A number of notable
20th century composers recorded
their own compositions for the gramophone
including Elgar, Stravinsky, Walton
– and Rachmaninoff.
Harrison’s new book
illuminatingly and pertinently includes
‘recordings’ in its title. Rachmaninoff’s
earliest American recordings were 10
indifferently recorded sides of acoustic
recordings for the Edison company and
were all released - three separate takes
being made of each selection recorded).
Rachmaninoff soon left the Edison for
RCA Victor’s superior resources. Rachmaninoff
had first of all made piano roll recordings
of his own Second Piano Concerto for
a German firm but it is thought these
were never released.
Harrison’s book includes
a discography of Rachmaninoff’s own recordings
of his own works although, sadly, matrix,
take and record numbers are not detailed.
Of the nearly 120 earlier RCA Victor
acoustic recordings Rachmaninoff made
in the 1920s, around 80 of them were
rejected; and of the 70 odd later electrical
recordings for Victor around 50% were
rejected. Of the 40 recordings made
from 1931 for Bell Telephone slightly
over 50% were issued. Listed too, are
full details of all Rachmaninoff’s 35
Ampico piano roll recordings made from
1919 to 1929. All were issued. Intriguingly,
Harrison draws comparisons between the
composer’s piano roll recordings and
his gramophone recordings, often made
in parallel. He also comments on the
artistry of all Rachmaninoff’s recordings
which included music by many other composers
besides his own.
*The complete Rachmaninoff
RCA Victor recordings were issued in
a 10 CD set in 1992 – RCA Victor 09026
61265 2. The accompanying booklet claims
that Rachmaninoff was indifferent to
the technical quality of sound on the
early Edison recordings.
Harrison reminds us
that Rachmaninoff excelled "as a
fine composer, as one of the greatest
pianists in the history of an instrument
that has never lacked outstanding players,
and he was also a fine conductor."
Yet he was basically shy and retiring,
insecure and extremely self-critical.
His portraits show a tall, slim gaunt
figure, his music often demonstrating
a morbid fascination with death, through
recurring references to the Dies
Irae. Yet his music is supremely
warm and melodic, and for this Rachmaninoff
was often mercilessly slated by the
critics and the musical cognoscenti
who ought to have know better for as
Harrison aptly remarks, when analysing
the supremely beautiful Second Symphony,
"… Rachmaninoff’s symphonies should
be assessed, not in relation to precepts
derived from Beethoven and Brahms. With
Rachmaninoff different types of thematic
material and musical processes, of moods
and feelings, are brought into varying
degrees of conflict and finally resolved
in ways that are personal and formally
satisfying. Logically sustained argument
has its role but an instinctive drama
of the emotions is this music’s chief
thrust, its final import being the struggle
between representations of the forces
of life and death." Like Elgar,
Rachmaninoff in the 1920s, felt himself
and his music to be out of joint with
the times, romanticism was out of fashion,
swept away on a tide of vulgarity and
atonality.
Harrison offers detailed
analyses of all the works and does not
hesitate to shoot down crass and uninformed
comment by earlier writers. Harrison’s
style is observant and accessible. It
is possible to comprehend his analyses
with only a modicum of technical knowledge
and there are 54 musical examples at
the back of the book that one can follow
with CDs at the ready. Not every conclusion
will be accepted. Rachmaninoff’s charming
early work, The Rock, for instance
is more deserving than Harrison’s dismissive
comments and I for one cannot accept
his scorn for the ending of the Third
Piano Concerto – ""It is regrettable
only that in the last presto … Rachmaninoff
lapses … into the musical Esperanto(?)
of a dash for home urged on by chords
from the orchestra at its loudest."
The book has no illustrations
save the dour front cover portrait,
a sad omission. It does include, besides
the discography and musical examples,
a chronological list of works, a classified
list of works, a bibliography, and two
indexes, one of the composer’s works,
the other relating to ‘persons and works
mentioned.’
Incidentally, Rachmaninov
or Rachmaninoff? Since Max Harrison
is probably the foremost authority on
the composer, and on the backcover of
this book Harrison admirer Vladimir
Ashkenazy is noted as the President
of the Rachmaninoff Society, the question
would appear to be settled?
A most satisfying biography
and appreciation of one of the 20th
century’s greatest musicians – composer,
first and foremost, but also a brilliant
pianist and a fine conductor.
Ian Lace
