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Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor
This study is the first to consider all three of Rachmaninoff's careers in detail. After surveying his place in Russian musical history and his creative activity, the author examines, with musical examples, each working chronological order against the background of the composer's life. Among the the many subjects upon which new light is shed are the operas, the songs, and the religious music. Rachmaninoff's remarkable career as a pianist, his style of playing and repertoire are analysed along with his historically important contribution to the gramophone and his work for the reproducing piano. The book includes a survey of his activity as a conductor. There are extensive references to Russian sources and the first appearance of a complete Rachmaninoff disconography is included. This book is the only comprehensive study in any language of the three aspects of Rachmaninoff's musical career and is a stimulating read for music lovers everywhere.
- GenresMusic
632 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 1990
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 12, 2012
Ok, I admit I did not read a 700 page monograph about Rachmaninoff. I skimmed it to learn about a few of my favorite pieces. The Isle of the Dead, a symphonic poem based on my favorite painting, turns out to have been based initially on a cheap black & white reproduction of it, which inspired the composer with its contrast. The Prelude in C Sharp Minor turns out to have been written while Rachmaninoff was still a student, and unsurprisingly served as his encore for his piano concerts for decades after.
Even skipping large chunks of the book, though, one gathers the underlying themes almost immediately. Rachmaninoff was defined by a few key facts: his early years in Russia, and his later residence in Europe and exile in America (where he stopped writing for the last 20 years of his life); the early failure of his First Symphony, and his awkward position straddling the formal masters of the 19th century with the atonal, modern composers of the 20th. The tenuous nature of many of these relationships led to great insecurity, many revisions of completed pieces, and an overall sense that he was always outrunning or catching up to something.
If you love Rachmaninoff (and why else would you be reading this review?), this is clearly a five star book, essential for your enjoyment. Otherwise, though, it's too dry to count as a riveting narrative, more eager to gather and report the facts rather than delve too deeply into the people around them. You will find a very capable recounting of the music world during Rachmaninoff's life, and will never lack for the immediate professional context for whatever piece he was writing or performing.
Even skipping large chunks of the book, though, one gathers the underlying themes almost immediately. Rachmaninoff was defined by a few key facts: his early years in Russia, and his later residence in Europe and exile in America (where he stopped writing for the last 20 years of his life); the early failure of his First Symphony, and his awkward position straddling the formal masters of the 19th century with the atonal, modern composers of the 20th. The tenuous nature of many of these relationships led to great insecurity, many revisions of completed pieces, and an overall sense that he was always outrunning or catching up to something.
If you love Rachmaninoff (and why else would you be reading this review?), this is clearly a five star book, essential for your enjoyment. Otherwise, though, it's too dry to count as a riveting narrative, more eager to gather and report the facts rather than delve too deeply into the people around them. You will find a very capable recounting of the music world during Rachmaninoff's life, and will never lack for the immediate professional context for whatever piece he was writing or performing.
March 8, 2020
Dense but not dry. Currently learning some Rachmaninoff pieces. The narration of Rachmaninoff's life and thoughts around his different pieces add to my perspective of the pieces of his I am learning. Of all the book's takeaways the greatest for me is the realization that someone who I hold to a high stance in importance to music and my life struggled with confidence in his own artistry. It hits home how negative self-criticism is present for people at all levels of skill in their field and, as seen apparently to me with Rachmaninoff's masterful works, self-criticism is often a cloak over the true appearance and composition of a work for the performer/artist/composer. The book also wonderfully notes how criticism from others should not deter the creator from further creations; had Rachmaninoff not gotten over his depression resulting from his "failed" first symphony, never would the world have experienced his later marvelous works--my favorite of which being his Piano Concerto No. 3, which I am currently learning and has the greatest musical impact on me out of my 15 years of playing the piano.
Highly recommended for enthusiasts of Rachmaninoff's works.
Highly recommended for enthusiasts of Rachmaninoff's works.
January 27, 2025
I read about half way and skimmed the rest. I'm too depressed and anxious to concentrate so my review would be unbiased I would have liked to continue.
October 21, 2018
I loved reading this, although I had to skim some of the music theory that was beyond my limited scope, and I didn’t read every word of the detailed repertoire and discography information. The best part was being able to listen to the referenced recordings on YouTube and Spotify as I read about them.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews