Sergei Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody in A minor on a Theme of Paganini op. 43 for piano and orchestra, also known as the "Paganini Rhapsody," performed by piano soloist Denis Kozhukhin and the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of its principal conductor Cristian Măcelaru. Recorded live at the Kölner Philharmonie on February 4, 2022.
Sergei Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody in A minor on a theme by Paganini op. 43 for piano and orchestra (Paganini Rhapsody).
Denis Kozhukhin, piano
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
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○ Introduction to the work
The Italian violin virtuoso and composer Niccolò Paganini can confidently be called one of the first pop stars in music history. His concerts caused mass hysteria and collective intoxication in the early 19th century, much like Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones did later. Paganini put on a show that captivated. He enchanted with surprising sound effects and amazing playing techniques. "Paganini's violin was bizarre in pain and burlesque in pleasure," a contemporary review said. The virtuosity and the self-dramatization as a black-clad artificial figure on stage soon earned Paganini the names "devil violinist" and "sorcerer."
This image also runs through Sergei Rachmininov's "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" from 1934. The theme mentioned in the title comes from the last of Paganini's 24 Capricci op. 1 and in the original composition is the starting point of a sequence of variations. This is exactly what Rachmaninoff does in his Rhapsody: after introducing the theme, he sends it through 24 variations. In the process, virtuosic sparks fly. Rachmaninoff, who himself was celebrated as a gifted pianist and premiered the Rhapsody himself in Baltimore nine years after it was written, contrasts Paganini's violin genius with his own virtuosity on the piano. "But it is not a 'concerto'!" insisted Rachmaninoff in a letter to his sister. Illuminating a theme with piano and orchestra beyond the conventions of a piano concerto proved to be a creative liberation. Rachmaninoff unfolds a wide range of musical moods: spirited, tender, rapturous, wistful, mystical, highly dramatic. And even the "Dies Irae" motif familiar from the tone poem "The Isle of the Dead" appears here again, this time as a cipher for Paganini as the "devil's violinist".
(Text: Eckard Weber)
9 сен 2024
