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Sergei Rachmaninov Piano Concerto Op. 40 No.4 in G minor

zygis — Sun, 10 May 2009 09:36:56 +0000

Sergei Rachmaninoff completed his Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 in 1926 and the work currently exists in three versions. Following its unsuccessful premiere he 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.

Compared to its predecessors, the Fourth contains sharper thematic profiles along with a refinement of textures in keyboard and orchestra. These qualities do not lead to greater simplicity but to a different sort of complexity. It was also a continuation of Rachmaninoff’s long-range creative growth. The Third and the recomposed First Concertos were less heavily orchestrated than the Second. In keeping with its general character, the Fourth is lighter still yet more oblique.

The concerto is written in three movements:

Allegro vivace (G minor)
Largo (C major)
Allegro vivace (G major)

Rachmaninoff had already been making a more extensive use of short thematic motifs and strong rhythmic patterns in his Op. 32 Preludes in place of what was called the “unmentionable restlessness” that made his work, especially the concertos, a distressing experience for some musicians. This refinement of musical language, especially in orchestration, went back at least to The Bells and a more astringent tone was already noticeable in songs like “The Raising of Lazarus”, Op. 34 No. 6.

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Vladmir Ashkenazy: piano

Andre Previn: conductor

London Symphony Orchestra

part 1/3 (I)

part 2/3 (II)

part 3/3 (III)

Nikolai Lugansky: piano

Ivan Shpiller: conductor

State Academy Symphony Orchestra of Russia

part 1/3 (I)

part 2/3 (II)

part 3/3 (III)

Piano Concerto Op. 40 No.4 in G minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 32 No. 12 in G sharp minor

zygis — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 11:27:25 +0000

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Valentina Lisitsa

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

Prelude Op. 32 No. 12 in G sharp minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 23 No. 7 in C minor

zygis — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:13:54 +0000

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 7 in C minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 23 No. 6 in E flat major

zygis — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:04:08 +0000

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Van Cliburn

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Grigory Sokolov

Prelude Op. 23 No. 6 in E flat major sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 23 No. 4 in D major

zygis — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:26:02 +0000

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Grigory Sokolov

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 4 in D major sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 23 No. 3 in D minor

zygis — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:14:50 +0000

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 3 in D minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Prelude Op. 23 No. 1 in F sharp minor

zygis — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 14:36:04 +0000

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 1 in F sharp minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 6 in C major

zygis — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 01:09:34 +0000

The last piece in the set, number six, is a quintessential nineteenth-century work, and has been described as an “apotheosis or completion of struggle.” The piece was once summarized as:

The final piece or movement of a cycle that is virtuosic and brilliant, employing the entire range of dynamics and sonorities available to the piano, bringing a set of pieces to a glorious conclusion.
-Robin Hancock, Boston University, 1992

This “stormy, agitated” work contains a “vehemently triple-dotted main theme and only some brief mid-section hazy sunshine [that lightens] the storm before fortississimo thunders return and finally dominate.” Despite the dark imagery presented to describe the piece, the work is in C major, and the end result is more light-hearted than dark, but not as triumphal as the Maestoso would make it sound.

Like the second and fourth pieces, number six is written in the form of an étude, with a repetitive but technically challenging chordal melody that is doubled in both hands. In all, the work has three distinct elements played simultaneously: the main melody, the continuous thirty-second note broken chord figures, and a descending eighth note motif. Dynamics play a large part in this piece: the fortissimo marked at the beginning is maintained all throughout the first section, with only brief respites to mezzo forte. The middle section is wholly softer, and contains two areas with significant mounting tension, creating the aforementioned “apotheosis effect” with dramatic “false starts.”[8] Here, Rachmaninoff manipulates the theme contrapuntally to develop a canonic effect. This “triple counterpoint. . . is titanic both in size and impact, and in potential for disaster,” referring to the tension, waiting for the final climax, in this “continuing explosion.” Immediately before the coda, the thick texture and canon suddenly disappear and the piece becomes piano. Upon entering the coda, the work resumes the forte theme and amalgamates to a majestic ending played fortississimo.

Maestoso is one of the most difficult pieces in the set. Stamina and strength are required to sustain a full resonant sound, while the continuous thirty-second figure can be tiring for the pianist. Consistent tempo is a problem for this piece, due to the melody being interspersed with two other elements. Additionally, the dynamics, mostly “loud” and “very loud,” indicate that an accurate vision of relative volume is necessary. Maintaining this accuracy while managing every other element of the piece and successfully presenting a musically solid performance continues to be the ultimate challenge of all.

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By Vadim Chaimovich

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Ivo Pogorelić

Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 6 in C major sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 5 D flat major

zygis — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:42:45 +0000

Following the torrential gauntlets of number four is the fifth piece, likened in a Ph.D thesis to a passage in the Bible (1 Kings 19:12, read text), which says, “And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” This is in direct reference to the position of the work between two pieces with “incredible pyrotechnics,” as the figurative calm before and after the storm. The piece is similar to the form of a barcarolle, a folk song with a rhythmic tuplet accompaniment. Playing it takes approximately five minutes, and it is 53 measures long, the shortest in terms of measures. It is an adagio sostenuto (sustained at ease) at 54 quarter notes per minute, with a simple melody presented in ternary form.

Lacking any prodigious figures or difficult runs, the piece displays Rachmaninoff’s capability for musical lyricism. Although the piece seems simple, the mood must be sustained by playing simultaneously restrained but dynamic triplet figures in the left hand. The melody, a chordal texture with frequent suspended tones, creates a difficult task in voicing, and placing the correct emphasis on the correct notes. Its relatively short melody lines are a direct contrast to Rachmaninoff’s characteristically long lines, giving a shorter time to bring out the phrases.

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By Vadim Chaimovich

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Horowitz

Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 5 D flat major sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 4 E minor

zygis — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 09:31:41 +0000

The fourth piece is similar to the second in the quality of its performance. The fourth piece reveals resemblance to Chopin’s Revolutionary étude in the taxing left hand figure place throughout. Further it looks, sounds, and feels as if it were an improvisation on Chopin’s Prelude in G major (Op. 28, No. 3). The piece is 67 measures long, with a duration of about three minutes, and has the fastest tempo of the set, Presto (quick) at 104 quarter notes per minute, and is the shortest work in terms of playing time.

Presto is in ternary form with a coda. The piece begins with a fortissimo introduction with a thick texture in the left hand consisting of chromatic sextuplets. The melody is a “rising quasi-military” idea, interspersed between replications of the left hand figure, the mostly two-note melody being a strong unifying element. The middle section is a brief period of pianississimo falling figures in the right hand and rising scales in the left. The third section is marked Più vivo (more life) and is played even faster than the intro, 112 quarter notes per minute. At this point the piece develops a very thick texture, with the original left hand figure played in both hands in varying registers. The technique of rapidly change the octave in which a melody is played, sometimes called “registral displacement”, is used to present the figure in a more dramatic form that increases the intensity of the ending. The ending, a coda in Prestissimo (very quick), 116 quarter notes per minute, is a final, sweeping reiteration of the theme that closes in a heavy E minor chord, which revisits Rachmaninoff’s preoccupation with bell sounds, prominent in his Piano Concerto No. 2 and Prelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3, No. 2).

The piece is a major exercise in endurance and accuracy: the introduction opens in a left hand figure requiring span of a tenth interval. Additionally, octave intervals invariably appear before fast sextuplet runs, making quick wrists and arm action necessary. The double melodies Rachmaninoff uses in this work exists purposely to “keep both hands occupied,” obscuring the melody and making it difficult for the right hand to project. This is the only piece in the set with indicated pedal markings.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Lazar Berman

By Vadim Chaimovich

Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 4 E minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 3 in B minor

zygis — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:45:12 +0000

Again, the next piece drastically differs from the previous: the continual gauntlets of number two is relieved by the third piece in the set, an “introspective rêverie [daydream].” Drawing on the previous illustration of a “generic hybrid,” this piece is described as a mixture between the song without words and funeral march genres, to create what is called the “most Russian” piece of the set, containing both sonorous bass and a solid melody, characteristics of Russian music.

Comprising only 55 measures, this piece is one of the shortest but has one of the longer playing times of about seven minutes. The piece is structured as a three-part form. The theme of the first section is played entirely in minor thirds, accompanied by a left hand figure of open fifths and octaves. The middle section has the melody in minor sixths, alongside a staccato octave bass. The lament of the opening theme transforms into an explicit funeral march as the left-hand octaves become regular.

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By Andrei Gavrilov

By Anna Shelest

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Lazar Berman

Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 3 in B minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 2 E flat minor

zygis — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 13:10:28 +0000

The second piece, referred to as a “glittering showpiece”, is positioned in contrast to the lyrical and “atmospheric” melody of the first piece. The piece is in the quick tempo allegretto (quickly), at 92 quarter notes per minute. It is 131 measures long, the most of all six pieces, but the second shortest in terms of playing time, usually no longer than three and a half minutes (the shortest is number four). This piece represents a typical nineteenth-century étude, similar in style to Frédéric Chopin’s Études (Opp. 10, 12), with a melody interspersed between rapid sextuplet figures. It is in strict ternary form with a coda: identical beginning and ending sections beginning on measures 1 and 85, and a contrasting middle section starting on measure 45. The second section radically changes dynamics, constantly changing from piano to fortissimo and even sforzando. It is, throughout, a relentless torrent of descending half steps and a cascading left hand figure reminiscent of Chopin’s Revolutionary Étude (Op. 10, No. 12, 1831). Ending the piece is a slow coda in Adagio (at ease) which closes with a perfect authentic cadence in E-flat major.

Rachmaninoff revised this piece in March 1940, changing the melody but leaving the constant sextuplets, proving that the rushing figures are not simple bravura or flair.

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By Eduard Lenner

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Ivo Pogorelić

Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 2 E flat minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 1 in B flat minor

zygis — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 12:32:28 +0000

The first piece has an andantino (moderate) tempo, is 113 measures long, and is marked at 72 quarter notes per minute. It is divided into three distinct sections. The first presents a theme in common time (4/4) with a typical nocturne figure for the left hand. A mid-piece pause at roughly the same area in Schubert’s first Moments Musicaux further emphasizes the influence of Schubert. The second part is marked con moto (with motion), at 76 quarter notes per minute, and is a variation of the first theme in the unusual configuration of seven quarter notes per measure (7/4). This part ends in a cadenza. The third section presents the last variation of the theme, again in common time, but in the fastest tempo yet, Andantino con moto, at 84 quarter notes per minute. The piece ends in a coda that returns to the first tempo, and repeats portions of the previous three parts. It ends with a perfect authentic cadence into B-flat minor.

Andantino is the longest in the set by playing time (about 8:30). It is described as a “generic-hybrid,” combining elements of the nocturne and theme and variation genres. The melody is chromatic, syncopated, and long, all idiosyncratic elements Rachmaninoff often includes in his works. Because of this, the Andantino is sometimes called an extension of his Nocturne in A minor of the Morceaux de Salon set (Op. 10, No. 1, 1894). However, Andantino stands on its own with difficulties, such as the sections with multiple phrases in a single hand.

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By Vyacheslav Gryaznov

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Lazar Berman

By Ivo Pogorelić

Part 2/1

By Ivo Pogorelić

Part 2/2

Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 1 in B flat minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 9 in D major

zygis — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:28:53 +0000

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Pavel Raikerus

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 9 in D major sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 8 in D minor

zygis — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:03:05 +0000

This piece is a lyrical and musical study of double notes. It requires precise pedaling, flexible and independent figures, and agility. The piece has very long, defined legato melodic lines that are contrasted by a staccato middle section.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 8 in D minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 7 in C minor

zygis — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:49:47 +0000

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Vladimir Kuznetsov Venue

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 7 in C minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 6 in A minor

zygis — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:37:14 +0000

This aggressive and daunting piece opens with threatening chromatic octave runs low on the keyboard, answered by quick, chattering treble figures that eventually transform themselves into a march. The music grows hectic and, having reached presto, sounds nearly out of control. The effect of the piece is seemingly mysterious yet fully unified. Referred to as “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf”, the piece ends with the chromatic runs sounding as though the wolf swallowed Red Riding Hood whole.
This piece was originally the fourth etude of the Op. 33 set. Since it exhibits all the pianistic, rhythmic and harmonic features that characterize the Op, 39 set, we can assume Rachmaninoff revised this piece extensively before including it here.

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By Valentina Lisitsa

By Murray Perahia

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Sergei Rachmaninov

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 6 in A minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 5 in E-flat minor

zygis — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:28:36 +0000

By Evgeny Kissin

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Alexei Sultanov

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 5 in E-flat minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 4 in B minor

zygis — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:01:36 +0000

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 4 in B minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 3 in F sharp minor

zygis — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:25:13 +0000

By Andrei Gavrilov

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 3 in F sharp minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 2 in A minor

zygis — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:09:07 +0000

Also known as “The Sea and the Seagulls”. Though technically simple, the work contains many musical textures that make it a difficult study in touch. This melancholy piece requires much restraint from the performer to project the sedate mood of this etude. A sensitive performance is required to keep the performance from being monotonous. The technical workings of the etude is the 2 over 3 timing, the crossing hands, and large span of the arpeggiated figures for the left hand. The ending is tragic and poetic.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Alexei Nasedkin

By Eduardo Fernandez

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 2 in A minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 8 in C sharp minor

zygis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:46:00 +0000

A big, loud piece with prevalent patterns of leaps in the left hand, creating a huge roar. The piece has grand dissonances but also contains a gorgeous romantic interlude. There are two references to the Prélude in C-sharp minor; could this piece be a venting of his anger and frustration at the public’s fascination with and demand for him to play that early prélude?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Arcadi Volodos

By Hélène Grimaud

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 8 in C sharp minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 7 in G minor

zygis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:30:55 +0000

A melancholy piece whose sixteenth note accompaniment interweaves between hands. The main difficulty of the piece is facilitating smooth alterations with the hands without affecting the fluency of the melody.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 7 G minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 6 in E flat major

zygis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 14:23:18 +0000

Nicknamed “Scene at the Fair” as confessed by Rachmaninoff himself to Respighi, the piece conjures a playful and vibrant atmosphere, with its blaring fanfare opening thirds and wild alternating chords. The middle section poses a great pianistic problem with huge leaps of the hand that lead to chordal actions, which at points are 10th chords, rendering playing the figures at the correct tempo much more difficult. The piece requires strength, precision,endurance, rhythmic control, and dynamic and tonal balance.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 6 E flat major sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 5 in E flat minor

zygis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:47:05 +0000

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 5 E flat minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 4 in D minor

zygis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:30:20 +0000

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 4 D minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 3 in C minor

zygis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 13:05:49 +0000

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 3 in C minor sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 2 in C major

zygis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:54:28 +0000

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Hélène Grimaud

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 2 C major sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninov Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 1 in F minor

zygis — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 12:27:56 +0000

This piece is a study on alternating hands and syncopations. The piece shifts unsteadily throughout in time signature from 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 3/2. Some find parallels between this piece and Chopin’s Etude Op. 25 No. 4, jestingly saying that Rachmaninoff played it while writing this etude.