Lugansky - Rachmaninoff Piano Sonata No. 1 - Live

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28 (1907) Nikolai Lugansky, Live, 2011 Savannah Music Festival [0:00] I. Allegro moderato - Dev. 4:13 - Recap. 8:12 - Coda 12:03 [13:08] II. Lento - Section B 15:32 - Più mosso 16:31 - Tempo I 17:33 [21:44] III. Allegro molto - Tempo I 28:47 “[Rachmaninoff] intended the work to be a program sonata based on the main characters of Goethe’s Faust: Faust for the first movement, Gretchen for the slow movement, and Mephistopheles for the finale. In this the sonata reflects Liszt’s Faust Symphony of 1854, the movements of which are also devoted to those three characters. ... ...The first movement, Allegro moderato, representing Faust, begins and ends with a heavy, brooding and disturbing hesitation between fifths and seconds. The second theme, repeated four times in the course of the movement, is the melody of an Orthodox chant, written in the manner of a chorale. Rachmaninov discovered the music of the Orthodox liturgy when he was very young; its influence is to be found in many of his works. This religious theme alone brings out, even more than in Goethe’s play, the tragic relationship, as seen by Rachmaninov, between Faust and religion. In the lyrical Lento, the pure, innocent Gretchen is represented by splendid, tranquil themes, in a very rich harmony, until the middle of the movement, when emotion begins to stir. With the indication Piu mosso (more movement, quicken), the music becomes livelier, expressing Gretchen’s growing love for Faust. In the final movement, a real tour-deforce for the pianist, Rachmaninov does not really give Mephistopheles his own specific theme. Several times he quotes the ancient Dies Irae theme (the medieval plainchant from the Requiem Mass), a distinctive trait that occurs in many of his compositions. Above all he depicts Faust’s arrival with Mephistopheles to attend the witches’ Sabbath on the Brocken. At this point, the apparition of Gretchen is twice represented by very sensuous music. Ultimately, in Goethe’s work, Faust goes to Heaven, but at the end of his sonata Rachmaninov, by his own verdict, condemns him to Hell - a verdict announced by the return, fortissimo, of the Orthodox chant heard in the first movement.” - Album Notes, 2012 First half of the recital: all-chopin