Solo Pianist - Diary entries
Many of the initial performance details listed here were compiled from Zarui Apetian’s important research, published in Literaturnoye Nasledie [Collected Literature] (Sovietskii Kompozitor: Moscow, 1980, vol. 3, pp. 439-467). These details have been subsequently cross-referenced and checked with the many itineraries and other corroborating materials, especially substantial research that identified precise program details, collected by Rachmaninoff’s sister-in-law, Sophia Satina, housed in the Rachmaninoff Archive of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C (LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R22, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89). Further information has been gathered from Barrie Martyn’s book Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor (Scolar Press: London, 1990), A Catalogue of the Compositions of S. Rachmaninoff by Robert Threlfall and Geoffrey Norris (Scolar Press: London, 1982), and research undertaken at the Glinka Museum of Musical Culture, Moscow.
November 19 1886 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: The Glinka Museum has details of this concert. Whether the Prelude and Fugue is from Book I or II of the Well Tempered Clavier is not stated.
May 1888 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Threlfall and Norris list this performance (II/11). The work is mentioned in 'Rachmaninoff's Recollections' by Oskar von Riesemann, a facsimile of which the composer copied from memory for the book in 1931.
September 26 1892 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist and Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina indicates that this was the first performance of the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2. The concert was the ‘18th Symphony Concert' at the Electrical Exhibit in Moscow. Satina notes the exact order of the program remains unknown, and that the details of works were copied from a review published in the journal ‘Artist’. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 28 1892 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina references a photo of the program in Apetian, p. 89. The following short paragraph is included in Satina’s notes: “В письме к М.А. Слонову от 14 декабря 1892г. Рахманинов посылает ему программу концерта в Харькове, 28 декабря 1892г. В письме перечислены вещи, которые будут испольняться Рахманиновым. Не зная, повидимому, что будет петь Слонов, Рахманинов под номером 2 пишет в шутку: "Мишка Слонов доказывает земли вращение". Под номером 5: "Мишка Слонов доказывает всю несостоятельность доводов Деруледа в Панамской пертурбации." (“In a letter to M.A. Slonov from 14 December 1892 Rachmaninoff sends him the programme for the concert in Kharkiv, 28 December 1892. The letter lists all the works to be performed by Rachmaninoff. Not knowing, apparently, what Slonov was going to sing, Rachmaninoff writes under piece number 2 as a joke: "Mishka Slonov demonstrates the Earth's rotation". Under piece number 5: "Mishka Slonov proves all the inconsistencies in Deroulède's arguments relating to the Panama perturbation.") Threlfall and Norris identified this performance, along with details of the venue. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 27 1893 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that Rachmaninoff’s Morceaux de fantaisie, op. 3, were repeated at the audiences request. Satina also notes that the details of this concert were copied from Apetian, p. 83-84. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 29 1893 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: The Glinka Museum has details of a ‘Music and Literary Evening’ on this date, noting also two works for cello and piano by Glazunov.
March 30 1893 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: The Glinka Museum has details of an ‘Evening Program’ on this date.
April 3 1893 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: The Glinka Museum has details of a ‘Literature and Musical Evening, Beneficiary Concert’ on this date.
April 17 1893 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: The Glinka Museum has details of a ‘concert with reading’ on this date.
January 31 1894 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Chamber Musician and Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina indicates that this was the first performance of Rachmaninoff’s op. 9, and the first performance of pieces from op. 10. Regarding Rachmaninoff’s piano works, Satina has added that the Elegy and Prelude from op. 3, and the Melody, Humorseque and Romance from op. 10 were performed, citing Apetian, p. 107. The concert would appear to be the first all-Rachmaninoff concert for the composer. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 7 1894 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: The Glinka Museum has details of a ‘mixed concert’ on this date.
February 21 1894 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina indicates that this incomplete program was from a concert in which Rachmaninoff also accompanied a singer. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 7 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. Satina cites Apetian, p. 126, for the details of cities played on this tour. Rachmaninoff left the tour, according to Satina, in Smolensk on 24 November, and the entry for that concert lists the further cities that were originally scheduled on the tour. The works performed with Tua have not been noted by Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 10 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. The works played by Tua have not been noted by Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 9 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. The works performed with Tua have not been noted by Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 12 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. The works played with Tua have not been noted by Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 13 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. The works played with Tua have not been noted by Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 15 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. The works played with Tua have not been noted by Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 17 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. The works played with Tua have not been noted by Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 18 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. The works played with Tua have not been noted by Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 24 1895 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert was part of a tour with the violinist, Teresina Tua. The works played with Tua have not been noted by Satina. Rachmaninoff left the tour, according to Satina, after this concert. There were further concerts scheduled in Vitebsk, Liepāja, Vilnius, Daugavpils, Riga, Jelgava, St Petersburg, Tartu, Talinn, St Petersburg, Pskov, and Nizhny Novgorod. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
April 19 1899
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that this was Rachmaninoff’s first appearance in England. The concert was the 3rd in the season of the Philharmonic Society of London. Satina indicates that the program was copied from the book ‘History of the Philharmonic Society of London: 1813-1912’, p. 462. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 20 1907
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist and Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina has added this date in pencil, apparently as a consequence of a reference in materials of Zarui Apetian. Satina notes: ‘see Warsavsky Dnevnik, November 9, 1907, no. 309. Article by Zataevich, Apetian p. 339’. Satina also indicates that Rachmaninoff had incorrectly identified the date of this concert as 1908, apparently referencing his entry in his new ‘book’ for recording such details. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 4 1909 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: This was likely the first performance by Rachmaninoff of his First Piano Sonata, which Threlfall and Norris (citing Oskar von Riesemann) indicate occurred at the Moscow Conservatory. The Sonata had first been performed by Konstantin Igumnov. Satina notes that this was the 2nd Chamber Music Concert of the Quartet of the Imperial Russian Music Society in Moscow. Vladimir Bakaleinikov, the violist in the quartet, would later conduct concerts in America with Rachmaninoff. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 7 1909 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Chamber Musician and Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that this was Alexander Siloti’s 3rd Chamber Music Concert of the season. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 4 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that this was the first appearance of Rachmaninoff in the USA. Precise details of keys were not given, hence it is not possible to determine whether the Prelude in ‘D’ is op. 23 no. 3 or 4. Satina notes that ‘the Mason and Hamlin piano was used’, as was also noted for some other venues on this tour. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 16 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that this concert commenced at 2.30pm. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 20 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the keys of the first two preludes were not actually given in the review, and that she has copied them from similar programs in Boston, Pittsburgh and Chicago. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 27 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Solo Pianist
November 26 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Solo Pianist
Notes: The review does not mention Tchaikovsky's 1812, nor Karl Pohlig. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89. Review: Philadelphia Inquirer 1919.11.27 p. 15.