GOLDEN DREAMS

Scriabine and Chopin

LES PAYSAGES DE L’ÂME

24 Préludes de Rachmaninov

Prélude, op. 3 n°2 (1892)
10 Préludes, op. 23 (1901-1903)
13 Préludes, op. 32 (1910)

Toujours je languis de désir,
Toujours mon âme vole vers toi,
Dans la pénombre du souvenir,
C’est ton image que je vois…
Ta chère image, inoubliée,
Partout, sans cesse, elle me suit,
Inaccessible, inaltérée,
Comme une étoile dans la nuit…
1848-1849
Fiodor Tiouttchev

“Every note is important, but there is something as important as the notes, and that is the soul, the extraordinarily precious spark. The soul is the source of the highest expressions of music » Sergei Rachmaninov

Time runs short, a moment where we live the present moment intensely, where finally the “prelude” initially planned to be played before a more substantial piece itself becomes the center of attention, more than “preludes” , they are both virtuoso studies (Prélude op. 32 n°4, n°13), sweet romances (op. 32 n°5, 11, op. 23 n°6), nocturnes (op. 23 n°10), stories with magical and poignant, tragic and romantic evocation intact. Obviously, Rachmaninov was inspired by the genius of Chopin, by his 24 Preludes (let's think of his Variations on a Theme of Chopin op. 22, an opus which precedes the book of Preludes op. 23). Rachmaninov also conceives, without logic, the use of all the minor and major keys: in fact we go from a dramatic episode, real bells exploding (op. 3 no. 2) to the infinite sweetness of certain preludes (op . 32 n°5), between dreamlike and passion, the journey to post-romantic Russia is assured.

DE CHOPIN A GERSHWIN

Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
Chopin 4ème Ballade
Rachmaninov Rachmaninoff's Preludes (op. 32)

It is no coincidence that this program brings together these three composers from the 19th and 20th centuries. February 12, 1924: Aeolian Hall, downtown Manhattan in New York, clarinetist Ross Gorman attacks the famous glissando of Rhapsody in Blue. The entire room is under its spell, and what a room it is. The violinists Kreisler, Heifetz, the pianists Rachmaninov and Godowsky… The triumph is impressive. Everyone stands to applaud. For Toscanini, “Gershwin is the only true American composer.” And is Rachmaninov more Russian than American? One wonders what influence all his encounters in New York had. But he is often nostalgic for his homeland, his soul has remained in Russia, he is often dark and unhappy. His Preludes op. 32 so striking and captivating, true hymns to Russian nature, he composed them between two trips to Ivanovka in 1910, in peace, following his liturgical work Saint John Chrysostom op. 31 They both venerated, both Gershwin and Rachmaninov, Anton Rubinstein: "each of his words was pure gold" said Rachmaninov. One day while he was walking in 125th, on the Harlem side, the young Gershwin heard, played on a player piano, the Melody in F by Anton Rubinstein: "I remained frozen," he would later say. From that day on, I could not hear this melody without seeing again this scene, me on the sidewalk, standing, barefoot, in overalls, listening avidly." Music has just rushed into him.
We are talking about Rachmaninov's Preludes, and of course, it is a vibrant homage to his favorite composer, whom he put on a pedestal: Chopin. Rachmaninov shared the opinion of his pianist friend Rubinstein: "Every note of Chopin is pure gold". The 4th Ballade is one of the peaks of Chopin's harmonic writing, and one of the great masterpieces of the romantic piano repertoire. A varied program that takes us on a journey through the romantic, post-romantic and jazzy eras!

RACHMANINOV : Etudes-Tableaux opus 33 et opus 39 (intégrale)

"Rachmaninov was full of a burning inner passion, he was a very earthly man. And his music invited us to more humanism, to purity of thought, all things that can be found in every soul. It came knocking at the door of very simple hearts that had not yet had time to fade and they answered it." Bajanov

In 1911, one year after composing the Preludes Opus 32, Sergei Rachmaninoff inaugurated a first series of piano pieces entitled Etudes-Tableaux, Opus 33. In 1917, he composed Opus 39, a work from the end of his Russian period. 1917: a pivotal year, the February Revolution, he felt that his place was no longer in Russia. On December 23, 1917, he and his family left Russia forever. Pieces of elegant and accurate concision, the Etudes-Tableaux are lyrical in the form of sketches that are likely to create concrete images and strong-feeling states of mind in the listener. At once dark, aggressive, or overwhelming music, unheard-of harmonies can be heard. "I am a Russian composer, my homeland has left its mark on my personality, it is Russian music. » Rachmaninov

SCHUMANN : LE ROUGE ET LE NOIR

Études symphoniques, op. 13
Scènes d’enfants, op. 15
Carnaval, op. 9 
ou
Quatuor piano et cordes, op. 47 (avec le Quatuor Hermès)
ou
Quintette piano et cordes, op. 44 (avec le Quatuor Hermès)

Schumann, a romantic composer par excellence, with a bipolar character – “Although torn at the very roots of my existence, I must create while it is daylight”, positions himself as a passionate and torn composer. Passion, red, blood, love, flesh, and on the other hand the dark, black, depressive and fatal character. But it is this depression that calls upon his creation and his genius. Brilliant works that are the piano pieces: Symphonic Studies, Carnival, Children's Scenes, Quartet.

1905 IMPRESSIONS

Ravel Miroirs
Debussy Images I
Albéniz Iberia III

The Impressions 1905 program brings together piano works from the 20th century, composed around 1905, by composers linked to the Impressionist movement in France: Debussy, Ravel, Albéniz. From France to Spain, we are lulled by these Debussy Images and Ravelian Mirrors and by the energy and ardor of Isaac Albéniz from Spain. The abundance of aquatic images (Reflets dans l’eau, Barque sur l’océan), the evocation of a place (El Albaicin, the Valley of the Bells) and of Spain (Albéniz and Ravel with the Alborada) unite this program of Impressions, both visual and spiritual. The Images resonate with the Mirrors and the Iberia. These early years of the 20th century were rich in harmonic renewal and musical ideas of fleeting impressions.

SCÈNES À FLEUR DE PEAU

Schumann et Rachmaninov

DE L’EXPRESSION DANS L’IMPRESSION

Debussy et Rachmaninov