Vocalise (Op. 34, No. 14)
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
A true “song without words,” Rachmaninoff’s famous Vocalise was the concluding number in his Opus 34 song collection. Although the Vocalise bears no date, it was probably written in 1912 or slightly earlier, since nearly all songs in Opus 34 came from that year. Rachmaninoff dedicated the Vocalise to the then-famous Moscow soprano Mme. A.W. Negdanoff.
As a concert piece, the Vocalise has few peers. Perhaps the closest in spirit might be the “Aria” from Bachianas Brasileiras No. 5 by Heitor Villa-Lobos. However, Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise is known to most audiences in a transcribed, non-vocal form, either for orchestra or for a solo instrument and piano. (According to Victor I. Seroff, it has been arranged for every instrument, including double bass.) In instrumental form, its closest relative is undoubtedly J.S. Bach’s famous Air (for the G string) from the Third Orchestral Suite, and clearly, both Rachmaninoff and Villa- Lobos considered Bach as a point of departure.
Oskar von Riesemann, a chronicler of Rachmaninoff, has written that the Vocalise’s “wonderfully curved melodic arch, with its even tranquility, spans the song from beginning to end in one unbroken line . . . .” That is the general impression we get from the piece. Moderate-length phrases alternate with very long ones, causing Riesemann’s impression of unbroken melody. In all, Rachmaninoff’s original and persuasive melodic gift makes the Vocalise both a delight and a unique emotional experience.
Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, Op. 26
Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953)
Sergei Prokofiev composed the Third Piano Concerto in the summer of 1921 at the French sea resort town of Etretât. As with most of his other piano music, the purpose of the concerto was to give the composer a vehicle for his concert performances as a piano soloist. At the time, he was in the midst of several American projects to be completed that fall, including the Chicago premieres of this concerto and of his opera, The Love for Three Oranges.
The Third Piano Concerto debuted in December by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with the composer as soloist. A month later, Prokofiev performed the new work in New York. It fared much the same as The Love for Three Oranges, which was also performed in those two cities. Chicago audiences and press alike raved over the music, but the New York audience and critics devastated it. The Chicago Daily Herald called the concerto “the most beautiful modern concerto for piano,” but the hostile New York audience booed Prokofiev’s opera. Discouraged and disillusioned, the composer returned to Europe in March 1922 “with one thousand dollars in my pocket and a throbbing pain in my head. . . .” Prokofiev’s Third Piano Concerto, however, was well on its way to becoming a staple concert work and the best loved of his five piano concertos.
What to listen for: The first movement is a study in contrasts. It quickly goes from one mood to another. The introductory idea in the orchestra is cut short by the abrupt entrance of the piano with a hammering, puckish theme. A passage of broad chords leads to one of Prokofiev’s typically sardonic melodies. Listen to how the composer works with these ideas before they are reprised and expanded. The composer tells us that “the movement ends with an exciting crescendo.”
Around the time Prokofiev wrote this concerto, he was experiencing a “classical” rejuvenation (his Classical Symphony having been completed in 1917) influenced deeply by Haydn and Mozart. Try to hear these influences in the second movement, as the music takes us through a varied succession of points of view on the opening theme. At the end, the orchestra restates the theme “with delicate chordal embroidery in the piano,” in the words of Prokofiev.
The composer continues, “The finale begins with a staccato theme for bassoon and pizzicato strings, which is interrupted by the blustering entry of the piano. The orchestra holds its own with the opening theme, however, and there is a good deal of argument, with frequent differences of opinion as regards key.” Listen closely for shifting and side-slipping in this “argument.” Prokofiev liked to have fun with his listeners through his sardonic wit, and this comes out especially in this movement. Near the end, he takes us for a witty rid. He writes, “With a reduction of tone and slackening of tempo, an alternative theme is introduced in the woodwinds. The piano replies with a theme that is more in keeping with the caustic humor of the work. This is developed, and there is a brilliant [ending].”
