Ravinia_2018_Issue_6_Week

seemed to begin in an hour and was like the

whole earth cracking.”

e second part,

Sacri ce

, is a reckless, whirling dance that ends

in the chosen girl’s death, beginning again the

annual cycle of rebirth.

Background material for

e Rite of Spring

, sub-

titled

Scenes of Pagan Russia

, was discovered

partly in published folksong collections. Stra-

vinsky fashioned a unique modern style from

the primeval elements—motivic and rhythmic

cells—of actual folk songs. His novel subject

matter demanded a primitive musical language

of unprecedented savagery. “Very little immedi-

ate tradition lies behind

e Rite of Spring

, how-

ever, and no theory. I had only my ear to help

me; I heard and I wrote what I heard. I ammere-

ly the vessel through which

e Rite

passed.”

Diaghilev chose Vaslav Nijinsky, the principal

male dancer of the Ballets Russes, to choreo-

graph

e Rite of Spring

. Nijinsky’s distorted

movements completely contradicted ballet tra-

ditions: knock-kneed stances, arms dangling

scarecrow-like at -degree angles, and o -bal-

ance, asymmetrical lines. Marie Rambert, Ni-

jinsky’s assistant, still remembered details of the

work in her s, when she was interviewed by

Millicent Hodson, who recently reconstructed

the choreography: “ e foundation of the cho-

reography was the turned-in position. And bent.

A questioning. And sts. … at was one of the

poses, and you had to

dance

in that pose. When

you had to jump with those feet … turning in,

the position was di cult to keep, and it came

from terribly di cult rhythms which you had to

remember. It was a torture.”

e production was torture of a di erent sort

for Stravinsky. Nijinsky, who had never before

choreographed a ballet, completely lacked any

understanding of music, and this rhythmically

complex score was no place to cut one’s musi-

cal teeth. e

premiere proved a scandalous

a air with riots breaking out in the audience.

Stravinsky restrained the furious Nijinsky back-

stage, while Diaghilev tried to restore order by

ashing the lights. No one was prepared for this

revolutionary work. Like many revolutions, this

one began in a chaotic sputter.

SERGE RACHMANINOFF (1873–1943)

Symphonic Dances

, op.

(arranged for two pianos by the composer)

One by one, Rachmanino closed the door on

each facet of his career. e stream of composi-

tions slowed rapidly a er his move to the Unit-

ed States in

, nally running dry in

Rachmanino made his nal appearance as a

conductor in Chicago, the ultimate stop of the

“Rachmanino Cycle,” in March

. His last

concert tour as pianist was scheduled for the

– season. However, death robbed Rach-

manino of his eagerly anticipated retirement.

Symphonic Dances

, op.

(

), his nal

composition, o ers a musical synopsis of Rach-

manino ’s life and career. It was originally ballet

score for Mikhail Fokine, bearing the title

Fan-

tastic Dances

, with the three movements called

Noon

Evening

, and

Midnight

e descriptive

labels were later removed and the ballet plans

scuttled, and the set was renamed

Symphonic

Dances

Rachmanino explained the nal title during an

interview in the

New York World-Telegram

(Oc-

tober ,

): “It should have been called just

‘Dances,’ but I was afraid people would think I

had written dance music for jazz orchestras.”

It seems doubtful that anyone would confuse

the late-Romantic symphonist with a big-band

composer, but perhaps this droll assertion al-

luded to the prominent alto saxophone theme

in the rst movement. Rachmanino sought the

advice of popular composer and arranger Rob-

ert Russell Bennett while preparing this, his rst

saxophone part.

Based on musical quotations in the

Symphonic

Dances

, one suspects that the original move-

ment titles suggested the passing of Rachmani-

no ’s own days. A vigorous march begins the

Non allegro

. Later, the saxophone solo imparts

a melancholy air. Material from the Symphony

No. in D minor, op. ( )—a piece of his

early maturity that was maligned by many, but

prized by the composer—appears toward the

end as a chorale.

Andante con moto

waltz-

es with élan. Occasionally, the dance-like triple

meter grinds to a halt, only to resume newly

embroidered. Rachmanino ’s web of allusions

thickens in the nal movement, as the cycle of

life comes to its completion. Strains of his

All-

Night Vigil

, op.

( ), suggest a late-hour

setting. Another prominent melody recalls the

“Dies irae” chant from the Christian Requiem

Mass, which he also incorporated in numerous

other compositions. Rachmanino ’s inscription

on the score hints at the serene closure brought

by the

Symphonic Dances

: “I thank ee, Lord.”

Todd E. Sullivan

DAVID KAPLAN,

piano

Pianist David Kaplan is a widely traveled soloist,

having recently made his Berlin Philharmonie

debut with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra in

addition to appearances at London’s Barbican

Centre with the Britten Sinfonia and Miami’s

Arsht Center with Itzhak Perlman. His career

highlights have also included recitals at Ravin-

ia, the Sarasota Opera House, Music on Main

in Vancouver, Strathmore in Baltimore, and the

National Gallery in Washington, DC. As a core

member of Decoda, an a liate ensemble of Car-

negie Hall, Kaplan regularly performs at New

York venues, from Carnegie’s Zankel Hall to the

Metropolitan Museum of Art to National Saw-

dust, and has traveled to Abu Dhabi, Mexico,

and Scotland for concert and educational res-

idencies. He has collaborated with such string

quartets as Attacca, Ariel, Enso, Hausman, and

Tesla in addition to being a guest of numerous

chamber music festivals and series, including the

Seattle Chamber Music Festival, the Chamber

Music Society of Lincoln Center, Chamber Mu-

sic Northwest, Bargemusic, Tanglewood, Bard,

Ban , Orford, and the Mostly Mozart Festival in

Avery Fisher Hall. Kaplan’s chamber music part-

ners have included violinists Rachel Lee Priday

and Arnaud Sussmann as well as cellists Ashley

Bathgate, Joshua Roman, Benjamin Capps, and

Nick Canellakis. Since

he has performed in

a piano duo with Timo Andres, and in

toured a duo recital with Caroline Shaw. Kaplan

has also made several guest appearances with

the New York Chamber Soloists since

. A

passion for connecting new music with classics

led Kaplan to initiate his “New Dances of the

League of David” commissioning project, in-

corporating miniatures from composers into

Schumann’s

Davidsbündlertänze

, which he per-

formed at Ravinia in

. He recently devised a

new program, “Chaconne,” featuring works by

Beethoven, Brahms, Ligeti, Rzewski, and Gu-

baidulina combined with new pieces from An-

thony Cheung and Christopher Cerrone, to be

premiered in

. is past fall, he curated a pi-

ano series for e Metropolis Ensemble in New

York highlighting works from Bach to Reich and

Feldman. David Kaplan was a fellow at Ravinia’s

Steans Music Institute in

and

and is

making his second return to the festival.

Serge Rachmaninoff

AUGUST 20 – AUGUST 26, 2018 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE

117