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Theme from opening movement of First Symphony (first on clarinet, then in oboes). He would quote it in the Symphonic Dances.

The Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, is an orchestral suite in three movements. Completed in 1940, it is Sergei Rachmaninoff's last composition. The work became an apropos summation of Rachmaninoff's compositional output in more ways than one.

The work is fully representative of the composer's late style with its curious, shifting harmonies, almost Prokofiev-like grotesquerie of the outer movements and focus on individual instrumental tone colors throughout (highlighted by his use of an alto saxophone in the opening one). The opening three-note motif, introduced quietly but soon reinforced by heavily staccato chords and responsible for much of the movement's rhythmic vitality, is reminiscent of the Queen of Shemakha's theme from Rimsky-Korsakoff's opera The Golden Cockerel, the only music by another composer he had taken out of Russia with him in 1917. The Dances allowed him to indulge in a nostalgia for the Russia he had known, much as he had done in the Third Symphony, as well as to effectively sum up his lifelong fascination with ecclesiastical chants. He quotes in the first dance the opening theme of his First Symphony, itself derived from motifs characteristic of Russian church music. In the finale he quotes both the Dies irae and the chant "Blessed be the Lord" (Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi) from his Vespers.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for an orchestra of piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, alto saxophone, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, triangle, tambourine, side drum, cymbals, bass drum, tamtam, xylophone, glockenspiel, tubular bells, harp, piano, and strings.

Movements

1. Non allegro
2. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse)
3. Lento assai - Allegro vivace - Lento assai. Come prima - Allegro vivace.

Background

Rachmaninoff composed the Symphonic Dances four years after his Third Symphony, mostly in Orchard Point, New York on Long Island, USA. Its original name was Fantastic Dances, with movement titles of "Noon," "Twilight" and "Midnight." While the composer had written conductor Eugene Ormandy in late August that the piece was finished and needed only to be orchestrated, the manuscript for the full score bears completion dates of September and October 1940. It was premiered by Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, to whom it is dedicated, on January 3, 1941.

The Dances combine energetic rhythmic sections, reminiscent of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring, with some of the composer's lushest melodies. The rhythmic vivacity, a characteristic of Rachmaninoff's late style, may have been further heightened here for two reasons. First, he had been encouraged by the success of his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini as a ballet in 1939 and wanted to write something with which to follow it up. Second, he may have included material intended for a ballet titled The Scythians, begun in 1914-15 but abandoned before Rachmaninoff left Russia. While no manuscript for the ballet currently survives, this does not make his quoting the work inconceivable, given the vastness of Rachmaninoff's memory. He could remember and play back accurately pieces he had heard years earlier, even those he had heard only once.

The work is remarkable for its use of the alto saxophone as a solo instrument for the only time in a Rachmaninoff composition. The composition includes several quotations from Rachmaninoff's other works, and can be regarded as a summing-up of his entire career as a composer. The first dance ends with a quotation from his unfortunate First Symphony (1897). The ghostly second dance (called "dusk" in some sketches) symbolises the years from the turn of the century up to the Russian Revolution. The final dance is a kind of struggle between the Dies Irae theme, representing Death, and a quotation from his All-night Vigil (1915), representing Resurrection. The Resurrection theme proves victorious in the end (he wrote the word Hallelujah at this place in the score).

Arrangements

Concert

Rachmaninoff wrote an arrangement for two pianos concurrently with the orchestral version. There is also an arrangement for orchestral wind band.

Ballet

The name Symphonic Dances suggests that the composition can be danced to. Rachmaninoff corresponded with choreographer Mikhail Fokine about possibly creating a ballet from the Dances. He played the composition for Fokine on the piano; the choreographer responded enthusiastically. Fokine's death in August 1942 put an end to any possible collaboration in this direction.

Salvatore Aiello choreographed the Symphonic Dances for the North Carolina Dance Theater in 1991. Peter Martins did so in 1994 for the New York City Ballet.

Organ

There exists a transcription of the entire piece by French composer/performer Jean Guillou, written for two organs.

Selected Recordings

1. Kiril Kondrashin, conducting the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.
2. Vladimir Ashkenazy, conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra
3. Lorin Maazel, conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker.

References

• Norris, Gregory, ed. Stanley Sadie, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (London: MacMillian, 1980), 20 vols. ISBN 0-333-23111-2.
• Harrison, Max. 2006. Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-826-49312-2.
• Maes, Francis, tr. Pomerans, Arnold J. and Erica Pomerans, A History of Russian Music: From Kamarinskaya to Babi Yar (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London: University of California Press, 2002). ISBN 0-520-21815-9.
• Schonberg, Harold (1988). The Virtuosi: Classical Music's Great Performers From Paganini to Pavarotti. Vintage. ISBN 0394755324. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessyear=, |origmonth=, |accessmonth=, |chapterurl=, |month=, |origdate=, and |coauthors= (help)
• David Brown, Liner notes to Deutsche Grammophon recording conducted by Mikhail Pletnev
• Liner notes to Reference Recordings recording conducted by Eiji Oue
• Michael Steinberg, San Francisco Symphony program notes, under External links

External links

• Ormandy and Rachmaninoff
• Recording on 2 Pianos at Pandora Records
• Rachmaninov and the Day of Wrath inkpot.com
• San Francisco Symphony Program Notes by Michael Steinberg
• Symphonic Dances in the IMSLP / Petrucci Music Library