Rachmaninoff's Performance Style As Heard In His Recordings: An Artistic And Technical Survey

Abstract

This dissertation explores the piano recordings made by Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, in particular the works he recorded multiple times, identifying the larger developmental arc of his playing during the twenty-four years of his latter career. We show that the common axes of technique and interpretation provide an insufficient lens through which to understand his changing style; instead, we propose an additional dimension of identity which better captures Rachmaninoff’s evolution as a performer. Furthermore, this point of view allows a separation of his recordings into three distinct periods.

Rachmaninoff stands as a unique figure in modern musical history, reflecting an improbable convergence of events: 1. he was a world-renowned composer for the first half of his career. 2. upon the emergency of the Russian revolution in 1917, he emigrated with his family to America at the age of forty-five, industriously working to become one of the leading concert artists of his generation. 3. he was one of the first pianists to leave a recorded legacy.

Appropriate historical and biographical context is provided to better understand Rachmaninoff and his times, and to place his recordings in a fuller context.

We also present the current state of knowledge and availability of Rachmaninoff’s extant recordings, the various technologies by which they were made, and the recording companies with which Rachmaninoff chose to work. We describe the importance of matrix numbers, alternate takes, potentially unreleased recordings, piano rolls, and unintentional recordings. Rachmaninoff’s recordings currently exist across many fragmented sources, some difficult to learn of and acquire. This dissertation thereby provides a modern guide to these recordings in hope of aiding future scholars.