Rachmaninoff's repertoire
Phil Caron
(Continuum, 2005), I was fascinated by the documented growth in this great
pianist's repertoire. Below is a yearly list drawn from the book.
The list includes piano works Rachmaninoff played in either the concert hall
or in the recording studio. Dates only indicate the year a work was added
to his repertoire.
Rachmaninoff's own piano works are omitted. He performed or recorded
virtually all of them, usually starting the year they were composed.
Some works that Rachmaninoff only seems to have played parts of are listed
without noting that. For example, he only played a couple movements from
Debussy's Children's Corner.
In a single concert in 1915, Rachmaninoff soloed in Liszt's 1st,
Tchaikovksy's 1st, and his own 2nd concertos.
Rachmaninoff rejected many (most) recording takes, including those of some
major works that were never released. For example, Beethoven's Sonata Op.
10/2, Liszt's Ballad #2 and Spanish Rhapsody, and Schulz-Evler's Blue Danube
paraphrase. All rejected recordings are said to have been destroyed per
Rachmaninoff's wishes.
- Phil Caron
==============================
Rachmaninoff's repertoire
(born 1873)
1885 Bach: English Suite #2
1887 Tchaikovsky: Troika > The Seasons Op. 37
1892 Rubinstein: Concerto #4
Schumann: Kreisleriana
1911 Tchaikovsky: Concerto #1
1915 Liszt: Concerto #1
Scriabin: Concerto, Sonata #2, Sonata #5, Fantasie Op. 28, Poeme Op. 32/1,
Poeme Satanique Op. 36, Preludes Op. 11, Etude Op. 8/12
1917 Bach-Busoni: Chaconne
Beethoven: 32 Variations in c-minor, Sonata Op. 10/3
Chopin: Sonata #3, unspecified etudes
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsodies #2 & 12,
Scriabin: Etudes Op. 42
Haydn: Variations in f-minor
Medtner: Fairy Tales Op. 20 & 26
Schubert: unspecified Moments Musicaux
Mozart: unspecified piece
1918 Chopin: Polonaise Op. 40/2, Nocturne Op. 27/1, Waltz Op. 42
Godowsky: Renaissance paraphrases #11 & 12
Rubinstein: Barcarolle, unspecified polka
Scarlatti-Tausig: Capriccio L84, Pastorale L413
Tausig: 2 unspecified Waltz-Caprices
Tchaikovsky: Romance Op. 5
1919 Mozart: Sonata K. 331
Beethoven: Sonata Op. 31/2
Chopin: Ballade #2, Scherzo #2, Polonaise Op. 26/2, Impromptu Op. 29,
Waltzes Op. 64/3 & 69/2, unspecified etudes
Liszt: Gnomenreigen, La Campanella, Waltz >Gounod's Faust
Schumann: Carnaval, 2 unspecified Paganini etudes
Mendelssohn: Variations Serieuses, Rondo Capricioso, Song without Words Op.
67/4
Alkan: Comme il Vent Op. 39/1, Marche Funebre Op. 26
Rubinstein: Etude Op. 23/2
1920 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 10/2, Sonata Op. 90
Chopin Ballade #1, Barcarolle, Nocturne Op. 48/2, Etudes Op. 10/5 & Op.
25/2, 3 & 9, Mazurkas Op. 59/2 & 63/3, Waltzes Op. 34/2, 64/1 & 3, 70/1
Schumann: Papillons
Mendelssohn: 8 unspecified Songs without Words
Debussy: Childrens' Corner
Grieg: Op. 12/2 & 4, 19/1, 68/2
Medtner: 2 Novellen Op. 17
Tchaikovsky: Waltz Op. 40/8
Weber: Momento capriccioso
Paderewski: Menuet Op. 14/1
Daquin: Le Coucou
1921 Handel: Variations in Bb
Beethoven: Sonata Pathetique
Chopin: Ballade #3, Scherzo #3, Polonaises Op. 26/1 & 53, Nocturne Op. 27/2,
Waltzes Op. 18 & 70/3
Liszt: Ballade #2, Grand Galop Chromatique, Sonetto del Petrarca 104,
Tarentella > Venezia e Napoli
Schumann: Novellette Op. 21/8
Grieg: Ballade
Weber:-Tausig Invitation to the Dance
Medtner: Fairy Tale Op. 34/3
Dohnanyi: Capriccio Op. 28/6
1922 Beethoven: Sonata Appassionata
Chopin: Sonata #2, Fantasie, Nocturne Op. 15/2
Chopin-Liszt: The Maiden's Wish
Schumann-Tausig: Der Kontrabandiste
Liadof: Etude Op. 5
Medtner: Improvisation Op. 31/1
Moszkowski: La Jongleuse
Strauss-Schulz-Evler: Paraphrase on the Blue Danube
1923 Bach: English Suite #2
Chopin: Nocturne Op. 62/2, Prelude Op. 28/19
Liszt: Funerailles, Spanish Rhapsody, Liebestraum #3
Schubert-Liszt: Ave Maria
Henselt: Si oiseau j'etais
Tchaikovsky: Humoresque Op. 10/2, Variations Op. 19/6
Wagner-Brassi:n Magic Fire Music
Delibes-Dohnany:i Naila Waltz
1924 Bach-Liszt: Prelude & Fugue in A
Chopin: Ballade #2, Scherzo #4
Liszt: Sonata in b-minor, Polonaise #2
Schumann: Sonata Op. 22
Gluck-Sgambati: Melodie > Orfeo
Saint-Saens-Siloti: The Swan
Schubert-Liszt: Das Wandern
Strauss-Godowsky: Kunstlerleben paraphrase
1925 Bach: Partita #4
Beethoven-Rubinstein: Turkish March > The Runis of Athens
Schubert: Impromptu D. 899/4
1926 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 26
Chopin: Nocturne Op. 15/1, Introduction & Rondo Op. 16
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody #15
Mendelssohn: 2 Etudes Op. 104
Schubert-Tausig: Andantino & Variations
Schumann: Symphonic Etudes
Brahms: Intermezzo Op. 118/6
1927 Bach-Busoni: 2 Organ Preludes
Chopin: Etude Op. 10/1, Nocturne Op. 9/2
Liszt: Paganini Etude #6, Sonata apres Dante
Medtner: Sonata Op. 25/1
Scriabin: Sonata #4
Strauss-Tausig: Man lebt nur einmal, Valse-Caprice #1
Taniev: Prelude & Fugue Op. 29
1928 Mozart: Sonata K. 576
Beethoven: Sonata Op. 109
Debussy: Jardins sous la pluie, La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin
Ravel: Tocatta > Le Tombeau de Couperin
Medtner: Fairy Tale Op. 51/1
Scarlatti: 2 unspecified Sonatas
1929 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 78
Chopin: Fantasie-Impromptu Op. 66, Mazurka Op. 33/4, Nocturne Op. 32/1
Liszt: Valse-Impromptu
Wagner-Liszt: Spinning Chorus
Schubert-Tausig: Marche Militaire D.733/1
Medtner: 3 Hymns Op. 49
1930 Chopin: Polonaise Op. 44
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody #9, Valse Oubliee #4
Schumann: Davidsbundlertanze
Medtner: Funeral March Op. 31/2
Balakirev: Islamey
1931 Beethoven: Sonata Les Adieux
Weber: Sonata #1
Chopin: Polonaise Op. 40/1,
Liszt: Harmonies du Soir
Brahms: 2 unspecified Ballades Op. 10
1932 Beethoven: Sonata "Moonlight"
Haydn: C-major Fantasia
Schubert: 2 unspecified Impromptus D. 935
Schubert-Liszt: unspecified lieder
Schumann-Liszt: unspecified lieder
1933 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 31/1
Schubert: Sonata D. 850
Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody #11
Liszt: Sonetto del Petrarca 123
Schumann: Arabesque
Debussy: Pour le Piano
1934 Bach-Tausig: Toccata & Fugue in d-minor
Chopin: Impromptu Op. 36, 2 unspecified mazurkas
Brahms: Ballade Op. 118/3
Scarlatti: 2 unspecified Sonatas
1935 Handel: Harmonious Blacksmith Variations
Chopin: Mazurka Op. 68/2
Scarlatti: several unspecified sonatas
Borodin: Scherzo
1936 Bach-Liszt: Fantasie & Fugue in g-minor
Field: 2 unspecified nocturnes
Chopin: Mazurka Op. 7/3
Liszt: Paganini Etude #2, Valse Oubliee #3
1937 Bach: Italian Concerto
Beethoven: Concerto #1
Chopin: Mazurka Op. 63/2
Liszt: Prelude Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen
Debussy: Suite Bergamasque
1938 Beethoven: Sonata Op. 111
Chopin: 12 unspecified preludes Op. 28, 3 unspecified etudes Op. 25
Rameau: Variations in a
1939 Bach: French Suite #6
Liszt: Totentanz for pf & orch
Schubert-Liszt: Die Forelle
Poulenc: Toccata
1941 Chopin: 2 unspecified mazurkas
Schumann: Concerto
1942 Chopin-Liszt: The Return Home
Schubert-Liszt: Serenade
Schumann: Faschingsschwank aus Wien
(died March 1943)
JohnGavin
Phil Caron wrote:
> In reading Max Harrison's "Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings"
> (Continuum, 2005), I was fascinated by the documented growth in this great
> pianist's repertoire. Below is a yearly list drawn from the book.
>
>
>
> The list includes piano works Rachmaninoff played in either the concert hall
> or in the recording studio. Dates only indicate the year a work was added
> to his repertoire.
>
>
>
> Rachmaninoff's own piano works are omitted. He performed or recorded
> virtually all of them, usually starting the year they were composed.
>
>
>
> Some works that Rachmaninoff only seems to have played parts of are listed
> without noting that. For example, he only played a couple movements from
> Debussy's Children's Corner.
>
>
>
> In a single concert in 1915, Rachmaninoff soloed in Liszt's 1st,
> Tchaikovksy's 1st, and his own 2nd concertos.
>
>
>
> Rachmaninoff rejected many (most) recording takes, including those of some
> major works that were never released. For example, Beethoven's Sonata Op.
> 10/2, Liszt's Ballad #2 and Spanish Rhapsody, and Schulz-Evler's Blue Danube
> paraphrase. All rejected recordings are said to have been destroyed per
> Rachmaninoff's wishes.
>
>
>
> - Phil Caron
>
>
>
> ==============================
>
>
both Beethoven and Medtner - he obviously liked Scarlatti very much as
well.
Matthew B. Tepper
letters to be typed in
news:1135357594....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
> Fascinating list - it's revealing to see SRs consistent devotion to
> both Beethoven and Medtner - he obviously liked Scarlatti very much as
> well.
Too bad about RCA's Charles O'Connell, though.
--
Matthew B. Tepper: WWW, science fiction, classical music, ducks!
My personal home page -- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/index.html
My main music page --- http://home.earthlink.net/~oy/berlioz.html
To write to me, do for my address what Androcles did for the lion
I ask you to judge me by the enemies I have made. ~ FDR (attrib.)
JohnGavin
Another thing - I feel sure his performances of the Bach suites would
have been nothing short of a revelation - I'm basing that on his sole
Bach recording, the Sarabande from Partita #4. Every time I hear that
Sarabande - I think of Rach, and his lilting way with it.
David Fox
Matthew B. Tepper wrote:
> "JohnGavin" <dag...@comcast.net> appears to have caused the following
> letters to be typed in
> news:1135357594....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
>
> > Fascinating list - it's revealing to see SRs consistent devotion to
> > both Beethoven and Medtner - he obviously liked Scarlatti very much as
> > well.
>
> Too bad about RCA's Charles O'Connell, though.
>
My thoughts exactly. Every time I think about O'Connell/Rachmaninoff
saga I get angry all over again. I wonder why Rachmaninoff didn't play
EMI against RCA as Horowitz and Heifetz successfully did (pre-war, of
course).
DF
Matthew B. Tepper
letters to be typed in news:1135358460.416000.142030
@g14g2000cwa.googlegroups.com:
> Have you heard the Busoni recording of the 1st Prelude & Fugue from
> book one? This is a revelation. It makes one wish they could go back in
> time and shoot the heads of Columbia who turned down Busoni's offer to
> record all 48!
Good thing the later heads of the same company weren't just as bad.
Er.....
JohnGavin
therealdwi...@yahoo.com wrote:
> JohnGavin wrote:
> > Another thing - I feel sure his performances of the Bach suites would
> > have been nothing short of a revelation - I'm basing that on his sole
> > Bach recording, the Sarabande from Partita #4. Every time I hear that
> > Sarabande - I think of Rach, and his lilting way with it.
>
> Bach and yet this is not an insightful view of his performance style.
> His musicianship is beyond compare - with the natural manner of his
> expression, his genius is in that you can tell it is Rachmaninoff
> palying Bach.
>
> Have you heard the Busoni recording of the 1st Prelude & Fugue from
> book one? This is a revelation. It makes one wish they could go back in
> time and shoot the heads of Columbia who turned down Busoni's offer to
> record all 48!
>
> not at Hotmail ;-)
A Busoni WTC would be fascinating for sure - frustrating when you start
thinking of what could have been.
JohnGavin
therealdwi...@yahoo.com wrote:
> Personally, I like Rachmaninoff's three arrangements from the E Major
> Partita for Violin - He has often been criticized for his
> embellishments. Are there other artists from this time whom you would
> consider as excellent at the art of piano transcription, with a
> particular emphasis on the works of Bach? (Excepting Busoni's mammoth
> work.)
>
> The Real Dwight Frippery
The Bach-Rachmaninoff E Major has always been a favorite of mine. Of
the same era I also enjoy Godowsky's very free take on the
Unaccompanied Violin and Cello Suites of Bach. What Godowsky does
makes the Rachmaninoff arrangement sound very conservative, but they
are wonderfully creative and delightfully anachronistic. Of all
people, Igor Kipnis was a fan of the Godowsky arrangements.
Dontait...@aol.com
> "JohnGavin" <dag...@comcast.net> appears to have caused the following
> letters to be typed in
> news:1135357594....@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:
>
> > Fascinating list - it's revealing to see SRs consistent devotion to
> > both Beethoven and Medtner - he obviously liked Scarlatti very much as
> > well.
>
> Too bad about RCA's Charles O'Connell, though.
How correct Matthew is. It seems that Rachmaninoff not only wanted to
make studio recordings of many things and was turned down by O'Connell,
he asked Victor to record some of his recitals live for possible
commercial release, including Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. O'
Connell declined that too. As he evidently rejected Rachmaninoff's
request to record his Second Symphony with the Philadelphia Orchestra
(Rachmaninoff was also an exceptional conductor) because Victor had
recorded the work with Ormandy and the Minneapolis Symphony in 1935.
That's not a reflection upon Ormandy, but upon O'Connell.
I have known two people who heard Rachmaninoff play Beethoven's First
Concerto with Frederick Stock and the Chicago Symphony. One was Claudia
Cassidy, who told me it was extraordinary and unforgettable. If it
hadn't been for Charles O'Connell, we might have a recording of that
too.
Don Tait
Phil Caron
> How correct Matthew is. It seems that Rachmaninoff not only wanted to
> make studio recordings of many things and was turned down by O'Connell,
> he asked Victor to record some of his recitals live for possible
> commercial release, including Beethoven's Appassionata Sonata. O'
> Connell declined that too.
Rachmaninoff frequently made many takes before producing a recording he
regarded as acceptable, which in many works never happened at all. He was
more difficult in this than some other artists of that era, for example,
Kreisler. Recording Rachmaninoff in extended works was probably an
expensive proposition that could take many months. Surely he could have
been handled better by his producer, but I don't think it should be viewed
as one-sided.
Didn't Rachmaninoff suggest recording his recital programs in the studio, as
opposed to live? He is said to have approached performance and recording
quite differently.
While the things Rachmaninoff never recorded are tantalizing indeed, he did
leave one of the largest bodies of recordings of any pianist up until his
time, and their general level of excellence is very high.
- Phil Caron