Paganini Rhapsody- Rachmaninoff- Any thoughts?

[Barbosa-piano]

I am just wondering if anybody here has played the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini by Rachmaninoff.

I began the project about two months ago and at this point I have about twenty of the twenty-four variations learned. It is quite difficult and the most demanding project I have yet worked on(my last piece for piano and orchestra was Cesar Franck's Symphonic Variations).

I was wondering if any of you veterans with this piece have any particular suggestions on ensemble problems I might encounter, technical tricks which make life easier, etc.

Your comments would be much appreciated!

[iratior]

Rubinstein's recording of this is a very, very tough act to follow.  Setting aside concerns about post-hoc-ergo-propter-hoc fallacies, you might find that doing this piece took all the snow out of winter just like the Appassionata sonata;  do you want that?  I don't, because the snow is so beautiful.

[Barbosa-piano]

      I appreciate your response yet respectfully disagree (if I am not mistaken as to what precisely you mean).
I am a pianist and I believe that what I have to say is different, exciting and new (is not that the reason why we become pianists in the first place?). Classical music has been blessed by an army of virtuosos, many of them transcendentally talented; as musician's we have tough acts to follow every day, with nearly every piece we play in the standard repertoire.
Now, you say that Rubinstein's act is a tough one to follow. That is a matter of personal opinion! I think following Rachmaninoff's own act or Pletnev's act (which is, in my opinion, a miracle) is even more difficult (please understand that I love Rubinstein; the latter performers take the pedestal in this particular situation, in my opinion).
It is encouraging to know that people still listen to the Appasionata- not only the piece itself- but interpretations by Schnabel, Schiff, Horowitz, and other giants. I will humbly say that they even listen to my own interpretation!
That is what makes music special; the variety of interpretations of one masterwork. There are many winters and lots of snow; I am glad audiences recognize that.

                                                                                                         M. B. 

[iratior]

Well, a formal proof of causality might not be possible, but I got to know about Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Appassionata Sonata when I was in fifth grade and there was a very mild winter then.  And when I myself played the Appassionata Sonata ten years later, it got worse:  there were several almost snowless winters in a row.  Actually, in response to being told that Rubinstein's rendition of the Rhapsody was a tough act to follow, you could always say, "Yeah, but Rubinstein can't perform his rendition live any more.  And there's more than a little something to be said for live versus merely recorded performance.  Music has to live;  you can't bottle it up in recordings and have it still mean what it has always meant in the context of life in general."  There, how's that?

[Barbosa-piano]

I am feeling a sense of drama in the air. So far your comments have been irrelevant to what I have asked, therefore virtually useless and irritating. What do you want me to do? Give up and throw away two months of intense mental labor?

Maybe you and I are different: I learned the Appassionata a while after discovering the piece and I grew closer and closer to it. Getting the first hand experience and to understand the inner-workings of a masterpiece is something I will treasure forever. You get to put your hands on Beethoven's miraculous architecture!

Music has to live;  you can't bottle it up in recordings and have it still mean what it has always meant in the context of life in general."  There, how's that?

I agree with you. I accepted that to be something you simply understood while reading my reply; no need to even bring it up. It actually counters what you said about Rubinstein in the first place.

No need for drama or smart aleck remarks. I am just looking for somebody who has actually performed the piece to give me some insight.  Let's be adults and respectful to our fellow musicians in this forum.

[iratior]

Well, perhaps i should change my forum name from iratior to Till Eulenspiegel.  My, what a harsh world we have, when all writing, to be sufficiently respectful, must be completely humorless.

[Barbosa-piano]

Now, that is funny!
I apologize. You have a very peculiar sort of humor! I am not used to it.
Have I been taking you too seriously throughout this?

[iratior]

Much too seriously.  Where Victor Borge left off, I shall continue.  I may not do Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, but "Jingle Bells" in the style of Rachmaninoff.  After all, I never could get the sheet music for the Rhapsody.  I had to content myself with listening to it carefully, and then doing a rendition of the theme song from "The Godfather" in the style of it.  But it must not have been accurate enough, because I don't think it did anything to lessen the amount of snow in the winter.