Letters to London: New Material about Sergei Rachmaninoff’s First Performance Outside of Russia

Vera B. Valkova

Abstract


The article includes the first publication and commentaries to Sergei Rachmaninoff’s letters to London connected to his first tour abroad in April 1899 preserved in the British Library. The addressee of the letters is Francesco Berger, who at that time held the post of the merited secretary of the London Royal Philharmonic Society. The letters are presented in the original German and in Russian translation by the author of the article. The material of the letters makes it possible to specify certain details of his work on the Second Concerto for Piano and Orchestra. The additional sources brought in for examination provide new information about the composer’s sojourn in London in the spring of 1899.

Keywords: Sergei Rachmaninoff, Rachmaninoff’s letters to London, Rachmaninoff’s Second Concerto for Piano and Orchestra, Rachmaninoff’s debut abroad.


Full Text:

PDF (Russian)

References


Apetyan Z. A. Kommentarii [Commentaries]. Rakhmaninov S. V. Literaturnoye nasledie: v 3 t. [Literary Heritage: In 3 Vol.]. Edited and commented by Z. A. Apetyan. T. 1: Vospominaniya. Interv'u. Pis'ma. [Vol. 1: Recollections. Interviews. Letters]. Moscow, 1978, pp. 446–526.

Val'kova V. B. Londonskiy debut S. V. Rakhmaninova: materialy k biograficheskomu syuzhetu [Sergei Rakhmaninoff’s Debut in London: Materials for a Biographical Storyline]. S.V. Rakhmaninov i problema istoricheskoy pamyati Rossii: materialy Mezhdunar. nauch.-prakt. konf., 3–4 dekabrya 2015 goda, Sankt-Peterburg [Sergei Rachmaninoff and Issues of the Historical Memory in Russia: Materials of International Scholarly-Practical Conference, December, 3–4, 2015, St. Petersburg]. Art-Holding “Rakhmaninov,” Museum Memorial Estate “Ivanovka”. Collected and edited by I. N. Vanovkaya. Tambov, 2016, pp. 37–49.

Val'kova V. B. S. V. Rakhmaninov i russkaya musykal'naya kul'tura ego vremeni [Sergei Rachmaninoff and the Russian Musical Culture of His Epoch]. Edited by I. N. Vanovkaya. Museum Memorial Estate “Ivanovka”, State Institute for Art Studies. Tambov, 2016. 200 p.

Val'kova V. B. S. V. Rakhmaninov: Letopis' zisni i tvorchestva. Chast' 1 (1873–1899) [Sergei Rachmaninoff: Chronicles of His Life and Work. Part 1: 1873-1899]. Tambov: Museum Memorial Estate “Ivanovka”, 2017. 276 p.

Vinter-Rozhanskaya E. R. Iz vospominaniy [From Memoirs]. Vospominaniya o Rakhmaninove: v 2 t. [Memoirs of Rachmaninoff: In 2 Vol.]. Collected and edited by Z. A. Apetyan. 5th Edition. Moscow, 1988. Vol. 2, pp. 18–24.

Glushkova O. R. Obrazovatel'naya deyatel'nost' Moskovskoy konservatorii: stanovlenie i razvitie (1866–1916): dis… kand. iskusstvovedeniya [Educational Activities at the Moscow Conservatory: Its Formation and Development: Dissertation for the Degree of Candidate of Arts]. Moscow, 2020. 260 p.

Mikheeva M. V. Rol' A. I. Ziloti v tvorcheskoy sud'be molodogo S. V. Rakhmaninova [The Role of Alexander Siloti in the Artistic Destiny of Young Rachmaninoff]. S. V. Rakhmaninov i problema istoricheskoy pamyati Rossii: materialy Mezhdunar. nauch.-prakt. konf., 3–4 dekabrya 2015 goda, Sankt-Peterburg [S. V. Rachmaninoff and Issues of the Historical Memory in Russia: Materials of International Scientist-Practical Conference, December 3–4, 2015, St. Petersburg]. Art-Holding “Rakhmaninov,” Museum Memorial Estate “Ivanovka.” Collected and edited by I. N. Vanovkaya. Tambov, 2016, pp. 113-123.

Potapova G. E. Perevody i izuchenie Lermontova v Germanii, Avstrii i Shveitsarii [Translations and Study of Lermontov in Germany, Austria and Switzerland]. Lermontov i russkaya kul'tura: Internet-resurs [Lermontov and Russian Culture: Internet Resource]. Supported by RGN Foudation (№ 12-34-10210). URL: http://lermontov.rhga.ru/imir/detail.php. (08.04.2020).

Rakhmaninov S. Vospominaniya, zapisannye Oskarom fon Risemanom [Rachmaninoff, Sergei. Memoirs Written Down by Oscar von Riesemann]. Moscow: Raduga, 1992. 256 p.

Rakhmaninov S. V. Literaturnoye nasledie: v 3 t. [Literary Heritage: In 3 Volumes]. Edited and commented by Z. A. Apetyan. T. 1 : Vospominaniya. Interv' u. Pis' ma [Vol. 1 : Recollections. Interviews. Letters.]. Moscow: Sovetskiy kompozitor, 1978, 668 p.

Shipilov A. V. Zarplata rossiyskogo professora v ee nastoyaschem, proshlom i buduschem [The Salaries of Russian Professors in the Present, Past and Future]. ALMA MATER. Vestnik vysshey shkoly [ALMA MATER. Journal of the Higher School]. 2003. No. 4, pp. 33–42.

Allis M. British Music and Literary Context. Artistic Connections in the Long Nineteenth Century. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2012. 332 p.

Berger F. Reminiscences, Impressions & Anecdotes. London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company LD. [1922]. 227 p.

Norris G. Rachmaninoff in London. The Musical Times. 1993. April. Vol. 134, No. 1802, pp. 186–188.

Norris G. Rachmaninoff’s Reception in England, 1899–1938. Studies in Music from the University of Western Ontario. Vol. 15. 1995, pp. 49–58.

[Poster]. Musical News. 1899. 15 April, 393.

The Week. The Athenaeum. 1899. 22 April (№ 3730), 506.

The Philharmonic Society. Pall Mall Gazette. 1899. 20 April, 8.




DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33779/2587-6341.2020.3.204-218

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.