Re:How radical was Rachmaninoff?
by jancsika on Wednesday September 07, 2022 @11:49AM
(#32752232)
> Can such a figure really be deemed an anachronism?
Obvious answer is the correct answer: yes!
Hell, there are moments in Brahms' Paganini Variations that are more experimental than Rach's Paganini Rhapsody. I'm thinking in particular of that wonderful little canon where the right hand follows the left hand in a slightly-altered triplet pattern.
Alternatively, listen to Lutoslawski's Paganini Variations for two pianos written only seven years after Rach's Paganini Rhapsody. And realize that is about as conservative as Lutoslawski gets!
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Rach's compositions, and turning the theme upside down in the Rhapsody was a stroke of brilliance. But the question is elementary to answer and not at all elucidating. He wasn't a radical composer in any reasonable sense of the word.
Obvious answer is the correct answer: yes!
Hell, there are moments in Brahms' Paganini Variations that are more experimental than Rach's Paganini Rhapsody. I'm thinking in particular of that wonderful little canon where the right hand follows the left hand in a slightly-altered triplet pattern.
Alternatively, listen to Lutoslawski's Paganini Variations for two pianos written only seven years after Rach's Paganini Rhapsody. And realize that is about as conservative as Lutoslawski gets!
There's absolutely nothing wrong with Rach's compositions, and turning the theme upside down in the Rhapsody was a stroke of brilliance. But the question is elementary to answer and not at all elucidating. He wasn't a radical composer in any reasonable sense of the word.