Concert for an elephant

Sergei Rachmaninov composed his 3rd Piano Concerto in the summer of 1909 in preparation for his first concert tour to America. He did not have much time to practise, so he helped himself with a silent keyboard during the crossing. The premiere took place in New York on November 28 of the same year. The New York Symphony Orchestra played under the direction of Walter Damrosch. Shortly afterwards, the work was performed again in New York, this time under the baton of Gustav Mahler. Many would have liked to have been there ...

The enormous demands of the solo part are said to have prompted Rachmaninov to describe it as a "concerto for an elephant". It is also considered by many to be the piano concerto with the "most notes". (Busoni's would be a serious contender, however).

In view of all these superlatives, it is sometimes forgotten how economically and artistically this Opus 30 is constructed. Almost all the themes and melodies can be traced back to a few core motifs. This applies not only to the piano part, but also to the orchestra, which is closely interwoven with the solo part. This is probably why Mahler spent a great deal of time on this during the rehearsals for the aforementioned performance, which obviously impressed Rachmaninov very much.

The network of relationships that binds all three movements together is also artfully crafted. For example in the finale, where the first theme of the first movement reappears in an impressive way in the middle. The connection between the first and second movements is also achieved with the help of a complex modulation section that leads from D minor to D flat major. Incidentally, Rachmaninov also proceeds in a similar way in his other piano concertos.

Dominik Rahmer has now republished this 3rd piano concerto with G. Henle, and the result is more than satisfactory. The print is clear and easy to read and gives the many notes considerably more space than in the old Boosey & Hawkes edition, for example. The fingerings by Marc-André Hamelin are sensible and cleverly placed sparingly. The orchestral part (piano II) was taken from the original by Rachmaninov and only slightly modified by Johannes Umbreit to make it easier to play.

After Rachmaninov, only a few pianists dared to tackle this enormous work. First and foremost among them was Vladimir Horowitz, who virtually "inherited" it from the composer. Nowadays, it is an integral part of the concert repertoire, even if the demands have of course not diminished as a result. Vladimir Ashkenazy is someone who has often worked on this concerto, both as a pianist and as a conductor. He has made several recordings, the most notable of which is probably the one with the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Bernard Haitink (Decca). A recording that could perhaps convert even those who despise Rachmaninov ...

Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor op. 30, edited by Dominik Rahmer, piano reduction by Johannes Umbreit, HN 1452, € 29.00, G. Henle, Munich