Bortkiewicz - Russian Rhapsody for Piano & Orchestra

[Peter1953]

Finally I downloaded the Rhapsody, op. 45 (see here). Just wonderful and 'very Bortkiewicz'. I'm very grateful to you, Herrarte. Many thanks!

[cander49]

I'm so glad to have finally heard this beautiful piece of music!  If you haven't heard it, listen to his symphonic poem 'Othello' from the same orchestra.  It's outstanding!

[cander49]

I'm so glad to have finally heard this beautiful piece of music!  If you haven't heard it, listen to his symphonic poem 'Othello' from the same orchestra.  It's outstanding!

Thought I should update this...  I've listened to the rhapsody about 20 times now and it keeps getting better with each listen.  This ought to be one of the "classics".  How this, and his other works, aren't incredibly popular, is beyond me.  I would say that this is among Bortkiewicz's best work, although in all fairness, I say that about almost everything I've heard from him.

[Christopher]

I've asked this before, but no reply....but as Bortkiewicz is now a live topic again I will chance another go.

He wrote an opera, "The Acrobats" . This is always listed as lost or destroyed. My question is: is this known definitively to be the case, or is it a presumption. Has a serious in-depth search ever been made?

His music is so consistently wonderful, it would be great to hear his only opera...

[semloh]

After all those plaudits, I feel obliged to revisit my Bortkiewicz recordings! 

I expect many people first encountered his music through the MCA CD of the marvellous first piano concerto, played by Marjorie Mitchell, coupled with the Britten piano concerto and the Indian Fantasy by Busoni. It was obviously assumed by MCA that the logic of this coupling would escape most buyers, as the sleeve note is careful to explain that (rather than simply sharing the initial letter B) Britten was "strongly influenced" by Busoni, while Bortkiewicz swore "allegiance to the musical tenets of Liszt and Busoni". I think that allegiance is plainly announced in the first movement of the Bortkiewicz, but I'm not sure about the Britten claim.

I wonder what comparing the concerto and the Rhapsody, written over 20 yeras later, says in terms of Bortkiewicz's musical development. Any thoughts?

[Alan Howe]

Did his music develop much? And does it matter?

[semloh]

Did his music develop much? And does it matter?

Well, I suppose it doesn't really matter, it's just intellectual curiosity. But, I think it is interesting for several reasons.

It is instructive to see what effect, if any, his personal experiences during the intervening years had on his composing. The piano concerto appeared in 1913, at which time he was living in Berlin. With the outbreak of war he was initially under house arrest, being a 'Russian', and was obliged to leave Germany. He and his family travelled via Sweden and Finland and eventually settled in Kharkov. The war was not yet over, but now he faced the tribulations of the Russian revolution. It seems they moved to the family estate, but were quickly expelled by the communists; the communists were overrun by the White Army, and Bortkiewicz returned to find the estate devastated; no sooner had he returned than he was dispossessed once more, as the White Army was finally defeated by the communists. He watched his mother and brother-in-law died of typhus, but eventually escaped by steamer to Turkey, arriving – he says – with $20 to his name. Desperate to return to Europe, he and his arrived in Austria in 1922. There were numerous moves, and he eventually settled back in Berlin - but then came the economic collapse, deepening his poverty, and finally the rise of the Nazis. He was once again forced to leave Germany, settling in Vienna in 1935. The Rhapsody was composed in that year. I think we can safely say that Bortkiewicz's outlook on life as a relatively young man in 1913 will have been seriously challenged by his experiences, and I can't imagine that this and his new circumstances are not reflected in his music.

I think it is also intriguing to consider the matter as part of a general attempt to understand the extent to which composers' compositional style changes during their lifetime. Clearly, there are many examples of dramatic change, especially for those fin-de-siecle composers whom we tend to relish on UC, and whose lives bridged the old and new cultures. On the other hand, there are some composers whose style changed hardly at all, and who were largely unaffected by the iconoclasts and trendsetters of their day.

I am sure more expert listeners than myself will be able to say whether the Rhapsody is, in any sense, a significant development/change from the Concerto, or a reaffirmation of Bortkiewicz's musical preferences. My sense is that it is the latter, and that perhaps this accounts for the rhapsodic nature of the work, and the familiar theme to which the earlier posts alluded; they seem to me to be reaffirming his origins and his emotional and cultural links with his homeland – as if to say, "my identity is unchanged – I am who I am, despite all that has happened!"

I would be interested to know what others think! 

[jerfilm]

I can see that I'm in the minority here but frankly, after listening to the Rhapsody several times, I find it rather monotonous.  Perhaps its the nature of the folk type melodies that he employs.  Maybe it's the quality of the recording.   I'm just not in tune with this one.

Jerry

[Edward]

Nice work, but very influenced by Rachmaninov

[Alan Howe]

Na, und? As the Germans would say....

[Gareth Vaughan]

He wrote an opera, "The Acrobats" . This is always listed as lost or destroyed. My question is: is this known definitively to be the case, or is it a presumption. Has a serious in-depth search ever been made?

I think if you don't get an answer to this question you can safely assume that no-one on this forum knows the answer. I certainly don't, I'm afraid.

[Edward]

Oh! Please don't rescue Cui, let him stay undisturbed where he is.

   

Agreed, and this from a fan of his comrades, Borodin and Mussorgsky!

Undisturbed and Cui?   

Just for you Giles...  Cui's Grave in St Petersburg, Russia

BTW: Since the subject is Bortkiewicz, This might be useful:
Catalogue of Bortkiewicz Orchestral Compositions

[JimL]

I quite disagree about Cui.  The only two works of his I know, the Suite Concertante for violin and orchestra and the Overture to The Mandarin's Son, available right here on this forum, are delightful, if rather superficial works, that merit occasional outings, if not repertory status.  And can anybody identify that folk-song that Borty uses right at the beginning of the Rhapsody?  It is absolutely NOT the Volga Boatmen Song!

[Christopher]

Can you tell us the time (minutes:seconds) when this tune starts and finishes?  Then we will stop quoting the Volga Boatmen song at you!!

Re Cui - I only like his Orientale and it's only a couple of minutes long. But I still think recordings of his works should be encourages, who knows what may be found....  Was he actually popular in his own right in the 19th century or did he just ride on the coat-tails of Borodin, Mussorgsky and Rimsky-Korsakov?

(Cui's Orientale is the 9th movement of his Kaleidoscope Suite Op.50, for violin and piano....and a great arrangement of it was made by Teicher and Ferrante for the movie Cleopatra (the Elizabeth Taylor one)

[Alan Howe]

Just a quick reminder, please. Do pursue Cui's music, but start a new thread if you wish to do so. Thanks.