Post by erik on Sept 4, 2021 15:33:15 GMT -5
Not everything in Sergei Rachmaninoff's oeuvre is 20th century Tchaikovsky. One case in point is the work in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.
Rachamaninoff: VOCALISE, OP. 34/NO. 14
While largely thought of as a master of post-Tchaikovsky “high-calorie Romanticism” by many detractors, especially given the modernism of fellow Russian composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, and Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff nevertheless had a great deal of followers in the conducting world during the first half of the 20th century, particularly in his adapted home country of America. His works for piano became standard repertoire for pianists all around; and his piano concertos and the famous Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini were among the most popular of their kind well past his passing in 1943. But he also found the time to contribute to the art of song; and his most popular contribution was a work for wordless soprano entitled “Vocalise”, the fourteenth and final one in his Opus 34 set, composed in 1915. Dedicated to, and first performed by, the Russian soprano Antonina Nzhdanova, “Vocalise” has arguably been one of the most transcribed works by others of Rachmaninoff’s. Over time, it has often been transcribed for one or two pianos, and for various chamber ensembles as well. Rachmaninoff himself made what is arguably the best transcription of this popular work, scored for a relatively modest orchestra, consisting of strings, horns, and woodwind instruments, resulting in a short but sweet and moody version of “Vocalise” poised somewhere between his own Russian romanticism, the beauty of Franz Schubert, and the idyllic impressionism of Debussy and Ravel. Even in the 21st century, it has tended to be among the most popular of any of his works.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/NEEME JARVI (Chandos)
Included:
CONCERTO ELEGIAQUE, OP. 9-B (Orchestrated by ALAN KOGOSOWSKI) (Piano: ALAN KOGOSOWSKI)
VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF CORELLI, OP. 43 (Orchestrated by CORNELIA DUMBRAVEANU)
Rachamaninoff: VOCALISE, OP. 34/NO. 14
While largely thought of as a master of post-Tchaikovsky “high-calorie Romanticism” by many detractors, especially given the modernism of fellow Russian composers Dmitri Shostakovich, Sergei Prokofiev, and Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff nevertheless had a great deal of followers in the conducting world during the first half of the 20th century, particularly in his adapted home country of America. His works for piano became standard repertoire for pianists all around; and his piano concertos and the famous Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini were among the most popular of their kind well past his passing in 1943. But he also found the time to contribute to the art of song; and his most popular contribution was a work for wordless soprano entitled “Vocalise”, the fourteenth and final one in his Opus 34 set, composed in 1915. Dedicated to, and first performed by, the Russian soprano Antonina Nzhdanova, “Vocalise” has arguably been one of the most transcribed works by others of Rachmaninoff’s. Over time, it has often been transcribed for one or two pianos, and for various chamber ensembles as well. Rachmaninoff himself made what is arguably the best transcription of this popular work, scored for a relatively modest orchestra, consisting of strings, horns, and woodwind instruments, resulting in a short but sweet and moody version of “Vocalise” poised somewhere between his own Russian romanticism, the beauty of Franz Schubert, and the idyllic impressionism of Debussy and Ravel. Even in the 21st century, it has tended to be among the most popular of any of his works.
Detroit Symphony Orchestra/NEEME JARVI (Chandos)
Included:
CONCERTO ELEGIAQUE, OP. 9-B (Orchestrated by ALAN KOGOSOWSKI) (Piano: ALAN KOGOSOWSKI)
VARIATIONS ON A THEME OF CORELLI, OP. 43 (Orchestrated by CORNELIA DUMBRAVEANU)