The Anger of Compassion

Two Cheers for Passion in Music

Or, at least, one set of votes and one serious, very serious, legal action.

Both items involve one of my favorite composers, Sergei Rachmaninov, an underrated composer of the 20th century. Both are from the United Kingdom, a nation which is, to be charitable, in serious decline if we are to judge by civil liberties and culture.

This is to denigrate neither said Sergei nor any estimable Brits who may still be breathing.

In fact, quite a few Brits may indeed be in the process of redeeming the sceptered isle, because according to this BBC News story, Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto has been voted (in a survey conducted by the radio station Classic FM) the favorite piece of music in the United Kingdom. Did I speak of redemption? It is in fact more than possible that many, many Britons are possessed of quite good taste, inasmuch as Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A was voted third, and Beethoven's Piano Concerto No 5 came in fourth.

Ladies and gentlemen, I claim this to be an indication that civilization has, perhaps, not yet left Perfidious Albion. In spite of the assault of Benny Hill, Tony Blair, and lesser offshore islanders on the fair United States. We shall see.

The other story involves a legal battle for an early manuscript for Sergei's Second Symphony. I don't own a recording of it, but I do have the Third Symphony, some of his piano music -- as pounded out by the composer himself on a player piano -- and all four of his piano concerti, in various renditions, including all four featuring the composer himself at the piano.

Recorded in, I smile to add, the United States of America, his adopted home: Rachmaninov lived in New York City while my mother, as a young girl, began piano lessons. He was to die in Los Angeles in, I think, 1943. The earliest classical music I could identify was Rachmaninov's Prelude in C# Minor -- which, as a matter of fact, I learned to play on the guitar.

I have most of the music I've discussed on compact disc, but I can't seem to find any of the recordings I have online, and I must retire to my beauty sleep coma, but I'll try again after I awake.

Posted by Craig Ceely at March 29, 2005 12:36 AM