Sergei Rachmaninoff |
Sergei Rachmaninoff Notes
(born April 1, 1873, Oneg, Russia)
|
|
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Quotes from Books
Rachmaninoff sees a hypnotist
It was Siloti who introduced the music of Rachmaninoff to London audiences by the playing
the Prelude in C sharp minor, Op. 3, at one of his recitals towards the end of the '90s.
The piece had an instantaneous success, and began what seems to have been its function in
pioneering the composer's music all over the world, by rapidly travelling all over Britain
from that London debut by Siloti... The society invited Rachmaninoff to appear at one of
its concerts then specifying the Prelude, as it has now come to be known, should be in his
group of solos. He accepted the invitation, including the piece among the pianoforte works of
his own he then played, and personally conducting the performance of his fantasy for orchestra,
"The Rock." The triumph of the evening was unquestionable, and he was at once asked to appear
during the next season, in 1899, and to include in his programme his first pianoforte concerto.
Naturally elated by the warmth of his welcome by the (hitherto believed) "unmusical English,"
and the furore of the moment, he declared he would write a new concerto for production by the
society at his next engagement.
Fate decided otherwise. Actually, the second Pianoforte Concerto in C minor (so far, the best
known here of his four works in that form for pianoforte and orchestra) was not completed until
the spring of 1901, and it was Basil Sapellnikoff, not the composer, who was soloist in it at its
initial performance in this country by the Philharmonic Society in London that winter.
But this is anticipatory. The delay in writing the new (second) piano concerto was due to a
recurrence of his creative dullness and physical inertia, when he returned to Moscow, to live
again with his aunt, Madame Satina, and her family. A spaniel dog Levko, he then owned, was more
agreeable company than the society of human beings, a condition that worried his aunt and cousins
very much, for they were fond of him, and he seemed to be drifting into a kind of melancholia.
Among the plans they tried to arouse him from his indifference to his surroundings was a visit
to Count Leo Tolstoy, who had promised to talk with him and try to induce him to shake off this
lethargy that was hampering his career. But Rachmaninoff remained unimpressed.
Thus existence dragged through for him (and his cousins and aunt!) all through 1899 until the
year waned, when a psycho-analyst named Dr. N. Dahl, created a considerable stir in Moscow by
the success of his cures of various nervous troubles by means of hypnotic suggestion. The Satins
induced Rachmaninoff to consult him. From the beginning of January 1900 until April, he went daily
to Dr. Dahl to receive treatment while lying in an hypnotic doze in an easy chair in the doctor's
apartment. This treatment consisted of the almost ceaseless repetition to him of the words:
"You will begin to write you concerto... You will work with great facility... The concerto will be
of an excellent quality..."
So remarkable was the success of this principle of auto-suggestion over the inertia of his inner
self that his creative powers began to function by the beginning of the summer. He wrote anew
with increasing fluency. Ideas and thematic material welled up with all the facility of those
now so seemingly far-off days when he wrote "Aleko" in little over a fortnight. The andante
and finale of the C minor Concerto, Op. 18, came to him in this way, before the opening movement,
and were completed by the autumn of 1900, and given their first performance at one of the Prison
Charity Concerts organised by Princess Lieven in Moscow in connection with a prisoners' aid society.
Siloti conducted when Rachmaninoff played; and at these concerts as well as the composer other
notable artists who appeared were the cellists, Pablo Casals and Brandoukov, the violinist,
Eugene Ysäye, and Fedor Chaliapin.
The C minor Piano Concerto was completed by the spring of 1901, and also the Suite, Op. 17, for
two pianofortes, briefly sketched out the previous autumn. As already mentioned the concerto
received its first performance in England at a London Philharmonic concert of 1902, the soloist
being Basil Sapellnikoff. Rachmaninoff dedicated the concerto to Dr. Dahl as an expression of his
gratitude for the success of his care. As no one saving the doctor, the patient, and his cousins
knew of the "cure" there was considerable speculation as to the reason for the dedication.
The completion of this large work shattered whatever remained of an inferiority complex in the
psychology of Rachmaninoff. (pp. 109-113)
Watson Lyle, Rachmaninoff: A Biography, William Reeves, London, 1939 (ML410.R11.L98.1976)
Rachmaninoff's dilemma as a creative artist
In the early 1930's, Rachmaninoff summed up the dilemma
I don't know whether I have succeeded in making clear the continuous conflict that has gone
on in my mind between my musical activities and my artistic conscience— my persistent
craving to be engaged on something other than the matter in hand. I have never been quite able
to make up my mind as to which was my true calling— that of a composer, pianist, or conductor.
These doubts assail me to this day. There are times when I consider myself nothing but a composer;
others when I believe myself capable only of playing the piano. Today, when the greater part of
my life is over, I am constantly troubled by the misgiving that, in venturing into too many fields,
I may have failed to make the best use of my life. In the old Russian phrase, I have "hunted
three hares." Can I be sure that I have killed one of them.?"
David Butler Cannata, Rachmaninoff and the Symphony,
***************************************
Web Links to Sergei Rachmaninoff
•
Rachmaninoff Biography |
| Top of Page | Enlightenment | Sages Directory | A-Z Portals | Home |
| © Peter Y. Chou, WisdomPortal.com P.O. Box 390707, Mountain View, CA 94039 email: peter@wisdomportal.com (6-16-2003) |
 |