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.
December 17 1910 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina indicated in her notes that, perhaps surprisingly given his concert career to date, this was the first complete solo recital given by Rachmaninoff in Russia. She was unable to provide other details of works on the program apart from the First Piano Sonata. Apetian, however, who believed incorrectly that this concert occurred on December 19 (Julian Calendar), stated that the Songs, op. 26, were also performed. The History of Russian Music, Vol. 10V, book 2, p. 416) confirms the date of December 17, also indicating the participation of the singer V.F. Pushechnikova, which gives weight to Apetian's indication, and negates Satina's supposition. In a note to letter 432 in Literaturnoye nasledie (vol. 2, p. 383), confirmation of the participation of Pushechnikova is noted through citing a review in Kamsko-Volzhskaya Rech on December 19, along with other details of the program listed here. The note states that neither the titles of the songs nor the keys of the preludes were given in the review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 20 1910 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 5th concert of the season of the Nizhny Novgorod branch of the Imperial Russian Music Society. The name of the venue is according to the History of Russian Music (vol. 10V, book 2, p. 416). LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 24 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: It is presumed that other solo works by Rachmaninoff were played. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 27 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Keldysh (p. 337) indicated that in addition to the Sonata, some of the Preludes from op. 32 were given for the first time, along with other small works. However, the History of Russian Music (vol. 10V, book 2, p. 418), citing information provided by Naumov, indicates the works listed here, also confirming the name of the venue. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
March 4 1911 (Julian Calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist and Solo Pianist
Notes: The attached press clipping is the source of information for the orchestral works on the program, which were unknown to Satina; the exact order of the program is not known, nor known which solo works were played in the concert. Russian sources list this concert according to the Julian Calendar. Perhaps inadvertently, Satina shifts from listing concerts in Warsaw according to the Julian Calendar to using the 'new calendar' for this concert, but also giving the date as March 4. In the Gregorian Calendar, this date was March 17. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 18 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina noted that her information for this concert in the Felix Corbett series was sent to her by Mr J. Tillet. She further noted that in Rachmaninoff’s notebook he wrote that he played ‘only 2 piano solos’, but in a later typewritten comment pondered that it was ‘possible he meant he appeared twice’. While Satina noted the Schubert she didn't indicate Rachmaninoff's participation, yet from a review in the Teeside Weekly Herald from October 21 it is apparent that the performance of Schubert's Rondo in B minor for violin and piano was performed by him with Fritz Kreisler, which would seem to be both the first time the two played together, and the only known time they did so in a public concert. The exact order of the program is not known, and difficult to determine from the review, which also notes the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, was repeated as an encore. Rachmaninoff corresponded with R.L. Ibbs in February 1911 regarding this concert, the letter appearing in Christopher Fifield's 2005 biography of Ibbs & Tillett, subsequently published in Lyudmila Kovalyova-Ogorodnova's 2015 two-volume biography of Rachmaninoff. The letter in Fifield's book, translated from the German original, appears twice: on p. 533, Rachmaninoff is quoted as indicating that after playing two movements from his First Sonata and some early smaller works he could instead perform his 'Second sonata' and some preludes, which Kovalyova-Ogorodnova interprets as evidence the later sonata was composed as early as 1911 (vol. 2, p. 174). However, on p. 77 the translation appears more plausibly: '...the programme is as follows: 1) Adagio and Finale from the piano sonata in D minor, 2) Elegie, Prélude, Melodie, Polichinelle Op. 3, Barcarolle, Humoresque Op. 10 but add that I can substitute the two pieces from the sonata with 6 Preludes from Opp. 23 and 32.' While ultimately the Sonata no. 1 was not played at this concert, it is of interest that at the time he proposed playing only its second and third movements. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 19 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina noted that the Preludes from op. 32 were at the time still not published, and wrote ‘first time’ regarding them. Satina also indicated that this was a concert for the Newcastle Chamber Music Society, the information about which was sent to her by Mr J. Tillett. There was a further comment that ‘the program contained also some songs’, which is confirmed by a brief notice in the Musical Times, Nov. 1 1911, which indicates the participation of Mr Francis Harford, singing works 'from the pen of the pianist'. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 21 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina was unable to find details for this concert, however the program can be reconstructed from the attached reviews. They note that Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, was repeated as an encore. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89. The images of the Evening Post and the Dundee Courier are used with kind permission of The British Library Board.
October 24 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist, Conductor, Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina believed that Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony was conducted by Simon Speelman, however the attached press clippings indicate it was conducted by the composer. A brief review in the Musical Times, December 1 1911, appears to indicate that the concert included Rossini's 'Una voce poco fa', sung by Mignon Nevada, in the first part of the concert, along with an arrangement by Carl Flitner of piano waltzes by Schubert for chorus and orchestra, conducted by 'Mr Branscombe' [possibly Edward Branscombe]. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 30 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina was unable for find details for this concert, however it can be reconstructed by a review and press notice in The Scotsman. The review notes that the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, was repeated as an encore at the close of the recital. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 1 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina had no details of this concert, apart from noting that in Rachmaninoff’s notebook he wrote ‘few piano pieces.’ The attached review from Hull Daily Mail indicates that it was a mixed concert with other musicians also performing, the details of whom are indicated in the second attached press clipping. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as the encore in the attached reviews. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 4 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina had no details for this concert, apart from indicating that in Rachmaninoff’s notebook he had written a ‘few piano pieces.’ The details of his own works are taken from the attached review, which recounts that the other works on the program were all songs performed by a range of different vocalists. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 7, 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist and Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina indicated the keys of the Preludes noted here, however it is not clear from the first attached review if they were programmed or played as encores. In any event, the review notes that four were heard on the night. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 5, 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina noted that Apetian believed that this concert occurred on November 2. Satina was informed by Rachmaninoff's notebook listing, and the date is confirmed by a review that appeared in the Russkaya Muzikal'naya Gazeta, 1912, no. 2, p. 69, which also indicated Rachmaninoff played the Polka de W.R. as an encore. The inclusion of the Polka is confirmed in the History of Russian Music (vol. 10V, book 2, p. 445), which, however, does not name all the pieces listed here. The latter source supplies the name of the venue. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 9 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina speculated that the program given here was the same as given in Kharkiv on 5 November, citing Apetian, p. 413, and a review in Russkaya Muzykal’naya Gazeta. A review in Priazovskiy Krai on November 11 confirmed certain works listed here (the reviewer referred to works in the second section from Rachmaninoff's early years ['Второе отделение заняли вещи, написанные Рахманиновым в раннюю пору его композиторской деятельности...']). The History of Russian Music (vol. 10V, book 2, p. 446) provides further information for all works listed here. The book also confirms the name of the venue, which in some sources is referred to as City Theatre (in her two-volume work on Rachmaninoff, Kovalyova-Ogorodnova indicates the theatre was built with funds from Vladimir Asmolov, vol. 1, p. 243). LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 14 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: The details for this concert are according to Andrianova-Ryadnova's memoirs of Rachmaninoff in Georgia, and a review published in Kavkaz on November 16 (p. 3). The review notes that Josef Hofmann was at the concert and 'applauded enthusiastically'. The State Theatre is now known as the Zacharia Paliashvili Tbilisi Opera and Ballet State Theatre. The city was known as Tiflis at the time of this concert. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 23 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina was unable to find details for this concert, however the History of Russian Music (vol. 10V, book 2, p. 447), citing Naumov, provides details of the pieces listed here. Valentin Antipov, on p. XV of the Preface to volume 18 of the Russian Critical Edition of the Complete Works, makes an interesting observation, indicating a program held in the Russian National Museum of Music (formerly the State Glinka Museum of Musical Culture) refers to 'Five Etudes op. 33' being performed (i.e., at this point without the designation 'tableaux'), as noted here. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 25 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the program is not complete, a review in Yuzhnaya Mysl (Southern Thoughts) on November 27 indicates the pieces listed here. An interview with Rachmaninoff in the same publication on November 26 notes that unpublished works and etudes were played in Odesa the previous day, as well as in Kyiv ['У С. В. имеется несколько неизданных произведений и этюдов, которые он впервые играл н а днях в Киеве и вчера в Одессе']. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 28 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: The incomplete program has been reconstructed from the attached review from the Kurjer Wilenski, which appeared the day after the concert. I am grateful to J. Falleyn for sharing this review with me. The name of the venue (Цирк) is according to the History of Russian Music (vol. 10V, book 2, p. 447). Vilnius was known as Vilno at the time of the concert. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 30 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: This incomplete program has been partially reconstructed from the attached review, which appeared in the Rigasche Zeitung on December 1. I am grateful to J. Falleyn for forwarding this review to me.
December 5 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina described how this program was ‘reconstructed from the newspaper Retch by Mrs E Somoff.’ Satina further indicated, though, that while she initially believed it may be incomplete she ‘checked and corrected by using Alexander Siloti’s 10th Anniversary Book’. A slightly different set of keys of preludes and etudes-tableaux are listed in a note to letter 453 in Literturnoye nasledie (vol. 2, p. 387), these being E flat major from op. 23, F minor, G major, A minor, B minor, G sharp minor and D flat major from op. 32, and C sharp minor, F minor and E flat major from op. 33. A further differing collection and order of preludes and etudes-tableaux are listed in Barber's biography of Siloti (p. 299), although this contains some obvious errors. The concert was the 2nd concert of the non-subscription series of Siloti’s 9th Season of Concerts. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 13 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina noted that this was the ‘2nd Chamber Music Extra Concert’ of the season of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. From Satina’s notes, it was not clear if the order of works in this concert was correct, or indeed if the program was complete. She further noted that Preludes in the keys of G minor, G sharp minor, D flat major, and B minor were performed. While Keldysh indicated that the program was the same as in St Petersburg on December 5 (p. 338), a review by G. Prokofiev in the Russkaya Muzikal'naya Gazeta, 1912, no. 2, p. 69, confirms the works here indicated. A review by Engel in Russkiye Vedomosti on December 15 confirms the keys of the Preludes noted by Satina, although it is not clear if he provides a complete list. Engel also indicates that the program began with Rachmaninoff's earlier compositions. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 5 1913 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina indicated that, while the program for this concert was not known to her, he played his own works. She also believed that he would have played his Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36. A note to a letter to Goldenweiser (no. 486) in Literturnoye nasledie (vol. 2, p. 396) states that the Second Piano Sonata was performed for the first time at this concert. The other works on the program are not indicated. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 6 1913 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: No program details. Satina indicated that, while the program for this concert is not known, he played his own works. She also believed that in many cities at this time he would have played his Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 8 1913 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina was unable to find program details for this concert, beyond indicating that the Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36, would have been performed. The History of Russian Music (vol. 10V, book 2, p. 469) incorrectly lists this concert for October 13, although the entry appears in sequence prior to a concert on October 9, likely indicating a simple typographical error. Naumov is cited as the source of information for the works performed. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 10 1913 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: No program details. Satina indicated that, while the program for this concert is not known, he played his own works. She also believed that in many cities at this time he would have played his Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36. When Rachmaninoff performed in this city, it was known in Russia as Libava. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 11 1913 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While Satina was unable to find details for this concert, the program has been partially reconstructed from the attached review. I am grateful to J. Falleyn for sending me his translation of the review from the Rigasche Rundschau, which appeared the day after the concert. The program appears comparable to that given at the concert in St Petersburg on November 23. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 13 1913 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: No program details. Satina indicated that, while the program for this concert is not known, he played his own works. She also believed that in many cities at this time he would have played his Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 16 1913 (Julian Calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: No program details. Satina indicated that, while the program for this concert is not known, he played his own works. She also believed that in many cities at this time he would have played his Piano Sonata no. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36. While most parts of Poland had abandoned the Julian calendar by this time, Satina listed the date according to the Gregorian Calendar, which was October 16. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 17 1913 (Julian Calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist and Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina cited as her reference for details of this concert Apetian (p. 480), and listed the date according to the Julian calendar, as also appears in Bertensson and Leyda (p. 186). In the Gregorian Calendar, this date was October 30. Keldysh (p. 347) indicated that The Rock, op. 7, was also performed in this concert, yet a photograph of the program a few pages later in his book does not include the work. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.