars.
The adagio sostenuto and allegro scherzando movements appear during the second to last dance scene of the ballet movie Center Stage.
The flute from the adagio sostenuto is used often in the first OVA of the anime Samurai X.
The concerto is mentioned in "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium". The character played by Natalie Portman states that she was a child prodigy for her ability to play the aforementioned.
There is far more of course, but I think that's enough overloading on this piece for now. For those of you who actually got this far. I hope you found it interesting.
