Symphonic Dances (Rachmaninoff)

Last updated
Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Rachmaninoff cph.3a40575.jpg
Sergei Rachmaninoff

Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, is an orchestral suite in three movements completed in October 1940 by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. It is his final major composition, and his only piece written in its entirety while living in the United States.

Contents

The work allowed him to indulge in a nostalgia for the Russia he had known, much as he had done in the Symphony No. 3, [1] as well as to effectively sum up his lifelong fascination with ecclesiastical chants. In the first dance, he quotes the opening theme of his Symphony No. 1, itself derived from motifs characteristic of Russian church music. In the finale he quotes both the Dies Irae and the chant "Blessed art thou, Lord" (Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi) from his All-Night Vigil . [2]

Background

Rachmaninoff composed the Symphonic Dances four years after his Third Symphony, mostly at the Honeyman estate, "Orchard Point", in Centerport, New York, overlooking Long Island Sound. Its original name was Fantastic Dances, with movement titles of "Noon", "Twilight", and "Midnight". [3] While the composer had written to conductor Eugene Ormandy in late August 1940 that the piece was finished and needed only to be orchestrated, the manuscript for the full score bears completion dates of September and October 1940. [3] It was premiered by Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, to whom it is dedicated, on January 3, 1941. [4]

The work is fully representative of the composer's later style with its curious, shifting harmonies, the almost Prokofiev-like grotesquerie of the outer movements and the focus on individual instrumental tone colors throughout (highlighted by his use of an alto saxophone in the opening dance). [2] The opening three-note motif, introduced quietly but soon reinforced by heavily staccato chords and responsible for much of the movement's rhythmic vitality, is reminiscent of the Queen of Shemakha's theme in Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel , [5] the only music by another composer that he had taken out of Russia with him in 1917.

The Symphonic Dances combine energetic rhythmic sections, reminiscent of Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring , with some of the composer's lushest harmonies. The rhythmic vivacity, a characteristic of Rachmaninoff's late style, may have been further heightened here for two reasons. First, he had been encouraged by the success of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini as a ballet in 1939 and wanted to write something with which to follow it up. [3] Second, he may have included material intended for a ballet titled The Scythians, begun in 1914–15 but abandoned before he left Russia. [5] While no manuscript for the ballet is known to have survived, this does not make his quoting the work inconceivable, given Rachmaninoff's remarkable memory. He could remember and play back accurately pieces he had heard years earlier, even those he had heard only once. [6]

The work is remarkable for its use of the alto saxophone as a solo instrument. Rachmaninoff was apparently advised as to its use by the American orchestrator and composer Robert Russell Bennett. The composition includes several quotations from Rachmaninoff's other works, and can be regarded as a summing-up of his entire career as a composer. The first dance ends with a modified quotation from his unfortunate First Symphony (1897), here nostalgically rendered in a major key. The ghostly second dance was called "dusk" in some sketches. The final dance is a kind of struggle between the Dies Irae theme, representing Death, and a quotation from the ninth movement of his All-night Vigil (1915), representing Resurrection (the lyrics of the All-night Vigil's ninth movement in fact narrate mourners' discovery of Christ's empty grave and the Risen Lord). The Resurrection theme proves victorious in the end (he wrote the word "Hallelujah" at this place in the score).

Instrumentation

The work is scored for an orchestra of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, tambourine, side drum, cymbals, bass drum, tamtam, xylophone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, harp, piano, and strings.

Movements

  1. (Non) allegro (C minor – C major)
    Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf
  2. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse) (G minor)
    Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf
  3. Lento assai – Allegro vivace – Lento assai. Come prima – Allegro vivace (D minor – D major)
    Orchesterwerke Romantik Themen.pdf

Arrangements

Two Pianos

Rachmaninoff wrote an arrangement for two pianos concurrently with the orchestral version. This arrangement was first performed by the composer with Vladimir Horowitz at a private party in Beverly Hills, California in August 1942. [7]

The two piano arrangement was featured on the 2024 album "Rachmaninoff for Two" by Daniil Trifonov and Sergei Babayan.

Ballet

The name Symphonic Dances suggests that the composition can be danced to. Rachmaninoff corresponded with choreographer Michel Fokine about possibly creating a ballet from the Dances. He played the composition for Fokine on the piano; the choreographer responded enthusiastically. [8] Fokine's death in August 1942 put an end to any possible collaboration in this direction. [3]

In the 1980s, Joseph Albano choreographed the dances for the Albano Ballet in Hartford, Connecticut. [9] In 1991, Salvatore Aiello choreographed the Symphonic Dances for the North Carolina Dance Theater. Peter Martins did so in 1994 for the New York City Ballet. [10] Alexei Ratmansky choreographed Symphonic Dances for Miami City Ballet in 2012. [11] Edwaard Liang did so in 2012 for the San Francisco Ballet. [12] [13] Liam Scarlett, as Artist In Residence [14] choreographed the Symphonic Dances for The Royal Ballet, performed as part of a Quad billing at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London in 2017. [15]

Two organs

There exists a transcription of the entire piece by French composer/performer Jean Guillou, written for two organs. [16]

Piano solo

There exists an unpublished transcription of the entire piece by the late Israeli pianist/composer/arranger Yahli Wagman, written between 1982-1986, for piano solo.[ citation needed ] Pianist Inon Barnatan transcribed the work himself and recorded it in 2023. [17] There also exists a recording of Rachmaninoff playing through the piano reduction for Eugene Ormandy, during which he sings, whistles and talks about how he thinks the Dances should be performed. Rachmaninoff played the first movement coda differently from the score; these minor changes were reproduced by the pianist Stephen Kovacevich when he performed the work with Martha Argerich at his 75th birthday concert at Wigmore Hall. [18]

Recordings

  1. Eugene Ormandy, conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra
  2. Dimitri Mitropoulos, conducting the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (1942)
  3. Nikolai Golovanov, conducting the USSR State Radio Symphony Orchestra, (1944 – 1st and 3rd mts, 1949 – 2nd mt)
  4. Yevgeny Svetlanov, conducting the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Russian Federation
  5. Kirill Kondrashin, conducting the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra
  6. Kirill Kondrashin, conducting the Concertgebouworkest (Concertgebouw, 1976) [19]
  7. Mariss Jansons, conducting the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
  8. Yuri Temirkanov, conducting the St Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra
  9. André Previn, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra
  10. Vladimir Ashkenazy, conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra
  11. Lorin Maazel, conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker
  12. Sergiu Comissiona, conducting the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra
  13. Eiji Oue, conducting the Minnesota Orchestra
  14. Predrag Gosta, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra
  15. Enrique Bátiz, conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
  16. Robert Spano, conducting the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
  17. Donald Johanos, conducting the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
  18. Eugene Goossens, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra
  19. Sir Simon Rattle, conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker
  20. Martha Argerich & Nelson Goerner, at Edinburgh International Festival 2011 (version for two pianos)
  21. Nina Schumann & Luis Magalhães, TwoPianists Records (Version for two pianos)
  22. Valery Gergiev, conducting the London Symphony Orchestra
  23. Semyon Bychkov, conducting the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne
  24. Valery Polyansky, conducting the State Symphony Capella of Russia
  25. Sir Charles Mackerras, conducting the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra
  26. Erich Leinsdorf, conducting the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra
  27. Leonard Slatkin, conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
  28. Vladimir Ashkenazy & Andre Previn, Decca Records (version for two pianos)
  29. Martha Argerich & Nelson Freire, at Salzburg Festival 2009 (version for two pianos)
  30. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra, 2021
  31. John Eliot Gardiner, conducting the NDR Sinfonieorchester [20]

Notes

  1. ↑ Maes, 272.
  2. 1 2 Norris, New Grove, 2nd ed., 716.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Harrison 2006 , p. 330
  4. ↑ Sullivan, Jack. Copyright 2014 The Carnegie Hall Corporation.
  5. 1 2 Harrison 2006 , p. 331
  6. ↑ Schonberg 1985 , pp. 311–313
  7. ↑ Plaskin, Glenn. Horowitz. William Morrow and Company. NY. 1983. page 223.
  8. ↑ Fokine's letter to Rachmaninoff, dated 23 September 1940.
  9. ↑ Howard, Sharma (July 31, 2014). "Albano Ballet Performing Symphonic Dances One-Night Only". The Hartford Courant. Retrieved 2016-06-06.
  10. ↑ Oestreich, James R. (January 30, 1994). "Is There a Ballet In Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances?". The New York Times. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  11. ↑ MacAulay, Alastair (13 January 2014). "Keeping Their Eyes on the Score". The New York Times.
  12. ↑ Ossola, Cheryl A. (May 9, 2012). "Program Notes - Program 5:The Fifth Season/Symphonic Dances (World Premiere)/Glass Pieces". San Francisco Ballet. Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  13. ↑ Gereben, Janos (March 22, 2012). "S.F. Ballet serves a splendid neoclassical mix". The San Francisco Examiner . Retrieved 2016-12-16.
  14. ↑ "Liam Scarlett — People — Royal Opera House". www.roh.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  15. ↑ "Symphonic Dances — Productions — Royal Opera House". www.roh.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-05-02.
  16. ↑ Guillou, Jean. Guillou Joue Guillou. Universal Music France, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Can a Piano Capture the Grandeur of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Music?". The New York Times. January 31, 2024. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
  18. ↑ "Theartsdesk Q&A: Pianist Stephen Kovacevich | reviews, news & interviews | the Arts Desk".
  19. ↑ "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff – Kirill Kondrashin Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (1994, CD)". Discogs .
  20. ↑ "Rachmaninov: Symphonic dances op.45 (Gardiner, NDR)". YouTube .

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vladimir Ashkenazy</span> Icelandic pianist and conductor from Russia

Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian solo pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. Born in the Soviet Union, he has held Icelandic citizenship since 1972 and has been a resident of Switzerland since 1978. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, he has recorded a large repertoire of classical and romantic works. His recordings have earned him five Grammy awards and Iceland's Order of the Falcon.

<i>Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini</i> Concertante by Sergei Rachmaninoff

The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, is a concertante work written by Sergei Rachmaninoff for piano and orchestra, closely resembling a piano concerto, all in a single movement. Rachmaninoff wrote the work at his summer home, the Villa Senar in Switzerland, according to the score, from 3 July to 18 August 1934. Rachmaninoff himself, a noted performer of his own works, played the piano part at the piece's premiere on 7 November 1934, at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, Maryland, with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kirill Kondrashin</span> Soviet conductor (1914–1981)

Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin was a Soviet and Russian conductor. People's Artist of the USSR (1972).

The Cello Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major, Op. 107, was composed in 1959 by Dmitri Shostakovich. Shostakovich wrote the work for his friend Mstislav Rostropovich, who committed it to memory in four days. He premiered it on October 4, 1959, at the Large Hall of the Leningrad Conservatory with the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yevgeny Mravinsky. The first recording was made in two days following the premiere by Rostropovich and the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Aleksandr Gauk.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rodion Shchedrin</span> Soviet and Russian composer and pianist

Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State Prize (1972), the Lenin Prize (1984), and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1992), and is a former member of the Inter-regional Deputies Group (1989–1991). He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain.

<i>Petrushka</i> (ballet) 1911 ballet by Igor Stravinsky

Petrushka is a ballet by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1911 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine and stage designs and costumes by Alexandre Benois, who assisted Stravinsky with the libretto. The ballet premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet on 13 June 1911 with Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrushka, Tamara Karsavina as the lead ballerina, Alexander Orlov as the Moor, and Enrico Cecchetti the charlatan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)</span> Symphony in four movements composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff

The Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27, is a four-movement composition for orchestra written from October 1906 to April 1907 by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The premiere was performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg on 26 January 1908, with the composer conducting. Its duration is approximately 60 minutes when performed uncut; cut performances can be as short as 35 minutes. The score is dedicated to Sergei Taneyev, a Russian composer, teacher, theorist, author, and pupil of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The piece remains one of the composer's most popular and best known compositions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 1 (Rachmaninoff)</span> 1895 symphony by Sergei Rachmaninoff

The Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13, is a four-movement composition for orchestra written from January to October 1895 by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. He composed it at his Ivanovka estate near Tambov, Russia. Despite its poor initial reception, the symphony is now seen as a dynamic representation of the Russian symphonic tradition, with British composer Robert Simpson calling it "a powerful work in its own right, stemming from Borodin and Tchaikovsky, but convinced, individual, finely constructed, and achieving a genuinely tragic and heroic expression that stands far above the pathos of his later music."

<i>Scheherazade</i> (Rimsky-Korsakov) Symphonic poem by Rimsky-Korsakov

Scheherazade, also commonly Sheherazade, Op. 35, is a symphonic suite composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888 and based on One Thousand and One Nights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Concerto No. 4 (Rachmaninoff)</span> Composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40, is a major work by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, completed in 1926. The work exists in three versions. Following its unsuccessful premiere, the composer made cuts and other amendments before publishing it in 1928. With continued lack of success, he withdrew the work, eventually revising and republishing it in 1941. The original manuscript version was released in 2000 by the Rachmaninoff Estate to be published and recorded. The work is dedicated to Nikolai Medtner, who in turn dedicated his Second Piano Concerto to Rachmaninoff the following year.

Sergei Rachmaninoff composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in F♯ minor, Op. 1, in 1891, at age 17-18. He dedicated the work to Alexander Siloti. He revised the work thoroughly in 1917.

Árpád Joó was a Hungarian American conductor and concert pianist.

The Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44, is a three-movement composition for orchestra written from 1935 to 1936 by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The Third Symphony is considered a transitional work in Rachmaninoff's output. In melodic outline and rhythm it is his most expressively Russian symphony, particularly in the dance rhythms of the finale. What was groundbreaking in this symphony was its greater economy of utterance compared to its two predecessors. This sparer style, first apparent in the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, enhances the emotional power of the work.

The Concert Fantasia in G, Op. 56, for piano and orchestra, was written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between June and October 1884. It was premiered in Moscow on 6 March [O.S. 22 February] 1885, with Sergei Taneyev as soloist and Max Erdmannsdörfer conducting. The Concert Fantasia received many performances in the first 20 years of its existence. It then disappeared from the repertoire and lay virtually unperformed for many years, but underwent a revival in the latter part of the 20th century.

Gavin Sutherland is a conductor, composer/arranger, pianist and musicologist. He is currently Principal Guest Conductor for English National Ballet.

<i>Burleske</i>

The Burleske in D minor is a composition for piano and orchestra written by Richard Strauss in 1885–86, when he was 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yuja Wang</span> Chinese pianist (born 1987)

Yuja Wang is a Chinese pianist. Born in Beijing, she began learning piano there at age six, and went on to study at the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.

Behzod Abduraimov is an Uzbek pianist. A former student of Van Cliburn International Piano Competition gold medalist Stanislav Ioudenitch at Park University's International Center for Music (ICM), he was described by The Independent as "the most perfectly accomplished pianist of his generation". Abduraimov won the London International Piano Competition in 2009 at the age of 18, which launched his career. He continues to perform internationally in solo recitals, chamber music performances, and as soloist with leading orchestras such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mariinsky Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra under such conductors as Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Manfred Honeck, Vasily Petrenko, James Gaffigan, Jakub Hrůša, Thomas Dausgaard and Vladimir Jurowski.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavel Kogan (conductor)</span> Russian violinist and conductor (born 1952)

Pavel Leonidovich Kogan is a Russian violinist and conductor who led the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra from 1989 until 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniil Trifonov</span> Russian pianist and composer (born 1991)

Daniil Olegovich Trifonov is a Russian pianist and composer. Described by The Globe and Mail as "arguably today's leading classical virtuoso" and by The Times as "without question the most astounding pianist of our age", Trifonov's honors include a Grammy Award win in 2018 and the Gramophone Classical Music Awards' Artist of the Year Award in 2016. The New York Times has noted that "few artists have burst onto the classical music scene in recent years with the incandescence" of Trifonov. He has performed as soloist with such orchestras as the Philadelphia Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Houston Symphony and the Munich Philharmonic, and has given solo recitals in such venues as Royal Festival Hall, Carnegie Hall, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Berliner Philharmonie, Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Concertgebouw, and the Seoul Arts Center.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.