Rachmaninoff: Variations on a Theme of Chopin, Op.22 (Chochieva) 

"If it sounds good, it is good" -- Duke Ellington This sounds good. Better than good. Superb!

Variation 6 is simply one of the greatest moments in music I have ever had the privilege to hear

"disparaged as a juvenile work" .......................................... In reality, this set of variations is of such pianistic prowess and, as you put if, "haunting and luminous beauty" that his critics couldn't hope to write it, even if their lives depended upon it. For me, Rachmaninoff will always be one of the very greatest composers for piano who ever lived.

oh dang i love reading the descriptions. i wonder how one can become so knowledgeable in music and hear all those differences

The beginning of the first variation seems to echo the start of a Bach fugue.

I had no idea these variations were disparaged. This set is a work of incomprehensible genius, IMO.

7:38 he even wrote a fugue there!

19:27 simply beauty

Variation 21 (19:33) is like a conversation between Chopin and Rachmaninoff..

This piece is anything but juvenile. It is noble and thoughtful, clearly post-dates the 2nd Concerto and Spring, and anticipates much of the piano writing in opus 23 and the First Sonata. And, as ever, it demands vocal phrasing - he had just finished the marvellous opus 21 songs!

8 commercials does not allow me to enjoy this.

Theme: 00:00 Variation 1: 01:09 Variation 2: 01:53 VARIATION 3: 02:08 Variation 4: 02:23 VARIATION 5: 03:12 Variation 6: 03:47 VARIATION 7: 04:40 Variation 8: 04:58 VARIATION 9!: 05:18 VARIATION 10: 05:39 Variation 11: 06:10 Variation 12: 07:38 Variation 13: 09:44 Variation 14: 10:58 VARIATION 15!: 12:19 Variation 16: 13:41 VARIATION 17: 14:50 Variation 18: 16:24 VARIATION 19: 17:14 Variation 20: 18:27 Variation 21: 19:33 VARIATION 22: 22:10 11:45 19:08 21:14 23:10 26:29

Wow, the 6th variation is a miracle. And it just gets better

This is fucking amazing! Got a solid Rachmaniboner!

To what Ashish has rightly explained above, I add that these variations reveal some of the compositional techniques and procedures that Rachmaninov used (many of which became his trademark) in his larger works for piano and orchestra, such as his concertos.

4:37 the transition from 6 to 7 is just out of this world, literally mad

variation 20, little tiny bit of Etude op 10 no 4 in there! Especially 19:18

17:15 That's very unexpected

13:41 Variation 16 and 19:34 Variation 21 are of the most pure and melodic of marriages between Chopin and Rachmaninoff. It's more as though Chopin wrote those two variations himself, in Rachmaninoff's style with Sergei's inflections. Rachmaninoff certainly admired and appreciated Chopin's genius and creativity, as I'm sure Chopin would've been moved by Rachmaninoff's unique style that was full of such depth and color.

Yo sir, are very aware of not only the potential of music, but also of the varying levels of awareness from composer to composer as well as maestro to maestro. There is so much behind the mind and life being each masterpiece, and I have a great deal of respect for you and how aware you are of these hidden treasures within the life of all music. I appreciate both your mind and your taste, and I hope you continue posting some of the worlds greatest music and musicians for a long time.

For some reason this variations set reminds me of the Beethoven 32 variations on an original theme in c minor. Thank you for posting and taking the time to edit in the score. This was a pleasure to watch and listen too.

woah, this piece is incredible. Shame it gets a bad rap. This performance is so sensitive and patient. So grateful to this pianist for bringing this to life.

The 6th variation is so beautiful.

21:15 who else thought of Rach 2nd piano concerto 3rd movement?

Lol how variation 18 appears to be the most replayed on this entire video because people thought this was the paganini variations but here it's just a random variation of the piece

Variation 6 is just so beautiful. ❤

Variation 16 is screams 2nd piano concerto. I really love when composers challenge themselves and do lots of variations on a single theme, of course not perfectly following the structure in every single one that would be repetitive. It really shows very deep down what the hell is going on in their brain with context, that context being a single theme they follow and how they work around that with different styles. I want to understand even a little bit how great composers come up with this shit. Music to me is magic, and 17th though early 20th century composers are mystical gods.

The 6th one is so beatuifuel and ful with melodic ideas and wonderful harmonie...

It"s not unusual for Rachmaninoff to be undervalued; his genius and depth are encompassing.

Thank you for this upload.

Cochieva is amazing her chopin etudes are also top notch.

Just heard and followed this. I'm left totally breathless by everything about this recording.

Mesmerizing. I can not stop listening

Thanks for uploading!

0:20 that is one edit that I just can't get used to.

That variation 21 is stunningly beautiful.

She recently played this in Mexico. It was amazing.

5:19 my man just went right into russian mode

Chochieva's interpretation is quite fabulous, and so is your comment and analysis to the performance,,Thank you Ashish.

Thanks for sharting this brilliant and exceptional masterpiece!!! GBY

Wow, I thought I heard everything by SR but I missed this one. What a pleasure to find it, I was completely absorbed. Op 22 and he had that Rach sound down. I usually find Scriabin in his works but this seems completely original and different from his classmate, who I love also. Did anyone catch the practice work for the transition from 3rd to 4th mvt of his 2nd symphony? Half of his preludes are in this one work and some etude tableau also I bet, I don't know them well. His textures are just incredible in this work with that inner melody, making it so difficult to play. I can't imagine cutting anything out of this, just like the cuts that are made in the 2nd symphony. If people find works too long then leave them alone. I'm going to order this music and fumble thru some variations, I just have to feel them under my fingers.

You forgot to mention how some of the other preludes creep a little into other variations, for example the second prelude in the 17th variation. Utterly genius this guy... Love your videos by the way, fantastic work!

I was thinking of trying this one out of boredom but then I saw those 10th intervals and huge chords, like almost in every page. My 8-inch long finger reach is shaking

I love how passionate you are in describing the different variations!

Thanks. Amazing stuff

This is the first time I heard this and this pianist. Amazing playing! Bravo!

6:10 -- Some of Rachmaninoff's most anguished writing. Achingly bleak and chromatic with the occasional drop of colour and harmony.

Amazing description my man: I completely agree with you observations and assessments of the performance

Beautiful ! Thank you so much :)

I think this is one of Rachmaninoffs' hidden gem

Sublime work played sublimely.

I am always happy about the exciting comments and musical ideas and thus about the extension of my own musical consciousness. It increases my enjoyment of music. Many thanks

Shockingly creative composition!

filled with so many musical ideas… nice

This is a virtuoso at work here no doubt, and what gets me reading along with the sheet music is Rach.'s mindset--'I think I'll toss in another variation!' he asks himself--yet countless r ingeniously inspired! And like the liner notes, I do love the slow, dark variations.

I came to this piece through the Bolet recording, which is pretty good, then the Trifonov, which I really like, but this is the first time I've heard the ENTIRE piece, and this performance really justifies the total unedited piece. It's now one of my favourite Rach. pieces. Fascinating the comparisons to the relatively recent batch of Preludes that came before it, and I suspect this piece was high in Rach.'s mind when he was composing his famous Paganini variations. Apparently there's an Ashkenazy version (thanks google) which gets a good Gramaphone review. I love VA's Rach playing (the Concerto 2 and Paganini with Previn is a classic, even if Previn cannot quite control the brass and percussion sections). So that will be worth tracking down. But this recording is outstanding (the commentary by AXK is excellent as usual).

Szergej Rachmaninov:Variáció egy Chopin témára Op.22 Téma:Largo 00:00 1. variáció:Moderato 01:09 2. variáció: Allegro 01:53 3. variáció 02:09 4. variáció 02:23 5. variáció: Meno mosso 03:12 6. variáció: Meno mosso 03:37 7. variáció: Allegro 04:40 8. variáció 04:58 9. variáció 05:18 10. variáció 05:37 11. variáció: Lento 06:10 12. variáció: Moderato 07:38 13. variáció: Largo 09:44 14. variáció: Moderato 10:58 15. variáció: Allegro scherzando 12:19 16. variáció: Lento 13:41 17. variáció: Grave 14:50 18. variáció: Piú mosso 16:24 19. variáció: Allegro vivace 17:14 20. variáció: Presto 18:27 21. variáció: Andante 19:33 22. variáció: Maestoso 22:10 Zlata Chochieva-zongora

What a pleasure to discover this variations set! Fortunately, I read no criticisms of this work before listening, and I believe any would more likely than not be gratuitous. Regardless of the date of composition, this is both musically engaging and technically demanding, and attests to the composer's maturity and legendary virtuosity. Hamelin, too, evidently holds it in high regard. Thank you for bringing both the music and this fine interpretation to the public's attention.

In response to comment of @flylooper analyzing where Chopin's prelude appears/how it's dissected and stitched back together in this piece: I think most of the variation have fragments of the melody or harmony of the Chopin prelude (CP). For instance, Chopin prelude starts with G-Ab-G-F-Eb (Motif CP1). Most of the melody of the Chopin prelude is 4-note descending fragments (Motif D4). And R. has lots of fragments of the 4-note descending Ab-G-F-Eb in this set of Variations. And lots of fragments of the turn G-Ab-G-F (related to turn in middle voice of RH in 2nd line of Chopin prelude, G-Ab-Ab-F#-G). For example Variation 1 follows harmony of Chopin plus lots of 4-note scalar fragments (or longer scalar fragments in general), at least in the first line. The second and third lines have much more crazy leaps and accidentals, perhaps matching how Chopin prelude has more chromatic 2nd line (with LH bass line doing more funky intervals than just 4ths and 5ths like in the 1st line -- Motif LH45) Variation 2 is Var 1 with more RH 4-note descending fragments (following rhythmic motif of Chopin prelude) in the 1st line, and 2nd line RH has octave jump followed by step down (reminiscent of LH octave jump followed by chromatic descent in line 2 of Chopin prelude). LH also has descending fifths D-G-C, reminiscent of 4ths and 5ths in LH of Chopin prelude line 1 (Motif LH45). LH also ends with rising 4th. Var 3 is 2 copies of Var 1, with descending chromatic bass line (coming from descending chromatic base line in LH of line 2 of Chopin prelude --- Motif DChr). The ending figuration in RH is just the turn G-Ab-G-F mentioned above over and over again --- Motif Turn. Var 4 has LH tenor melody based on G-Ab-G-F-Eb (Motif CP1) mentioned above (in general lots of scalar movement, and/or the turn G-Ab-G-F#-G --- Motif FullTurn), RH plays thirds up and down, which I guess is new (not really in Chopin prelude), perhaps an "augmentation" of the step up and down G-Ab-G that begins the Chopin prelude. Var 5 has LH has the G-Ab-G-F-Eb melody (Motif CP1) but tweaked to make it a turn + more scalar fragments, and RH plays fifths/fourths (Motif LH45) and a chromatic step up (everywhere in the Chopin prelude). LH melody ends with descending chromatic scale (Motif DChr). Var 6 takes advantage of new variation of CP1, namely the FullTurn, and makes a masterpiece out of using a bajillion times. The middle voice that appears halfway through starts ascending Ab-Bb-C-D and then descends Eb-D-C-Bb-Ab-G-F-Eb-D-C-Bb and then G-C (LH45); the long ascend and long descend remind me of CP1 but "elongated" to have 4 note ascend instead of 2 note, and like 11 note descend instead of 4 note descend. More Motif D4 (4-note descends) in middle voice afterward. Some ascending scalar fragments in LH throughout. Var 7 super chromatic. Sort of fractal: the line itself full of chromatic steps ("16th notes"), but the "melody" ringing out at the top (both "8th notes" and "quarter notes") also forms chromatic steps down or up, and LH also has chromatic steps ("quarter notes"). Pretty sure it follows harmonic outline of Chopin prelude (like play the harmonies alongside Var 7 and I think things line up, e.g. in measure 2 the Db-major matches the Db-major in measure 2 beat 2 of Chopin prelude). Ending RH "melody" is dotted (cf. rhythm of Chopin prelude) and longish descent downward. Var 8, more stepwise "melodies". Inner line has some more "turning" motion like Motif FullTurn. LH has each group starting with octave/fifth and then descending downward chromatically (like Motif DChr in 2nd line of CP) Var 9, more stepwise motion separated by different registers of piano. The overarching melody in the first line though does match FullTurn (which recall is a variation of CP1), and on the 2nd line, a longish rising scale in upper register is partnered with a longish descending scale in lower register, and things switch on third line (upper register descends, lower register ascends). So again more scalar movement. Var 10, angry staccato larger intervals but upper half of that RH line is D4 again and again, lower half is for harmony purposes. In general lots of "fractal" scalar motion, where each "grouping" has scalar motion (mostly descending) and the groups together also have scalar motion (mostly descending). Var 11, super chromatic. Starts with ascending chromatic (so invert DChr), and then lots of and lots and lots of FullTurn. Var 12, obviously CP1, with supporting material (e.g. octave LH bass line when it comes in) with lots of scalar chromatic motion (e.g. octave bass line just zigzagging its way up and down like a super elongated and overgrown CP1 --- it definitely starts off like CP1, until the amazingly long descent G-F-Eb-D-C-B-Bb-A-G-F-E-Eb-Db-C). And "bells" in upper register are just overlapping elongated FullTurns. Ends with contrabass DChr in bass, and RH figuration very reminiscent of Chopin C minor prelude Op. 48 No. 1 ending.

Definitely worth studying this piece

Chopin would be proud!

I just finished working on prelude in c minor, the work the variations are based on! Such an under appreciated piece

Ditto the comment below. Thank you so much for putting in the time to include the pages of music as well. An admirable service to the music community.

Superb.

Actually, it was in performances of the Corelli variations that Rachmaninoff would omit variations if the coughing became too loud !

I am constantly amazed by Rachmaninoff's skill. And I never noticed his vocal works until I was nearly 40!

THANK YOU SO MUCH

Beautiful ! Thank you very much :)

I love how the first variation deconstructs the theme and then from the second onwards he completely reconstructs it from the ground up.

This is a great performance of it. I had never heard of Chochieva.

Brilliant piece and performance. It is nice to have a "first" once in a while that is so rewarding as this great Rachmaninov composition.

Fantastic variations!!

Var.14 is something special.

Variation IX is my favorite one!! It sounds so powerful and majestic...

just amazing

Variations 6, 14 and 22 are absolutely gorgeous. Love the fact he wrote 22 variations for his Op 22

Var IX is so powerful 💪🏻

Rachmaninof is one of my favourite, I love him

a truly outstanding performance!

The start of the first variation is like a never-ending fugal subject

Breathtaking piece of art!

Variation 6 is sublime

The combination of two great virtuoso pianist

I really enjoyed this, having never heard it before (to my shame). And what sensitive playing!

One of my favorite works of the romantic era. Have you heard Daniil Trifonov's performance? It is sublime. Thank you so much for putting in the effort to upload all of this music and for providing your personal insight in each work!

This piano sounds amazing !

What a marvellous performance

Hey Ashish, if you're based in London. Chochieva's doing a recital at the Wigmore Hall at the end of March (2019). She doesn't seem to perform in the UK much, must see!

Bravo !!!! De lo difícil ,lo más difícil. Trivonov 🥇🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵🎵

Chopinesque, exquisite!

Variation 9 is great. So intense.

VARIATION 6!!! SOUNDS FROM HEAVEN!!!

var 5 mirrors BWV 543 prelude very well!!! love it!

Excellent

Love it

We can hear many little flashes of ideas S R would use in later works. That is, many fragments sound familiar from our knowing pieces he hadn't written yet. This is beautiful and powerful. How could anyone imagine music so rich, dense and complex?

Sometimes music like this is so personal it goes to the depths of the composer and is meant to be played personally or in a salon for people who appreciate it's spiritual beauty. Unfortunately I will never have the technique to play it but I can still love it.

My favourites are ##4 and 15. Surprised no one has mentioned them. To me, they seem like separate pieces, not just variations, colourful and beautiful. The interpretation is superb as well, attentive enough to the counterpoint, which I personally appreciate most when it comes to interpreting Rachmaninoff.

4:20 is very nice

Lovely