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 21 1939
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. It is likely that Medtner’s Fairy Tale was op. 34, no. 2. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as an encore in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 23 1939
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. It is likely that Medtner’s Fairy Tale was op. 34, no. 2. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 14 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. The attached review indicates a Chopin mazurka, the Wagner-Brassin Magic Fire Music, Liszt's Liebestraum no. 3, and the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, were given as encores. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 15 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. It is likely that Medtner’s Fairy Tale was op. 34, no. 2. A Chopin Mazurka in A minor, the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, and the transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee are noted as encores in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 23 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Apetian included this recital, however it did not appear on Satina's list (possibly through inadvertent error, as she had a partial copy of the program). The first half of the program is according to the attached review. In other cities that featured this program (such as February 9 in Hastings, NE), the Schubert-Liszt transcription of 'The Trout' was also given, although it is not mentioned in the review. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as an encore. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 3 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. It is likely that Medtner’s Fairy Tale was op. 34, no. 2. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 6 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. It is likely that Medtner’s Fairy Tale was op. 34, no. 2. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, and the transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee are noted as encores in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 9 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. It is likely that Medtner’s Fairy Tale was op. 34, no. 2. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as one of three encores in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 12 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 13 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 14 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. It is likely that Medtner’s Fairy Tale was op. 34, no. 2. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 14 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 18 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is mentioned as one of a number of encores in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 30 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. Satina also indicates that Rachmaninoff may have also played the Etude-Tableau in C major, op. 33. The attached review notes a work by Rimsky-Korsakov, which could have been a performance of the transcription of The Bumble Bee as an encore. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is also mentioned, again presumably given as an encore. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 7 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 9 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. Olin Downes, in his review for the New York Times, notes Wagner-Brassin's Fire Music, and Rachmaninoff's transcription of 'Daisies', Schubert's 'Wohin' (likely not the arrangement by Liszt, as Downes presumed), and Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee as encores. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 12 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as the first of several encores in the first of the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 17 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, and the transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee are noted as encores in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 19 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as an encore in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 21 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. A Chopin waltz and the transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee are noted as encores in the attached reviews. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 22 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. A work, or works, by Chopin, and the transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee are noted in the attached review as encores. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 29 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. A 'waltz' and the transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee are noted as encores in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 1 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 3 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina noted that the Humoresque and Moment musical were performed in their revised versions. The attached review from the Times Herald indicates that the Prelude in G major, op. 32, no. 5, might have been played in place of the Moment musical, however the review from the Evening Star states the Moment musical was played. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 5 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 6 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, and the transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee are noted in the attached review as encores. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 12 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 16 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 21 1940
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Rachmaninoff is presumed to have been recorded without his knowledge as he played through his newly written Symphonic Dances, op. 45, for the conductor, and the dedicatee of the work, Eugene Ormandy. Its existence long rumoured, the recording was published by Marston Records in 2018. A fine booklet note by Richard Taruskin provides excellent background information.
January 17 1941
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While the key of the Schubert Impromptu was consistently listed as A flat minor, Martyn (p. 434) confirms it was D. 899, no. 4. Satina notes that ‘no reviews or programs were found' for this concert, and indicates the works were identified from an archival letter from Rachmaninoff’s secretary. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.