Rachmaninoff:

1. Rachmaninoff: Lamb of the Romantic Era By: Hannah Minkus

2. Life Details of life are jumbled and conflicting Born in Russia, 1873 Wrote over 145 works Obtained American citizenship Died in U.S. in 1909 Composition not appreciated until after his death Photo (1892) courtesy of Wikipedia

3. Came from a family of musicians Even though his father followed tradition by joining the Russian Army

4. Sergei’s father VasilyArkadyevich drank and gambled with his cohorts • Somehow managed to marry a woman of a wealthy background, LyubofPetrovnaButakova. • They made their home at Oneg, received by dowry.

5. Stories vary about how he began playing piano: 1st lessons given as punishment? A hired piano teacher at age four?

6. Family life begins to change 1882 Vasily loses control of finances Family moves to small apartment in St. Petersburg, Russia Sergei moves in with aunt , attends Conservatory on scholarship 1883 Sergei’s sister Sofia dies Vasily leaves St. Petersburg and the family

7. Sergei falls behind His home life begins to affect him-he becomes lazy in his schoolwork and music studies.

8. He goes to Moscow Conservatory and is “whipped into shape” by Nikolai Zyereff Photo courtesy of http://english.ruvr.ru/2006/12/07/115140.html

9. Early Musical Influences Grandmother brought him to church Elder sister Yelena a talented singer Grandmother buys Novgorod estate- Sergei enjoys rivers and landscape 19th century gypsy music Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky Photos courtesy of russianorthodox-stl.org and flamecnoaustralia.org

10. Second and Third concertos are most famous among many symphonies, operas, choral pieces, etc. Photo Courtesy of uh.edu

11. 1909- Joins New York Philharmonic as solo pianist Shortly after composes Edgar Allen Poe poem into “The Bells” Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

12. 1915- Russian War Inspires “All Night Vigil” or, “Vespres” Destroys Sergei’s estate Causes him to emigrate to the U.S.

13. Highly regarded icon Pianist philanthropist • Highly regarded • Performed Beethoven and Tchaikovsy • Free concerts • Donations to Allies to fight Nazi regime • Helped friends in financial trouble

14. Conclusion Rachmaninoff overcame Soviet censorship which he earned by signing a letter which condemned the Soviet Regime, becoming “possibly the greatest pianist of the 20thcentury.” Source: Internet Move Database

15. Composition history: Piano Concerto No. 1

16. Written at age 17 • Not a very popular piece • May reflect his laziness at the time • 30 minutes long • Comprised of flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, • trumpets, trombones, horns, timpanis, strings, and piano

17. Style: Influenced by his Russian heritage, Romantic era music, personal nature (rebelliousness and drama of a 17 year old mind?)

18. Failure of the piece Part of a dark time in Rachmaninoff’s life He seeks help from a hyponotist Pulls out of depression and writes more successful Second and Third Concertos Photo courtesy of 123rf.com

19. Revised in 1917 Rachmaninoff: “It is really good now… it plays itself so much more easily.”  Has since been performed many times- first LA Philharmonic performance in 1960 CD covers courtesy of amazon.com

20. You Tube video of Rachmaninoff performing the First Concerto View here (1st part): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhVVQ7_MyJA AND Here (2nd part): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFSfv8MUgIg&feature=related

21. Bibliography Harrison, Max. Rachmaninoff, Life, Works, Recordings. London: Continuum International Publishing Group, 2006. Howard, Orrin. LA Phil. n.d. June 2011 <http://www.laphil.com/philpedia/piece-detail.cfm?id=484>. Lucid Cafe: Library. 1 January 2011. June 2011 <http://www.lucidcafe.com/library/96apr/rachmaninoff.html>. Internet Movie Database. n.d. June 2011 <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006245/bio>. Wikipedia. n.d. June 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff>. Photos which are not referenced are clip art.

22. Listening Guide 0:00 Movement begins with strong brass fanfare 0:17 Piano enters with full and quick descension 0:28 Brass re-enters, and piano continues very deliberately 0:37Brass abruptly ends to give way to piano solo 0:45Piano slows tempo until a stop at… 0:48Strings enter with horns, the tempo stays slow with a lilting melody, very romantic 1:17Piano enters again and plays melody with subtle arpeggios

23. 1:50 Piano picks up tempo again and begins to very slowly crescendo • 2:11Reaches small climax, then slow to moderate tempo begins again with arpeggios continuing • 2:36Strings die down, piano continues in soft tone, very mild timbre • 2:56Strings enter again with melody and a swaying rhythm • 3:32Climax begins on piano with ascending notes, in a crescendo • 3:36 Orchestra enters again and leads up to climax • 4:03A dramatic pause

24. 4:09 Slow tempo with lilting feeling returns (trills can be heard) • 4:39Return to climax with allegro tempo • 4:49Brass/woodwinds and strings (with abrupt tone) echo dramatically • 5:02Piano enters again in higher pitch with repeating arpeggios • 5:39Oboe (?) plays, and strings and rest of orchestra gradually enter with melody again • 5:59Piano enters with strong tone giving way to moderato, then pianissimo • 6:18Piano begins ascension again with soft texture

25. 6:30 Orchestra enters again, rhythm is more staccato • 6:55Slow melody/soft texture begins again, piano playing portion of melody • 7:36Rest, then fast tempo beings again with high pitch arpeggios from piano in a gradual crescendo • 7:53Orchestra emphasis, and then piano beings to slow and descend again • 8:40Orchestra begins with melody and piano continues arpeggios • 9:14Orchestra climbs to climax with brass and woodwinds playing forte • 9:21Rhythm changes

26. 9:28 Cadenza begins… • 10:29Very soft, dramatic tone from piano • 10:47Piano begins to play melody beneath arpeggios • 11:11Piano picks up tempo, lower tones, minor key is strongly evident in lower notes • 11:47Strings enter abruptly, then join the brass/woodwinds echoing softly • 13:03Orchestra (strings especially) accent the descension • 13:09End of movement

27. THE END