Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.43
Niccolo Paganini’s 24 Caprices for solo violin marked the high point of instrumental virtuosity in the 19th century, and have had an inspiring influence on composers ever since. One particular Caprice, that in A minor, has been a particular favourite – Liszt, Brahms, and more recently, Boris Blacher, Witold Lutoslawski and Andrew Lloyd-Webber have all written variations on its simple 16-bar theme. For Sergei Rachmaninov it was to provide the seed of his final, and most perfect, work for piano and orchestra. Exiled from his native Russia since the revolution of 1917, he had abandoned full-time composition in order to earn a living for his family as a concert pianist. His success was unquestionable, and he is now regarded as the greatest pianist of the century. He never lacked engagements, more often than not to perform his own Second or Third Concertos, already established favourites. But his success did little to allay his frustration at being unable to compose regularly, his unease in the inter-war world, and his increasingly bitter longing to return to Russia. He travelled unceasingly from city to city, across Europe and America; and when he was finally able to produce a new work, the Fourth Piano Concerto (1926), it met with failure. Its spartan orchestration, uncomfortable attempts to incorporate jazz elements (he’d been present at the premiere of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in 1924) and lack of a big romantic melody disappointed his audiences; they acclaimed him as a pianist but had lost interest in him as a composer. So when he settled in Switzerland in 1931, he turned to other composers for inspiration, and wrote a set of Variations on a Theme by Corelli, for solo piano. These proved a modest success, and, emboldened, he began a new work in a similar form for piano and orchestra, taking as his theme the famous Paganini A minor Caprice.
The choice was inspired; Rachmaninov, the greatest virtuoso of his own age, must have identified with Paganini, the most brilliant performer of his era – both men driven to the point of exhaustion by the demands of their own artistry, and both exiles. The Rhapsody was inspired by Paganini’s personality and playing, but Rachmaninov took his identification with the great violinist a step further, and while legend has it that Paganini was bound by a pact with the Devil, Rachmaninov’s rhapsody is stalked by his own personal spectre, the Dies Irae plainchant. Symbolic of Death, it appears in different forms in works throughout his career, but in the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini it appears explicitly for the first time, and so, as well as a brilliantly written set of variations, the work may be seen almost as a programmatic contest between the artist and Death. It was an idea to which Rachmaninov would return in his final work, the Symphonic Dances (1940). The Rhapsody was completed in 1934 and premièred in November that year by the composer, with the Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski. It brought him instant success – largely, perhaps, because the 18th variation of the Rhapsody gave his audience the great melody they’d been waiting for – but the Rhapsody as a whole was swiftly recognised as one of the most brilliantly written and perfectly structured piano concertos of the century. Rachmaninov was the first of a long line of soloists to take it into their repertoire, although even he found its technical demands a challenge; towards the end of his career he would invariably drink a glass of crème de menthe before a performance of the Rhapsody in order to help him through the swifter passages.
The Rhapsody comprises an introduction, theme, and 24 variations, played without a break. The work calls for a large orchestra, with bass clarinet, cor anglais, harp and a wide range of percussion, and can be seen as falling loosely into the three movements of a classical concerto. The first section runs from the 18-bar introduction, the 1st Variation (which, unusually, precedes the theme!), and the theme itself (given by unison violins) through the first appearance of the Dies Irae in Variation 7, to the end of the 10th Variation. The tempo drops for the second section of the work, opening with the fantastic 11th Variation, all swirling harp and shimmering strings, and building through to the 18th Variation, the emotional climax of the Rhapsody, where, by turning Paganini’s theme upside down, Rachmaninov created the last great romantic melody of his career. The 14th and 15th Variations – a brisk march and a glittering piano solo respectively – constitute a miniature scherzo amidst the slower variations. The finale of the Rhapsody begins with the 19th Variation, inspired by Paganini’s celebrated left-hand pizzicato technique. In the 22nd Variation, the build-up to the final climax begins, with a passage evoking pealing bells – a source of lifelong inspiration to Rachmaninov. Towards the close, the Dies Irae blares out once more in the full orchestra, but Paganini’s theme has the last word with a final, sardonic gesture.
R.G. Bratby, 1999
Copyright Classical Notes.co.uk 2000
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