Rachmaninoff spent half of his life contemplating his Fourth Piano Concerto, from early sketches penned shortly after completion of the Third Concerto to its final reworking in 1941. Sadly, it has been less popular than his other works for piano and orchestra. More recently, the original version (1926) has been published, leading many to hope that it will receive a fresh hearing.
[Read more…] about Rachmaninoff’s 4th Piano Concerto
Research
Rachmaninoff’s Performance Diary
The Performance Diary is a Database of all known performances and recordings by Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, and is the result of over a decade of research. It gives an unparalleled insight into the intensity of Rachmaninoff’s performing career, and its geographical reach.In 2006, I gave the research to the Rachmaninoff Society, so that the material would have a permanent and recognisable home, and be free to browse for anyone interested in Rachmaninoff’s extraordinary career.
[Read more…] about Rachmaninoff’s Performance Diary
Overs Piano
My understanding of the relationship between pianists and the pianos they play has been influenced by an event a few years back. Offered a choice between an ailing specimen of a leading European marque (an old instrument in extremely poor condition, weak in tone, and obviously in need of restoration) and a leading Asian brand in excellent working order (well regulated, with a strong, attractive sound), I witnessed a fellow student make a curious selection. Inquiring afterwards, I was told that a teacher had given an instruction to always choose the European make.
Clearly, the cachet of a label can have a significant effect on a pianist’s perception of what they are playing. In this light, it is interesting to view attitudes regarding acceptance of Australian-built pianos today.
Rachmaninoff Discovered
Scott Davie, a pianist and lecturer in Russian music history at the Sydney Conservatorium, recently found an unpublished sketch by Rachmaninoff in the composer’s archives at the Washington Library of Congress.
Whilst researching for his PhD on the composer’s melodies, Davies was amazed to uncover a two page sketch in Sergei Rachmaninoff’s hand, it was hidden in a pile of blank manuscript pages where it had languished for possibly 60 years. Davie was permitted to make a copy, which he brought back to Sydney.
[Read more…] about Rachmaninoff DiscoveredDavie described it as; eclectic, short-form, pictorial, experimental, harmonically unpredictable and modern – in fact, this was possibly the most modern phase of his composing life.