There is nothing quite like the music of the Russian Romantics. It’s evocative and breathtakingly beautiful – folkloristic simplicity and passionate complexity on a dramatic journey together. If you have never spent time with this music, this is your chance. It’s not often we get to hear three magnificent pieces performed live in one afternoon (especially in this neck of the woods). Prepare to get lost in the rich harmonies and beautiful melodies as they carry you away to where ever it is you want to go. Escapism at its purist – trust me, it’s worth trying and all you have to do is listen.
On Sunday, June 11th at 3 pm in the Feather Market Center in Gqeberha, the East Cape Philharmonic Orchestra will be performing music by Alexander Borodin, Sergei Rachmaninoff and, of course, Pytor Illych Tchaikovsky. They will also be featuring one of my favourite pianists, Nina Schumann.
Russian music from the Romantic period is particularly special because it has a distinctly Russian flavour. Composing in a style that was nationalistic was encouraged and well-received by Russian critics and audiences. In fact, if a composition sounded too Western and not evocative enough of Russian music, it was harshly criticised and often shunned by the public. Borodin was one of the main proponents of this style and getting his stamp of approval went a long way in Russian circles. Tchaikovsky’s style was typically Russian in many ways but provided a bridge to Western music which is why he was the first Russian composer to achieve real international acclaim and put Russian music on the map. Rachmaninoff was the youngest of the three, so bridged into a different era of music. I am sure when you listen to the concerto you will hear how well-suited it is for movie soundtracks or more popular music.
The opening work entitled the ‘Polovtsian Dances’ is taken from the opera Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin (1833-1887). In a nutshell, the story is about a complicated military campaign initiated by the Russian Prince Igor, who decides to wage war against the Polovtsian people, a Tatar tribe. Their campaign is however botched and Igor and his son get captured. These dances are taken from the end of Act 2 where the Polovtsian people are showing the prince some of their culture with dance and song.
As you will hear, Borodin’s music is evocative of distant lands. Notice his mastery at taking a melodic motif and weaving it through the fabric of the music. I love the folksy vibe added by the tambourine and the many cymbal crashes. Near the end, the trombones play at full force – hopefully, they’ll hold back enough so that you can hear the rest of the orchestra!
Borodin was often known as the composer who didn’t compose enough. He did, in fact, have another day job as a highly respected chemist and medical doctor. Besides doing valuable scientific research, he was passionate about education and was instrumental in founding the first medical college for women in Russia. Composing was his side hustle. Hard to fathom, as he was one of ‘The Five’ (not to be confused with our Big Five) – a group of composers from St. Petersburg, dedicated to creating a nationalistic style of Russian classical music.
Borodin was the son of a Georgian prince and a Russian army doctor’s wife. For obvious reasons, he was never acknowledged as the prince’s son and was registered as a serf. Serfdom aside, he still enjoyed a comfortable life supported financially by his father, which enabled him to thrive in academic and musical circles. In his thirties, he married a pianist named Ekaterina Protopovova (a real tongue twister) and together they adopted several daughters. This is probably where his passion for women’s education took root. Never a particularly healthy guy, suffering from heart conditions and bouts of cholera, he dropped dead at a ball at the tender age of 53 whilst apparently wearing full Russian costume. Some say his death was caused by fatigue, wearing multiple hats in the workplace and caring for a wife who was ill as well as his daughters had taken its toll.
Dig Deeper
When was the Romantic Period in Music?
- Between 1820 and 1900
Some facts about the Romantic Period?
- The Romantic period has nothing to do with romance, just more drama and passion in the arts.
- It’s hard to describe in words (hence all the flowery adjectives).
- Composers dig deep to find their own voice/ style, often drawing inspiration from nature, magic, folklore or deep emotion.
- You can expect to hear lots of contrasts, lots of louds and softs.
- People start making music at home (not just in castles and churches)- this is when the middle class started buying pianos for their living rooms.
- Symphony concerts become public events.
- Anyone can study music.
- The technical capabilities of instruments improve.
The Featured Daisy
Facts about Nina
- Piano professor at the University of Stellenbosch
- Holds degrees from the University of Cape Town, University of California in LA and the University of North Texas
- Married to a pianist, Luis Magalhaes – they are the award-winning TwoPianists duo
- Has 2 children
- Won all the major South African music prizes, as well as some international competitions
- Given over 140 concerto performances with orchestras in South Africa, Germany, Portugal, Scotland, Armenia and the United States
- Has 40 concertos in her repertoire
- Is a cancer survivor
- Lives and performs with Parkinson’s disease
Read more: Nina Schumann – A Great Year Ahead
Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 must be one of the most famous pieces of music ever composed. It has always been one of my favourite compositions, not only because of the gut-wrenching horn solos, but the solo piano leads you through this glorious voyage right from the beginning. Written in three movements, each is uniquely beautiful. It begins with slow piano chords that then cascade into swelling arpeggios as the strings play the opening theme. The melodies are passed between the instruments, each having a moment to sing out and add to the drama. The second movement starts with slow chords in the strings leading into an arpeggiated passage in the piano that then accompanies the clarinet as they pass the melody back and forth. Close your eyes and let the music wash over you as the drama and intensity builds. Listen especially for the magical horn solo that really digs in. The third movement presents a change of mood and tempo, lightening things up with a little brightness and cheekiness. Lots of flashy runs and big chords in the piano. The concerto comes to a close with a big tutti section (everyone playing at the same time) and a couple of bombastic cymbal crashes.
As you watch the pianist, I am sure you can imagine the skill required to perform such a piece of music. Rachmaninoff had massive hands, he had a reach of twelve white notes on the piano with one hand. He was also a world-renowned concert pianist and so he wrote his compositions to suit his hands, in many cases playing the premiere performance.
Rachmaninoff was born in Russia in 1873 (d.1943). His talent for music was recognised at an early age as both a performer and composer. At the age of 18, he wrote his first piano concerto which was very well received. He continued to climb in Russian society and became a well-known musician in the elite musical circles, eventually also touring as a concert pianist across Europe. In 1910, he caused quite a stir by marrying his cousin – in Russia this was illegal. They had a daughter and when the Russian Revolution began, the three of them left St. Petersburg on the back of an open sled to seek asylum in the United States, via Helsinki. On arrival in the United States, they had to start from scratch, having had to leave all of their possessions and wealth behind. It didn’t take long before he was performing again but didn’t do as much composing as before. After living in New York for many years, he eventually moved to LA and apparently built a house that was a replica of his house in Russia.
One of the central themes of Rachmaninoff’s life seems to have been his struggles with depression and anxiety. After hearing of Tchaikovsky’s death from cholera in 1893, he went into a major depression which impacted his productivity. Not long after recovering from this, he experienced another decline after what he perceived as the failed reception of his first symphony. His second piano concerto was the first major work to come after a long period of composer’s block. Treatment with hypnotherapy and supportive therapy helped draw him out of his funk and compose again. Perhaps this is why the second concerto has such depth with moments of darkness swelling into uplifting waves of passionate expression. I usually feel completely exhausted and emotionally drained after listening to it!
Fortunately, the interval will give you a chance to recover and prepare yourself for one of Tchaikovsky’s greatest works, his Fifth Symphony. Once again, this is manna from heaven if you are a horn player as it has some of the most exquisite solo passages in the orchestral repertoire ( I am sure the other instruments have great solos too).
Tchaikovsky shares a number of similarities with both Borodin and Rachmaninov. Although Borodin was the elder, they were more or less contemporaries. Besides the fact that they both died at the age of 53, both Tchaikovsky and Borodin studied something else other than music. Tchaikovsky studied law and worked as a legal clerk for a while. When the opportunity arose a few years into his career, he left the world of jurisprudence and joined the new St Petersburg Conservatory to study music.
Much like Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky’s life was also governed by depression and disappointment – hard to believe knowing what an impact he has had on classical music and that most people in the Western world could recognise at least one or two of his tunes (whether they know it’s Tchaikovsky or not). One of six children, he was sent to an all-male boarding school at the age of ten. Sadly, his mother died of cholera when he was 14. In his thirties, he was briefly married to a Belgian soprano only to have the marriage end in failure after a few weeks. Later on in life, he had a close relationship with the wealthy widow of a railroad tycoon, who became his patroness. Interestingly enough, they agreed never to meet even though they exchanged written correspondence for the fourteen years she supported him. One can assume that much of the adversity and depression in his life was related to the fact that he was gay. Homosexuality was illegal in Russia at the time which forced Tchaikovsky to keep his private life very much under the radar. There is often speculation that his final sixth symphony was written as his own requiem – he died shortly after its completion. There is no evidence to suggest suicide and records show he died of cholera, nevertheless, people always seem to prefer a more dramatic story.
His Fifth Symphony or the ‘Fate’ Symphony starts off ominously with clarinets playing in their lower register accompanied by strings. Sadness and despair are palpable throughout, interspersed with sections of joy and positive energy. Can you hear hints of Russia in the music? In the second movement, the highlight has to be the very long horn solo (this has nothing to do with the fact that I am a horn player). Another beautiful and evocative movement. This contrasts nicely with the lightness and almost carefree feel of the Valse in the third movement. The final movement does have a bit of a heroic feel to it and once again gives the trumpets and trombones a chance to play out (their favourite thing to do). I know you will love this symphony. Tchaikovsky didn’t base it on a particular idea or story officially, but some believe this was his ‘fate’ symphony, written to communicate the sadness and loss he felt throughout his life.
We hope you have enjoyed our cultural adventure. Please let us know if you go to the concert and how you enjoyed it. Do you have a favourite composer of the three?
Feel free to post any questions you may have, even if it’s a restaurant suggestion for after the concert.
Meet the Conductor
- One of South Africa’s up and coming conductors
- Lives in Stellenbosch
- Winner of 5th SA Conductor’s Competition
- Has already conducted the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mzansi National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Free State Symphony Orchestra, the Johannesburg Festival Orchestra and the Cape Town Pops
- Studying piano with Nina Schumann and Luis Magalhaes
- He’s off to Scotland in September to continue his conducting studies
Ever wondered when to clap?
- When concertmaster walks on
- When conductor walks on
- After the first piece
- When soloist walk on
- At the end of the 3rd movement (not before)
- Beginning of symphony
- End of fourth movement
- Then you can clap as much as you like
Sources
- Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Aleksandr Borodin.” Encyclopedia Britannica, February 23, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Aleksandr-Borodin.
- Dianin, Sergei (1963). Borodin. Translated by Robert Lord. London: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780313225291.
- Minhall, Anne-Marie. “Borodin: Polovtsian Dances – musical thrills from the chemist who composed too little” https://www.classicfm.com/composers/borodin/guides/polovtsian-dances-anne-marie-minhall/(Accessed on 21/5/23)
- Poznansky, A.. “Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.” Encyclopedia Britannica, May 3, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pyotr-Ilyich-Tchaikovsky.
- Taruskin, R. and Seroff, . Victor Ilyich. “Sergey Rachmaninoff.” Encyclopedia Britannica, March 28, 2023. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergey-Rachmaninoff.
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST LINK:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6Div2aYBhzthN8djZ5Yu6l?si=1d6df1a6f0ce46ef
Wonderful
insightful article , beautifully written and researched, thank you , Cat .
Thrilled to read the beautiful Feather Market venue is functional again.
The first Winter Concert of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra series was held last Thursday and featured both Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, both were brilliant.
Thank you so much, Helen. What a wonderful way to start the winter season – I wish I could have been at that concert! Hopefully see you at the Fethermarket next week.
Thank you for this article. I found it more interesting than I thought I would. 🙂 Not because of who wrote it but because I am not typically interested in the history of music. I came away having learn something I’ll remember.
I am quite relieved! Thanks for taking the time to read it. Quiz next time I see you.