Symphony No.3

Soon after the outbreak of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Sergei Vasilievich left Russia with his family and moved to the United States, where he remained for the rest of his life. But he continued to tour Europe frequently until the outbreak of World War II. To combat nostalgia for his lost homeland and memories of the wonderful summers in Ivanovka, the Satini family estate where he composed with passion, in 1930 he purchased a piece of land on the shores of Lake Firwaldstadt in Switzerland. He built a magnificent villa, named by him "Senar" (a combination of his own name, Sergei, his wife's name, Natalia, and the first letter of their surname). In this beautifully picturesque place the family rested every summer after the exhausting tours of the pianist Rachmaninoff. It was there that his Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 44 was composed. The composer turned to the symphony genre again after a hiatus of almost 30 years. Not only because his desire to write music ceased. He says bitterly: "In the exile, deprived of musical roots, traditions and native soil, there remains no desire to create, no consolations other than the unbreakable silence of idyllic memories." His calendar is filled with continuous concerts as pianist and conductor. Thus he began to compose the Third Symphony, and in the summer of 1935 was forced to rehearse the new keyboard programmes. "I was unable to finish my work. Only two-thirds of the symphony was finished in its entirety, and the last movement in rough sketches. The travels have begun, and I must abandon it and sit down at the grand piano, with which I have not been particularly diligent of late... And as the concerts will continue until 2 April, it is clear I shall not finish the symphony until next summer at the earliest," he notes in one of his letters. On July 18, 1936, he reported, "I have finished the symphony. The first performance, as usual, I will give to my most favorite orchestra in Philadelphia." The premiere was on 6 November 1936 with the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski. This idiosyncratic and deeply Russian in character work did not receive a warm reception. Criticism is mixed: 'A marvellous work in musical conception, composition and orchestration' And the most devastating: 'Mr Rachmaninoff tells us nothing new, although his own idiom, compared with his earlier works, is exempt from debt to Tchaikovsky. On first listening, the impression of a certain spillover lingers. There is also a tendency to over-develop the detail into unnecessary extension. Wouldn't the scissors affect the proportions of the work well?". Here is the composer's self-assessment: 'I will say just a few words about the new symphony. It has been played in New York, in Philadelphia, in Chicago, etc. They played it remarkably...But the reception from the public and the critics has been sour...I am personally firmly convinced that it is a good work. But ... sometimes authors are wrong too!" Convinced of the value of his work, Rachmaninoff conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra in the symphony's first recording in 1939. Its performance in the Soviet Union was particularly active in the years 1943-1947. And this is understandable not only because of its qualities or the composer's reputation as one of the most famous composers of the 20^th century. Despite his status as a non-Russian and his adamant denial of the Communist regime, Rachmaninoff remained a patriot to the end of his life. When Nazi Germany attacked the USSR, he gave charity concerts and donated a huge sum to the Red Army fund. Thus, because of his merits, he was "rehabilitated" by the official authorities. It is curious, however, how during the second wave of Stalin's "anti-formalist" campaign in 1948, the symphony was branded as decadent... The fact is that even today this landmark work for the composer is rarely performed. All the important musical symbols in Rachmaninoff's late work can be found in the score of the Symphony No 3: the bell motifs, the melodies with wide breaths reminiscent of Russian stretch song, the formulas of the banner chant, and the demonic dance element. The symphony consists of three movements. In the first movement, as if from archaic depths, grows a theme - an epigraph that recalls the ancient banner chant "Svetlitsa tihaya". This image of Russian sanctity is the basis of the symphony, permeates its entire musical fabric and is transformed under the pressure of contrasting spheres that personify evil. In the whimsical lyricism of the second movement (it doubles as Adagio and Scherzo) grows an offensive demonic march. The third movement begins in a whirling motoric rhythm, a fugue rising in its polysemic imagery. Its development leads to the interweaving of thematic grains from the medieval Dies irae sequence ('Day of Wrath' from the Catholic Requiem - the Day of Judgement), one of Rachmaninov's most important symbols, which carries the idea of retribution. This deeply confessional work takes us far beyond the interpretation-cliché of 'the despair and sorrow of the creator who is destined never to return to the Fatherland'. It reveals a vast, terrifying abyss of endless spills, ups and downs.