Symphonic Dancers, Op. 45 - an orchestral suite in three parts, completed by Rachmaninoff in 1940 . Symphonic dances are the last work of the composer. In Symphonic dances, one can hear the motives from Rimsky-Korsakov ’s opera “The Golden Cockerel” , as well as the motives of church music, the passion of which Rachmaninoff retained until the end of his life.
The work is dedicated to the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra and its leader Eugene Ormandy .
Content
Creation History
Basically, work on the work took place in New York . The original title of the composition is Fantastic dances, which includes three parts: “Noon”, “Twilight” and “Midnight”. Although the composer wrote to conductor Y. Ormandi at the end of August that the work was finished and only the orchestration remained, the manuscript suggests the completion dates in September-October 1940.
The premiere of "Symphonic Dances" was held under the direction of J. Ormandy (with the Philadelphia Orchestra ) on January 3, 1941 . During a performance with D. Mitropoulos (and the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra) in November 1942, Rachmaninov, who was present at the concert, noticed that Non allegro was mistakenly printed in the score of the first part, and the word non was crossed out by hand [1] . The erroneous designation of the pace of the first part is found in many later reprints of the score and in almost all audio recordings of "Symphonic dances" up to the present day. In 2018, the record company Marston Records published [2] a pirated audio recording made in December 1940 at Ormandy’s house, where Rachmaninoff plays the entire suite (on the piano) (with explanations). The pace that the composer takes at the beginning of the first part is about the eighth = 116.
In Russia, "Symphonic Dances" was first performed on November 25, 1943 in Moscow under the direction of N. S. Golovanov .
Structure
- (Non) Allegro
- Andante con moto (Tempo di valse)
- Lento assai - Allegro vivace - Lento assai. Come prima - Allegro vivace.
Ballet
Rachmaninoff corresponded with the choreographer Mikhail Fokin , discussing the possibility of creating ballet based on the work. The choreographer was interested, but Rachmaninov’s plan was not destined to be realized - in August 1942 , Fokin died suddenly.
Discography
Among the many recordings are the Philadelphia Orchestra (Ormandy), the New York Philharmonic Orchestra (Mitropoulos, 1942), BSO BP (Golovanov, 1944-1949), BSO BP (Gauk, c. 1955), Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra (Kondrashin, c. 1963) ), GASO of the USSR (Svetlanov, 1973, 1986), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Maazel, 1983), North German Radio Symphony Orchestra (Gardiner, 1993), Konsertgebau Orchestra (Ashkenazi, 1983), Russian National Orchestra (Pletnev, 1997).
Notes
- ↑ Sherman J. Music and maestros: The story of the Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1952, p. 253-254.
- ↑ Marston 53022-2.