Monday November 30, 2009

Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Jeffrey Kahane, conductor; Olga Kern, piano
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.2 in C minor, Opus 18 (10/24/09)
Also, Frédéric Chopin: Fantaisie-Impromptu, Op.66 & Fantasie in F minor, Op.49
Olga Kern, piano
Harmonia Mundi 907402 6,4 5:21 + 14:03


Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943): Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18
I. Moderato
II. Adagio sostenuto (Andante)
III. Allegro scherzando

After the disastrous failure of his First Symphony in 1895, Rachmaninoff fell into a deep depression. ``Something within me snapped,'' he said. ``All my self-confidence broke down....When the indescribable torture of (the première had ended), I was a different man. During the evening I...hid myself, sitting on an iron fire-escape staircase....Sometimes I stuck my fingers in my ears to prevent myself from hearing my own music....No sooner had the last chords died away than I fled, horrified, into the street....All my hopes, all belief in myself, had been destroyed.''
Among the effects of this despondency was a massive creative block: the composer found it impossible to compose. A friend suggested that Rachmaninoff consult Dr. Nikolai Dahl, an early hypnotist and amateur cellist. Every day, from January to April of 1900, he visited the doctor, who repeated over and over to his entranced patient: ``You will begin to write your concerto. You will work with great ease. The concerto will be of excellent quality.''
As Rachmaninoff recalled later, ``although it may sound incredible, this cure really helped me. Already at the beginning of the summer I began to compose. The material grew in bulk and new ideas began to stir within me--far more than I needed for my concerto. Out of gratitude I dedicated the Piano Concerto No. 2 to Dr. Dahl.''
The last two movements were introduced on December 15, 1900. Their success emboldened Rachmaninoff to finish the first movement and on November 9, 1901, the entire Concerto was given its first performance in Moscow. Rachmaninoff was the soloist; his cousin, Alexander Siloti, conducted the Moscow Philharmonic.
Biographer Geoffrey Norris says the work's ``almost unbroken lyricism has undoubtedly led not only to its phenomenal popularity but also to its being plagiarized by song-writers the world over.'' Among the tunes purloined from the Concerto are Full Moon and Empty arms, Ever and Forever, If This Is Goodbye and This Is My Kind of Love. Norris continues: ``The Second Concerto is notable for its conciseness and for its lyrical themes, which are just sufficiently contrasted to ensure that they are not spoilt either by over-abundance or over-exposure.''
The Concerto is scored for solo piano, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals and strings.