Orchestra and Soloist

New Zealand Listener, Volume 21, Issue 536, 30 September 1949, Page 8

Orchestra and Soloist

ALERSANDR HELMANN, the visiting Russian-American pianist, will be heard with the National Orchestra in the_two Christchurch concerts-on Tuesday, October 4 (when Mozart's Concerto in A Major, K.488,; analysed in outline in last week’s\"Listener" will be presented ) and on Thursday, October 6, when Rachmaninoft’s Concerto in D Minor, No. 3, Op. 30, will be performed. Here is an outline of this

work,

written for "The Listener" by

BESSIE

POLLARD.

RACHMANINOFF was engaged for a concert tour of America late in 1909, and finished the third Piano Concerto before leaving Moscow. With the composer | as soloist, its first performance was given in New York, under Walter Damrosch, followed a little while afterwards by a repeat performance under Gustav Mahler, The first movement-Allegro ma non tanto-begins with a two-bar introduction, after which the piano announces the main theme, played quite simply in octaves- J ;

The theme is taken over by horns and violas, accompanied by arpeggios in the solo! instrument, and later discussed at some length by varied orchestral groups. The lyrical second theme is also presented by the piano (page 13 of miniature score)-* ; ;

The working-out section moves to a climax which subsides, preparing the way for the approach to the cadenza-part of it forms an accompaniment to brief quotations of the main theme by flute, oboe and horn in turn, The main melody of the Intermezzo (adagio), given out by oboe, is augmented gradually by the remainder of the woodwind and then taken over by strings ("A" below). After a time-signature change to 3/8, the clarinet announces another theme ("B" below), a derivative of the first subject of the opening movement-

The Intermezzo proceeds without break into the Finale, where the main theme is played by woodwind, elaborated by the piano-

= The second subject, again lyrical in style, is treated in characteristic Rachman-: inoff idiom by the soloist-

Piano’ Concerto! No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30, by Rachmaninoff, with Aleksandr Helmann as soloist, will be presented at the second Christchurch concert of the National Orchestra, conducted by Andersen i sd on Thursday, October 6.