Mainstage Concert 5 – August 5, 2021
Mainstage Concert 5 – August 5, 2021
2:00PM & 7:30PM, Arkell Pavilion, SVAC
“Russian Titans”
Sergei Rachmaninoff (b. Russia | d. Russia; 1873 – 1943)
Piano Trio No. 1 in G minor, "Elegiaque" (composed 1892)
Composed in just four days for unknown circumstances, this haunting piano trio pays clear homage to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, a beloved mentor to Rachmaninoff. Its single-movement format suggests a character piece more than a large-scale musical essay, yet the depth of the trio’s emotional content belies its brevity. It begins with lonely incantations vaguely uttered by the strings, and with the emergence of the opening piano motive a few bars later the music gradually coalesces into a recognizable melody that forms the basis of the work. From there, the phrases gain warmth and vivaciousness, ascending to climactic peaks that counterbalance the mesmerizing quiet moments found in its most meditative moments. The trio ends with a hushed funeral march that slowly fades into silence.
Anton Arensky (b. Russia | d. Russia; 1861 – 1906)
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32 (composed 1894)
Known in part as the beloved music theory teacher of such pupils as Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Scriabin, and Reinhold Glière, Arensky was in his own right a successful and prolific composer, and his Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32, reigns supreme as one of the masterworks of the literature. It was dedicated to the memory of cellist Karl Davidoff – director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and widely recognized as the founder of the Russian school of cello playing – and the leading role of the cello throughout testifies to Arensky’s admiration for Davidoff’s legacy.
The first movement is arresting, commencing with a memorable melody that seeds numerous motives to follow, with the “Chopinesque” elegance of the piano writing serving as a perfect companion to the melodic nature of the strings. The second movement is a humorous scherzo featuring impressive piano runs and bright string harmonics, with a middle area that evolves into a boisterous valse reminiscent of Viennese dance halls. The third movement is entitled “Elegia,” or “eulogy,” and it presents a recurring theme that temporarily escapes its innate melancholia through sweet moments of nostalgia before ultimately concluding in a dirge. The fourth movement overflow with motion and power, eventually coming to a halt with the reprisal of a pivotal nostalgic moment from the third movement. After reveling in that sweet memory one last time, the listener is shaken awake and reinserted into the movement’s dramatic momentum, capped by a decisive final cadence.
Sergei Taneyev (b. Russia | d. Russia; 1856 – 1915)
Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 22 (composed 1907)
For nebulous reasons, the recognition of Taneyev as one of the “titans” of Russian romantic composers has been a long time coming in the West. Written correspondences reveal Taneyev as a composer and pedagogue of incorruptible integrity and powerful intellect with a formidable legacy of compositions across an array of large-scale genres.
The Piano Trio in D Major, Op. 22, is a noble and effervescent work that wastes no time in establishing a series of catchy themes that pervade the pastoral first movement and resurface in subsequent movements. Throughout the first movement, Taneyev explores the full dynamic range of each instrument, resulting in an expressive spectrum encompassing both tender intimacy and symphonic grandeur. The second movement begins as a sardonic scherzo, eventually metamorphosing into a charming set of theme and variations, only to return to the scherzo material before vanishing in a sprinkling of fairy dust. The third movement transports the listener to a world of unrestrained passion, the piano pulsating lush chords under string melodies that soar with full-throated romanticism. Drawing upon themes heard in previous movements, the rhythmic fourth movement brims with athletic vigour and extensive contrapuntal exploration, pausing only briefly in a reflective cadenza before yielding to a driving coda and ecstatic conclusion.