Program Notes

20JuneProgram Notes

by April L. Racana

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June

Sergei Vassilievich Rachmaninov (1873-1943)

Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
Although Rachmaninov is well known as a successful composer,conductor and performer, it seemed he felt he could only do his best whenconcentrating on one at a time. In fact, it was during a composing drought
after an unsuccessful performance of his first symphony that he was given
the opportunity to focus on his conducting, which was received warmly. Itwas in this same period, when he was battling his own demons regarding hiscompositional abilities that he went several years with virtually no works
forthcoming. Only after sessions with Dr. Nikolay Dahl, did Rachmaninov
regain his compositional confidence and it was this second Piano Concertothat he finally wrote in the summer of 1900.
The second and third movements were performed in December of thatsame year and were received with such great success that it gave him theneeded push to add the first movement. He gave the first performance ofthe entire work in the fall of 1901, complete with a dedication to Dr. Dahl.
The duality of the pianist, as much accompanist as soloist, is key to theensemble in the first movement and can be heard in a similar balance ofroles throughout the work.
Even though the work was received successfully, he had doubts justfive days before it’s opening, due to some constructive criticism by afriend and former fellow student, which, not surprisingly, gave him pause
for thought after the last public performance of his symphony had been

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such a traumatic failure for him: “I’m simply in despair!… In my opinion
the whole movement is spoiled and from this moment I find it positively
offensive…and why on earth did you pester me with your analysis five days
before the performance…?”

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June

It is perhaps not without reason that Rachmaninov’s final score
marking, risoluto, closes this work – his own resolve clear after regaining
his compositional creativeness with such strong musical statements in thesethree movements, in spite of some unfounded lingering doubts.
Work composed: 1901 World premiere: November 9, 1901 in Moscow:
Philharmonic Society Concert, piano solo by the composerInstrumentation: 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (bass drum, cymbals),strings, solo piano

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op. 64
In May of 1888, Tchaikovsky wrote to his brother Modeste: “To speak
frankly, I feel as yet no impulse for creative work. What does this mean?
Have I written myself out? No ideas, no inclination! Still, I am hoping to15

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20Junecollect, little by little, material for a symphony.” It had been three years
since the composer had written a major work for orchestra, and the previous
one, the ‘Manfred’ Symphony (1885), had not been successfully received.
Prior to this, it had been ten years since his previous orchestral attempt, theViolin Concerto (1878).
All of this reinforced Tchaikovsky’s usual musical self-doubts, yetsomehow he persevered, in spite of the emotional and physical constraints
on him – his health continuing to plague him with difficulties even though
he was not yet fifty. By late August his psyche seemed to have nearly
turned around when he completed his Fifth Symphony: “I have notblundered; it has turned out well.” However, the premiere in Novemberin St. Petersburg received a rather lukewarm reception and rekindled thecomposer’s hesitancies in his abilities. He even wrote in a letter to his
patron Madame von Meck:“After…performances of my new symphony I have come to theconclusion that it is a failure. There is something repellent, something
superfluous, patchy, and insincere, which the public instinctively
realizes…. The consciousness of this brings me a sharp twinge of selfdissatisfaction…. Last night I looked through our symphony (no. 4).
What a difference! How immeasurably superior it is! It is very, verysad!”
In Hamburg, near the beginning of the following year, however, a
repeat performance (apparently one of much higher quality) was received
with great praise, not only by the audience and critics, but even Brahms
himself attended the performance and gave Tchaikovsky a nod of approval.
Once again his own persistence had paid off it seems, in spite of his deepinsecurities.
This, the Fifth Symphony ultimately came to be described as one of atrilogy, linked inexorably with the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies not only
because all three were written in succession during the years between 1878

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Unlike the Fourth Symphony, Tchaikovsky did not leave a specific setof program notes for his Fifth Symphony. But after his death, some notes
were found amongst his sketches, which gave an indication regarding hisideas for the ‘fate’ theme in this work:

Program Notes

and 1893, but most of all because of the composer’s near obsession with a‘fate’ theme that became a common unifying force in each of these works.
It was an emotional time of turmoil in Tchaikovsky’s life as he struggled tocome to terms with personal issues in his life; his death coming only shortly
after the last of these three ‘fateful’ works was premiered.

20June“Introduction. Complete resignation before Fate, or, which is thesame, before the inscrutable predestination of Providence. Allegro (I)Murmurs, doubts, lamentations, reproaches... (II) Shall I throw myself
into the embraces of Faith?”This ‘fate’ theme can be heard in each of the four movements, opening
in the first movement quietly in the clarinets and closing with a triumphal
march in the last movement. Similar in many ways to Beethoven’s Fifth
Symphony, Tchaikovsky represented the journey from struggle in its minor
mode, to the ultimate victory march in major intonations. This symbolic
overcoming of the difficulties fate presents, is shouted from the rooftops
as-it-were between the trumpets and horns to close this triumphant journey.
Work composed: 1888 W o r l d p r e m i e r e : N o v e m b e r 1 7 , 1 8 8 8 i n S t .
Petersburg, conducted by the composer
Instrumentation: 3 flutes (3rd doubling on piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets,
2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, strings

April L. Racana / Music Specialist at Nishimachi International School where she hastaught since 1992. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois,Champaign-Urbana (BS/Piano Pedagogy) and her graduate studies at San FranciscoState University (MA/Music), as well as a post-graduate fellowship at Northwestern
University, and the Japan Studies Program at International Christian University.

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