164 Concerto No. 4 in G Minor for Piano and Orchestra, Op. 40 Allegro vivace (alla breve) Largo - attacca subito Allegro vivace Following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Rachmaninov and his family were forced to flee from Russia, leaving behind all their possessions. Rachmaninov went on a concert tour of Scandinavia, after which he emigrated to America to find a better future. As he needed to earn money he held off composing and conducting and went on long tours as a pianist. It was not until 1926 that he felt confident enough to take a break from his many performances and start writing again. The result was the Fourth Piano Concerto, which premiered in 1927 with the composer as soloist and Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. The work took him almost two years and the first version was very long. To Rachmaninov's dismay, it got a cool reception and lukewarm reviews. In 1941 Rachmaninov made several amendments and cuts; this shortened version is the one that will be played in this concert. Critics still lamented the indistinct structure. The Fourth Concerto never gained a foothold in the concert hall repertoire and only a few performances were held. Its complex melodies were possibly slightly less catchy than those of his previous concertos, and maybe the structure was harder to grasp. The romantic melodious ideas that had made Rachmaninov a success many years previously had undoubtedly altered, but the concerto is full of the composer’s despondent echoes. This work reveals future thinking not only because it reflects new techniques, but also because it introduces new nuances influenced by his familiarity with the American music of Gershwin, virtuoso jazz pianist Art Tatum, Duke Ellington and others, along with his early acquaintance with Scriabin, even before he left Russia. The unusual characteristics of the concerto allude to issues of struggle and acceptance as well as the sense of exile from his homeland. The first movement is opened dramatically by the orchestra until the first subject comes in with chords on the piano. This is followed by the restless but lyrical second theme, which develops in the style of a rhapsody, reaching a great prolonged climax before the rather abrupt end of the movement. The second movement includes a doleful nostalgic central theme, restlessly reconstructed in a series of various scales. Then a new theme appears, dramatic and full of rage until the first theme returns to calmly conclude the movement. A sudden biting entry of the orchestra followed by a dramatic run on the piano opens the last movement and leads to its main theme, which repeats in several virtuosic variations. The second lyrical theme makes its appearance. It then attains a climax followed by a short pause of chords in the best of the composer's style, followed by a transition back to the first quick subject, and the brilliant coda that brings the work to its conclusion. This concerto is a magnificent distillation of all the Rachmaninov concerti; it is filled with fascinating and unusual sound effects that demonstrably display Rachmaninov's skills. It is music we should bask in and allow ourselves to be carried away. If we listen carefully, we can already hear hints of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Opening Event
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