Alexander Borodin (1833 - 1887)
Polovtsian Dances
Like many Russian composers of the late 19th century, Alexander Borodin was not a professional musician. He was trained as an doctor and chemist, and was appointed a professor of chemistry in the St. Petersburg Medical School at the age of 31. While there he published important research papers on the group of organic chemicals called aldehydes, and helped found a medical school for women.
He was slow to write music, since he had to squeeze it into the gaps between his working schedule and looking after his family, which comprised an ill wife, several other relatives, and a large number of cats. His second symphony took so long to write (7 years) that his friends gave him an ashtray in the shape of a tortoise.
His opera Prince Igor was left unfinished at his death, when it was completed by Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov. But the exciting Polovtsian Dances were all his own work. The Prince, having been captured by the Mongol chief Khan Konchak, is entertained by his musicians and dancing girls in a series of brilliant and exciting dances.
Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943)
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.43
Exiled from his native Russia since the revolution of 1917, Rachmaninov abandoned full-time composition in order to earn a living for his family as a concert pianist. His success was unquestionable, and he is now regarded as the greatest pianist of the century. When he settled in Switzerland in 1931, he turned to other composers for inspiration, and began a new work for piano and orchestra, taking as his theme the famous Paganini A minor Caprice.
The choice was inspired; Rachmaninov, the greatest virtuoso of his own age, must have identified with Paganini, the most brilliant performer of his era – both men driven to the point of exhaustion by the demands of their own artistry, and both exiles. The Rhapsody was completed in 1934 and premièred in November that year by the composer, with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. It brought him instant success – largely, perhaps, because the 18th variation of the Rhapsody gave his audience the great melody they’d been waiting for – but the Rhapsody as a whole was swiftly recognised as one of the most brilliantly written and perfectly structured piano concertos of the century.
Rachmaninov was the first of a long line of soloists to take it into their repertoire, although even he found its technical demands a challenge; towards the end of his career he would invariably drink a glass of crème de menthe before a performance of the Rhapsody in order to help him through the swifter passages.
The Rhapsody comprises an introduction, theme, and 24 variations, played without a break and can be seen as falling loosely into the three movements of a classical concerto. The first section runs from the 18-bar introduction, the 1st Variation (which, unusually, precedes the theme!), and the theme itself (given by unison violins) through to the end of the 10th Variation. The tempo drops for the second section of the work, opening with the fantastic 11th Variation, all swirling harp and shimmering strings, and building through to the 18th Variation, the emotional climax of the Rhapsody, where, by turning Paganini’s theme upside down, Rachmaninov created the last great romantic melody of his career. The finale of the Rhapsody begins with the 19th Variation, inspired by Paganini’s celebrated left-hand pizzicato technique. In the 22nd Variation, the build-up to the final climax begins, with a passage evoking pealing bells – a source of lifelong inspiration to Rachmaninov. Towards the close, the Dies Irae plainchant blares out in the full orchestra, but Paganini’s theme has the last word with a final, sardonic gesture.
Alexander Glazunov (1865 – 1936)
The Seasons Ballet, Bacchanale
Alexander Glazunov was one of music’s most extraordinary child prodigies. "If Beethoven were alive, he would fall on his knees before Glazunov" declared his astonished teacher Rimsky-Korsakov after hearing the 16-year old Glazunov’s First Symphony.
Glazunov went on to write 8 symphonies and 3 ballets as well as nurturing the talents of two generations of Russian composers as a teacher. A kind-hearted and generous man (although reputedly rather too fond of Vodka!). By 1910 his music was scorned as conservative and outmoded even by his pupils and feeling unwanted in post-revolutionary Russia, he spent his lonely final years in France. Posterity has been unfair to him, for his music is lush, sweetly melodious and always beautifully orchestrated. He had a wonderful gift for lyrical melody, often reaching great heights of poignant, joyous or noble emotion.
Glazunov's ballet, The Seasons, is written as a set of four tableaux, each of which represents a season of the year. The piece we will hear tonight is a bacchanal, rousing music which depicts a drunken revel to celebrate the grape harvest which starts the Autumn section of the ballet.
Peter Tchaikowsky (1840-1893)
Suite No 3 in G Variations
The son of a mining inspector, Tchaikovsky studied music as a child. At 19 he became a government clerk and at 21 entered the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied composition with Anton Rubinstein. He graduated in 1865 and taught theory and composition at Nicholas Rubinstein's Moscow Conservatory from 1865 to 1878. An annuity from his wealthy patroness, Mme von Meck (whom he never met though he corresponded with her for 14 years and dedicated his Fourth Symphony to her in 1878), made it possible for him to devote himself entirely to composition.
In 1877 Tchaikovsky made a disastrous marriage which only lasted six weeks after which he did not see his wife again. His work was his consolation when trying to come to terms with his sexuality and also when Mme van Meck suddenly terminated her friendship and support without apparent reason.
A few days after he conducted the première of his Sixth Symphony he died, reportedly of cholera.
Tchaikovsky is a towering figure in Russian music and one of the most popular composers in history. His orchestration is rich, and his music is melodious, intensely emotional, and often melancholy. Tonight we hear the final movement of Suite No 3 in G which is a set of variations. Tchaikovsky’s brilliant orchestration skills can be heard in this work which evokes everything from Russian church chants to a violin showpiece to the final Tempo di Polacca, molto brillante (a polonaise).
