Composed 1940; 32 minutes

Whether by accident or design, the Symphonic Dances are Rachmaninoff’s valedictory opus: three substantial dance movements that embraces a lifetime’s musical experience.  The composer weaves quotations from his own compositions into the fabric of the score — from the First Symphony, whose devastating première still haunted the composer almost a half century later, to the ever-present somber strains of the Dies irae (Day of Judgement), which recur throughout his music.  When the score was first drafted, in a two-piano version, Rachmaninoff initially mused about calling it Fantastic Dances, titling the three movements ‘Noon’, ‘Evening’ and ‘Midnight’ as though reflecting a journey through life.  Then, as far as titles go, he decided that less is more.  The finale remains a complex mosaic of Dies irae fragments, tolling bells, Lisztian diablerie and Russian church music.  Towards the end, where a new chant puts to end a battle between the Dies irae theme and a chant from his own Vespers, Rachmaninoff writes the word ‘Aliluya’ on the score.  His last composition ends with the words “I thank Thee, Lord.”

“A few years ago, I came across an unforgettable recording from 1940 in which Sergei Rachmaninoff plays through his Symphonic Dances on the piano for conductor Eugene Ormandy, before Ormandy led the Philadelphia Orchestra in the première performance of the orchestral version of the work.  While it’s not clear that Rachmaninoff knew he was being recorded (he did not allow any other live recordings of his playing), this private performance offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the powers of one of history’s great pianists and an extraordinary insight into the way he intended the piece to be performed.  It also got me thinking...

Since childhood, I had been moved by the power, beauty and complexity of the orchestral version of Symphonic Dances.  Later, I loved collaborating with other pianists to perform the two-piano version (which Rachmaninoff created before the orchestral version).  Hearing the composer play it alone on a single piano, I got a tantalizing new perspective on how the score must have been conceived and how a solo piano version could promise a new dimension of spontaneity and flexibility.  All I had to do was create it.”

—  Inon Barnatan

— All program notes copyright © 2024 Keith Horner.  Comments welcomed: khnotes@sympatico.ca