Rachmaninoff - III. Romance, Suite no. 2 for two pianos

Sergej Vasiljevitsj Rachmaninoff, born on April 1st 1873 in Novgorod, was the last composer of the era of Russian Romanticism and one of the best pianists of his time. He was best known for his second and third piano concerto. Unforunately, he received a lot of negative criticism throughout his life because his music was considered too traditional. A lot of connoisseurs nowadays recognise his fabulous harmonic twists and the incredible depth in his music.
Rachmaninoff suffered from severe depressions. This influenced his compositions although his pieces are not sad or depressing per se. I would rather say they are 'heavy' but nevertheless very accessible.
Trademark: depth, sensitivity, majesty, humanity, minor chords, seriousness

How did he know?
Although I love Baroque and classicism, I must call myself a true Romanticist. I think Rachmaninoff is the composer I can completely relate to. You can hear in his music that he cleary understood human nature: moments of agony, moments of euphoria. He was gifted. He could translate every emotion into his music... If you take your time to discover Rachmaninoff's music, and I hope you will, you'll hear your life story in one of his masterpieces and then you will ask yourself: "How did he know?" There will be moments that you won't be able to listen to his compositions because it's too confronting. Moments when you can't handle floating to heaven, then being thrown on earth again. Rachmaninoff moves you and you can't help it.

Suite no. 2
The Suite no. 2 for two pianos was written in 1901, at the same time as the 2nd Piano concerto. It consists of four movements:
I. Introduction (Alla marcia)
II. Valse (Presto)
III. Romance (Andantino)
IV. Tarantelle (Presto)

I have strong memories when I listen to the Romance. It reminds me of my happy childhood and the great afternoons I spent at my grandparents'. I was about six years old and my parents used to play this together on the two grand pianos at my grandparents' house. It was my custom to lie down on the white woollen carpet under the Grotrian-Steinweg. The bass notes on the Bösendorfer sounded incredible. I was in my own little world and I thought this piece was the most beautiful thing ever.
My opinion about it hasn't changed. Rachmaninoff's Romance is still number one, but since I know a lot more music now it has to share this place with other masterpieces from other composers.

Romance
Romance. Love. We hear different 'chapters' of a love story: delicacy, tenderness or strong passion.
We hear Rachmaninoff's excellent pianistic qualities in this composition. He clearly knew the capacity of the instrument and how to get the most out of it.

The melodical line is quite simple but it sounds so beautiful combined with the harmonies.
The first piano passes the melody to the second piano, the latter gives it back. The constant interaction between the two instruments makes me think of a conversation. One asks, the other one answers. This is not a conversation with odd silences that occur when somebody doesn't know what to say. The conversational partners are familiar with each other.
The Romance does not show us childish, superficial affection. No, it's about deep, sincere, mature love that surely will last some time.

I think you'll understand my choice of words... I listened to the Romance while writing this blogpost.


If you like this, you'll probably like Saint-Seäns - The Swan , Rachmaninoff - 2nd piano concerto 2nd mvt. 

(Picture of the composer, source: Wikipedia)



------------
Feel free to comment and to correct my grammar mistakes, I'd appreciate it. Thanks for reading!

Beginner's guide to Classical music

Getting rid of the dusty image

When hearing the word 'classical music', many people imagine a party of old-fashioned and dull men in secondhand green suits, playing old music with their cracky instruments. It's a wrong image, for classical music has a great assortment of different styles. I have to admit that stuffy and boring pieces do exist. However, the classical genre has much more to offer!

Why is it worth it?

First, it is a part of our cultural heritage. Classical music is the mother of all current popular music, whether you listen to Coldplay, Rihanna or Nickelback.

Secondly, this genre can have a very good effect on you. I myself love almost every kind of music, yet I prefer classical music to any other style because I notice that it has a positive effect on my mood and personality. Many songs nowadays are about Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n Roll and it would be senseless to assume that the songs are beneficial to our sense of ethics.

By the way, scientists made cows listen to Mozart and observed that they were far more relaxed, good-tempered and produced more milk than their fellows (Read more about this experiment). I doubt whether Nickelback would have the same effect on them.

Of course, we are not cows...

Where to start?

Starting with Bach and Mozart, the most famous classical composers, isn't a very good idea since their works are not always very accessible and there are so many other beautiful pieces most people don't know!

Starting with the Romantic classical composers though, should be a better idea. Nota bene: people link Romanticism to love, sunsets, flowers and red wine, but it is something completely different. Romanticism is a subgenre of classical music that originated in the second half of the 18th century. Circumstances in Europe were dreadful due to wars and other crises. Therefore, people rejected rational thinking as the way to solve the problems. Instead, they reached for dreams and happiness, for fairytales and nostalgia. Forms of art became a manner to release their strong inner feelings.

I will list a few of my favourite works related to different moods, linked to Youtube.

Tender

1. Liebestraum - F. Liszt. Liebestraum means 'love dream'.

The performance is by one of the iconic pianists of history, Artur Rubinstein.

2. Méditation de Thaïs - J. Massenet. A heart-warming piece and performance, played very passionately by Janine Jansen.

3. The sweet Panorama from ballet "The Sleeping Beauty" - P.I. Tschaikovsky. Think of green hills and spring. Performed by the Vienna Philarmonic, known as one of the best orchestras in the world.

Feelgood

1. The well known Four Seasons -  A. Vivaldi needs no explanation.

2. Carmen Fantasy P. Sarasate. A joyful, virtuoso piece for violon with a Spanish accent.

3. La donna è mobile G. Verdi, a very famous opera song, exhibited by Caruso.

4. Alla turca - W.A. Mozart, a piano solo piece.

Majestic/intense

1. Polonaise As-dur Op. 53 "Heroique" - F. Chopin (starts at 2.10").

2. Revolutionary Etude op. 10 no 12 - F. Chopin. It is fast and very difficult.

3. Symphony 4, mvt 4 - P.I. Tchaikovsky (See article I have written before here)

4. 2nd Piano concerto - S. Rachmaninoff. One of the best musical pieces ever written. I will dedicate one or several articles to this masterwork. The atmosphere and the harmonies are incredible.

5. S. Rachmaninoff's prélude Op. 32 no. 10.

Nostalgic

1. Vocalise - S. Rachmaninoff, a moving piece transcribed for cello.

2. Élégie for Cello and Orchestra - G. Fauré. A slow piece with very different dynamics. It's beauty lies in it's simplicity.

3. Arabesque - C. Débussy. Very dreamy, the melody creates the atmosphere of Arabia.

4. Another famous piece from Débussy: Clair de Lune. 

Lighthearted

1. Petrushka - I.F. Stravinsky. This crazy piece is very difficult for the piano.

2. Scaramouche, mvt 3 - D. Milhaud. Jazzy and fun.

3. "Papageno, papagena duet" from opera The Magic Flute - W.A. Mozart. What was Mozart thinking when composing this ingenious, comic duet?

4. Flight of the Bumblebee - N. Rimsky-Korsakov (arrangment by Cziffra). One of the fastest solo works ever written.

Of course, these are only a few out of hundreds of masterworks. My partiality for Russian music is, again, very obvious. I mentioned Rachmaninoff a few times, Tchaikovsky again. In future I will make more "must-hear" lists with pieces from other great composers like Brahms, Dvorak, Saint-Saëns, Beethoven, Schumann, Liszt, Ravel and those who I do not recall at the moment.

For now, I hope you'll enjoy.