Unsung Rachmaninoffian Piano Concertos

[kyjo]

I decided to make a separate post for further comments . Good to know that Stojowski 3 is in performable condition; I'm sure someone could reconstruct that missing page. I'd also like to mention the Poulenc PC of 1951(?). Probably not unsung by our standards, but compared to the Double PC, it definitely is. I actually prefer this piece to the Double PC; I find the latter kind of shallow and corny. Anyway, the PC is not what you would expect from Poulenc. The first movement has the long-breathed melodies (but not nearly as memorable as Rach) and spine-tingling (perhaps too strong a word) climaxes of Rach but without Sergei's overt emotionalism or Slavic soul. The slow movement again pays homage to the great Russian master, but with perhaps a touch of Mahler (!) to the mix. The cheeky finale, "Rondo a la francaise, though, is pure Poulenc- a romp if there ever was one. Anyway, if you haven't heard this piece, I strongly suggest you do; it will give you a more well-rounded view of Poulenc. Get the Pascal Roge performance on Decca- he is ideal in French repertoire.

[JimL]

Australia's Miriam Hyde - her two piano concertos ... are extremely Rachmaninov-ian, and quite lovely.  I cannot honestly say I recall very much about.

That hits the nail squarely on the head: what distinguishes Rachmaninov from all the pale imitators is that only someone with tin ears could hear the music of Rachmaninov and not recall very much about it.  I can't remember which modernist composer it was who irritatedly remarked that the trouble with Rachmaninov is that his music is so damned memorable.

Sounds like something Stravinsky might have said.  The two never met until less than a year before Rachmaninoff died, even though they were relatively near neighbors.

[kyjo]

Yes, Jim, that quote does indeed sound very Stravinskian. Remember, Stravinsky once called Rachmaninov "a six and a half foot tall scowl"! I'm not surprised that there was bad blood between the two; their music has almost opposite characteristics (well, except for Stravinsky's early works, like the Symphony in E Flat, the Firebird, etc.)!

[JimL]

Stravinsky's E-flat Symphony is firmly in the Russian Romantic idiom of his teachers, (R-K, etc.).  Firebird, OTOH, is in more of an "Impressionist" idiom in its harmonic language and orchestration.  No doubt the move to Paris had something to do with that.

[kyjo]

Sorry if this is too close to a list :
-Quite sung, yes, I know, but the slow movement of Shostakovich's PC 2 pays obvious homage to Rach in its gentle melancholy, but like in the Poulenc, you won't find Rach's outpourings of emotion here. The slow movement of Shosty's PC 1, to a lesser extent, is also in this style. But if you really want to hear Shosty sound like Rach, try his mini PC from the film music to Assault on the Beautiful Gorky. Heavens knows why this isn't played as much as the Warsaw Concerto!
-Another, very sung, example, is the slow movement of Ravel PC in G. The flute solo brings reminders of the opening of the slow movement of Rach PC 2 (the most heartbreakingly beautiful piece of music ever written), and there is a Bachian gravitas combined with a French coloring and a Russian emotion that is simply magical. The outer movements couldn't be different .
-Someone mentioned the Scriabin PC. This piece definitely deserves to get more attention in the concert hall, along with his symphonies.
-The solo piano works of Nikolai (not Alexander) Tcherepnin were also mentioned. He also wrote a PC, which is on a hard to find CD and is also on fyrexia's Youtube channel (with score).
-Also the PC1 of the Georgian composer Otar Taktakishvilli. It's available on CD coupled with Balakirev's Tamara. I haven't heard his other 3 PCs (all 4 are on fyrexia's Youtube channel), but it would be wonderful if they were in the same Rach-esque style of the first.
I hope this doesn't get classified as a list !

[X. Trapnel]

The fellow who complained about Rachmaninoff's memorability was Schoenberg acolyte Eduard Steuermann. Interestingly, Rudolf Kolisch, Difficult Arnold's violinist brother in law, greatly admired R., and for what it's worth Bartok loved the Paganini Rhapsody. I suspect Busoni would have as well.

[Alan Howe]

I hope this doesn't get classified as a list

No, that's much better. However, we are talking about unsung PCs here, so the Shostakovich and Ravel PCs are really off-topic.

[JimL]

I found the Dobrowen on YouTube, and it's quite lovely, but can ANYBODY get me a tempo indication for the Finale?  There is nothing more irritating than the only CD available calling it just "Finale".  And I don't think the score is available from any source I can find.

[Ser Amantio di Nicolao]

Stenammer, too, wrote very pleasant, rather unmemorable late-Romantic music...

Really? Who else could have penned Stenhammar's totally original and memorable 2nd Symphony?

I...er, listened to it this weekend, and I'm afraid I don't remember it, sorry. 

Not to get too far off the thread, but honestly, Brahms comes to mind when I listen to Stenhammer.  They're hardly identical, of course, but I hear echoes of Brahms in some of Stenhammer's earlier music.  (That said, the piece that really struck me was the second piano concerto, which I quite liked, and which is unlike just about anything I know.)

I'm afraid I sacrificed him on the altar of making-a-point; a dangerous thing to do, I know.  I was mostly trying to think of an un-Rachmaninovian late Romantic.

[thalbergmad]

I found the Dobrowen on YouTube, and it's quite lovely, but can ANYBODY get me a tempo indication for the Finale?  There is nothing more irritating than the only CD available calling it just "Finale".  And I don't think the score is available from any source I can find.

The score was published by Universal Edition although the two piano score is handwritten.

The ending of the 2nd movement is marked Presto and the finale is just marked dotted crotchet = 76.

Thal

[Lionel Harrsion]

The fellow who complained about Rachmaninoff's memorability was Schoenberg acolyte Eduard Steuermann.

Ah-ha, thanks, X. Trapnel.  I had a feeling it was someone connected to the 2nd Viennese School but I knew it wasn't Schoenberg, Berg or Webern.  I can't remember whether I ever knew it was actually Steuermann.  Old age,  ?

[Alan Howe]

I...er, listened to it this weekend, and I'm afraid I don't remember it, sorry.

Oh dear. Stenhammar 2 has one of the most memorable openings of any unsung symphony and is written in a nordic idiom of a highly individual cast. Here are some insightful reviews:

http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/oct03/STENHAMMAR2swedishsocjwoolf.htm

http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/April%201980/85/807778/STENHAMMAR.+Symphony+No.2+in+G+minor%2C+Op.+34.+Stockholm+Philharmonic+Orchestra+con+ducted+by+Stig+Westerberg.+Caprice+CAP1151+%28479%29+Notes+included.+UK+distributor%3A+Conifer+Records.

[X. Trapnel]

To say nothing of the absolutely irresistable scherzo; indeed the whole symphony is brimming over with good tunes. Stenhammar doubters should also try the Serenade.

[Lionel Harrsion]

Agreed.  And the early, irresistibly gorgeous  Florez and Blanzeflor for baritone & orchestra.

[eschiss1]

and my own favorite work, his string quartet in A minor...
his 2nd piano concerto I do find -- undermemorable. But I may not have heard the best performance or recording. (The 1st concerto's finale opens with one of those themes, on the other hand, that tend to stick with me.)