Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 - 1943)
Symphonic Dances, Op.45
I. Non allegro
II. Andante con moto (tempo di Valse)
III. Lento - allegro vivace

Born the son of an aristocratic family in Tsarist Russia, Rachmaninov combined the careers of composer and pianist. His early composing career was almost stopped dead by the disastrous reception of his first symphony. The work was slated by the critics; Rachmaninov destroyed the score, and it was never performed again in his lifetime. It took him several years to recover his confidence, and in the following years he wrote his most popular works - the piano preludes, the second and third piano concertos and second symphony. Also from these years came his fine Vespers for unaccompanied choir. This phase of his life was ended by the Russian revolution of 1917, after which Rachmaninov lived as an exile, first in Switzerland and then America. His later career was almost wholly as a concert pianist - probably the finest of his age. He found little time to compose, and only a handful of works were written during these later years. The Symphonic Dances were his last composition of all, written in 1940, when he was convalescing in the USA after a minor operation. The premiere took place in January 1941 at Philadelphia, with Eugene Ormandy conducting. The critics were not enthusiastic, but the dances have gradually gained in stature after Rachmaninov's death, and are now recognised as among his finest works.

The first movement, marked non allegro - not fast - opens quietly. After a few introductory bars, a motto theme of short crisp chords is followed by a march-time tune based on falling triads. The orchestration is unusual from the start - notice the tambourine and piano in the texture. The central section of the movement features a long melancholic tune on the saxophone, full of aching nostalgia. The tune is played again, this time on unison strings with piano and harp accompaniment. The music picks up speed for a varied reprise of the march section. A curious hymn-like coda, accompanied by the glockenspiel, is based on the motto theme of his first symphony - the one whose failure had nearly killed his early career. Since that symphony had been destroyed (it was not published until 1947, after his death, in an edition based on surviving orchestral parts) this was a purely private reference; its quotation here is enigmatic.

The slow movement is harmonically unstable, and is basically a waltz, but with sinister and unsettling implications. The main tune has chromatic decoration by the wind players, and even when it works up to a passionate climax, it shifts in and out of keys most disconcertingly.

The last movement is, like the first, in three parts with a slow introduction. The outer sections are based on two themes, both derived from religious melodies. One is based on the Latin Dies Irae plainsong, while the other, first on cor anglais and later on violas, is faster with syncopated cross rhythms. This tune comes from a Russian orthodox chant Blessed is the Lord, which he had already used in his earlier Vespers. In the middle section, the tempo slows for a cello version of the Dies Irae and a passionate but highly chromatic climax. The final section sees the two main themes battling for dominance; the Dies Irae works up to a huge climax, but the vital cross-rhythms of the second theme go even further in power, and drive the work to its exhilarating conclusion.