Rachmaninov the Pianist Rachmaninov Plays Rachmaninov: A Window In Time The Ampico piano rolls 1919-1929. by Soo Kian Hing Jump to CD reviews

Rachmaninov has been claimed by many as one of the greatest pianists of his period (among contemporaries like Horowitz and Rubinstein); he was also revered by several others as the possibly the greatest. As with many composer-pianists of the past, he possessed formidable technique and control, as well as sharp insight and focus into the pieces that he played. Playing mostly his own compositions, he started to learn those of other composers only after being forced by circumstance to play for his living. However, his personalised interpretation of others' works drew contention from purists as being extremely idiosyncratic. Nevertheless, it may have been this creative streak and artistic liberty that led him to transcribe popular pieces for solo piano, all of which take on new light and character in his hands.

Five Morceaux de fantaisie, Op.3: no.1 Elegie no.2 Prelude in C Sharp Minor no.3 Melodie no.4 Polichinelle no.5 Serenade Seven Morceaux de salon, Op.10: no.3 Bacarolle no.5 Humoresque Prelude in G minor Op.23 no.5 Etude-tableau in B minor Op.39 no.4 Etude-tableau in A minor Op.39 no.6 Polka de V.R. Transcriptions: The Flight of the Bumblebee (Rimsky-Korsakov, arr.Rachmaninov) · Lilacs (Rachmaninov, Op.21 no.5) · Liebesfreud (Rachmaninov, arr.Kreisler) · Liebesleid (Rachmaninov, arr.Kreisler) · Wohin (Schubert-Rachmaninov) · Minuet from L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Bizet, arr.Rachmaninov) · Hopak from Sorochintsy Fair (Mussorgsky, arr.Rachmaninov) · The Star-Spangled Banner (arr.Rachmaninov)

Rachmaninov's philosophy was that every piece has one culminating point towards which the rest of the piece prepares for, and the pianist should strive for that "point". Anecdotes have it that no matter how well-played a piece in concert, if Rachmaninov missed its "point", he would dismiss his performance as utterly regrettable.

With impossibly wide hands that easily encompassed one-and-a-half octaves, Rachmaninov had immense control that effortlessly commanded a remarkable range of colours, from feather-light touch to dramatic brassy fanfare. His clean pedalling and fingerwork lend well to a sparkling spontaneity that does not preclude subtler intimacy. Never letting keyboard-splitting pyrotechnics or overdone rubatos take over his playing, Rachmaninov excelled in letting the melodic focus be heard clearly, no matter how cluttered or complex a passage may be.

During the period 1919 to 1929, Rachmaninov made some recordings with Ampico on piano rolls, outside his commitments to record for RCA Victor. Unlike the gramophone recordings, the sound quality of which were sometimes insufficient to do justice to the performer, piano rolls captured the performance exactly as it was played. A good reproducing piano would then able to reproduce the performance complete with exact dynamics, pedalling and strength of touch. Hence, with the Ampico piano rolls and a modern reproducing piano, we are actually able to hear Rachmaninov play 'live', without the noise and flattened sound of historic recordings.

Rachmaninov's Prelude in C-sharp minor was so often requested as an encore at his recitals that he came to call it, out of weariness, simply as "It". Written as the second of the five-piece set Morceaux de fantaisie Op.3, it has bell-like tolls as its main thematic idea; in it can be heard the young formative strides of Rachmaninov's distinctively nostalgic style. Although the four other pieces (included in these recordings) are less well-known and musically less distinguished, the Elegie Op.3 no.1 has references to Chopinesque romance, and Polichinelle Op.3 no.4 depicts the comic capers of a Punch-and-Judy clown puppet across the stage.

Morceaux de salon Op.10 was another set of short character-pieces; only, of course, now Rachmaninov's style is heard more distinctively. The Barcarolle Op.10 no.3 is derived from the songs of the Venetian gondoliers (the barcaruoli): a characteristically melancholic melody languishes among gently lapping waves, building up to a flourish of sea-spray as the tension climaxes. Humoresque Op.10 no.5 echoes the earlier Polinchelle but is rhythmically even more taut and idiosyncratic. The Polka de V.R. was written in remembrance of the sketches that Rachmaninov's father would play to entertain his family back home in Russia, "V.R." being the initials of his father's name.

Rachmaninov, like Chopin before him, wrote 24 Preludes in each major and minor key (separately as Op.3 no.2; Ten Preludes Op.23; and Thirteen Preludes Op.32). The Prelude in G minor Op.23 no.5 is the melodically more approachable of the set, in the style of a march with a romantic middle section. After the preludes, the composer went on to write more difficult pieces (both technically and musically), the Etude-tableaux Op.33 and Op.39. Though their title 'Etude' qualifies for the virtuosity required to play them, the 'tableaux' are individual pictures each depicting a different scene or mood.

Rachmaninov's transcriptions reveal the intellectual side of his style: no grand passions or epic tragedies as in his piano concertos, but on a rather smaller scale with wry humour and fleeting personal nuances that speak more volumes than the greatest of bombastic fireworks. Just compare his version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of The Bumblebee with Cziffra's (that Arcadi Volodos played): while the latter version requires the pianist to leap up and down the keyboard and perform all sorts of tricks, Rachmaninov simply adds a few strategically-placed chords to a one-line melody, and it works just fine.

In fact, this is the version most pianists play, including David Helfgott as portrayed in the movie SHINE. His transcription of his own song, Lilacs Op.21 no.5, is poetically tranquil, yet is simple and refreshing, just like lilacs in a sun-drenched meadow. The Star-Spangled Banner is an unembellished statement of the American anthem, used by Rachmaninov to open his first American tour in 1918.

The two pieces by Kreisler, Liebesfreud and Liebesleid, are, in my opinion, exemplary of Rachmaninov's skill at transcription. Taken in an improvisatory manner with liberal cadenzas and variation-like embellishments, Rachmaninov runs the gamut from grand opening to tender musing to playful mischief. It was as if the composer was at a salon piano, tossing off some entertainment to humour his friends. Yet, the subtle harmonies in the writing are able to evoke the joys and sorrow of life.

Reputed to have kept a straight poker face while playing, Rachmaninov nevertheless has the eloquence of a master storyteller. Sometimes boldly illuminating a point, at other times whispering or chattering animately; but always keeping his audience riveted with his own way of telling the stories.

Rachmaninov: The Ampico piano rolls 1919-1929 - Recordings Reviews

Soo Kian Hing will be getting his own reproducing Bösendorfer soon. Just give him another 100 years...

Click to Return to the Classical Index!... or Visit the Inkvault archives!

335: 7.11.98

Explore the Flying Inkpot

The Second Piano Concerto An Inktroduction