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Technical Notice
| Classical Composer: | Rachmaninov, Sergey |
|---|---|
| Work: | Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 |
| Year Composed: | 1934 |
| Instrumentation: | 2(+picc)2.ca.22/4231/timp.perc/hp/str |
| Publishers: |
Boosey & Hawkes Edwin F. Kalmus Schott Music Carl Fischer Muzgiz |
| Duration: | 00:26:00 |
| Period: | Romantic |
| Work Category: | Concerto |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini was written in the space of a few weeks in 1934 and is based on the theme used by Paganini as the basis of a set of solo violin variations that form the last of his 24 Caprices. The melody was to serve other composers, such as Brahms and Liszt, and has continued to do so.
To Rachmaninov the Paganini theme suggested the complementary use of another, more ancient melody, that of the sequence that once formed part of the Latin Requiem Mass, the Dies irae. This second melody, which Rachmaninov had used appropriately enough in The Isle of the Dead, was to appear again in his final work, the Symphonic Dances of 1940. It had served other 19th century composers as a symbol of death, whether in the Symphonie fantastique of Berlioz, in Liszt's Totentanz or, in Russia, in Tchaikovsky's Third Suite,
Although the Rhapsody seems in origin to have to have had no programmatic significance, the composer provided a narrative explanation for Fokin's ballet Paganini, the choreographic version of the legend according to which the great violinist had sold his soul, Faust-like, to the Devil in return for perfection as a violinist and for the love of a woman (romantic rumours that Paganini himself had been at pains to contradict). The Dies irae is taken to represent the Devil, while the original theme is Paganini himself. Certainly the variations that make up the Rhapsody include episodes of lyrical tenderness, forming a central section of romantic intensity, followed by what might seem the brilliant diablerie of the last six of the 24 variations.
Writer: Keith Anderson
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