Modern psychiatry, on the whole, has been anything but modest in advertising its achievements, although a certain scepticism regarding its value still persists in some quarters. The profession, however, has largely overlooked one brilliant instance of its proven worth, of which the second piano concerto of Sergei Rachmaninov is the fruit. The composer first began work on this concerto in 1899, while still suffering from the mental and physical lethargy, precipitated by the utter failure of his first symphony (in March, 1897), that so hampered his creative powers. He himself has related his feeling of anguish when on attending the final rehearsal of the symphony he realized how far short it fell of the music he had conceived. He describes his despair as the hour of the concert approached, and tells of holding his fingers in his ears to shut out the sounds of the orchestra during the evening performance. Later he fled the hall and rode about the city for hours before he could bring himself to put in an appearance at the reception being held in his honor. Naturally such a harrowing experience made a deep impression on the sensitive young man, and his relatives noted to their alarm that he was shunning human companionship and apparently suffered from a deep melancholia. Various attempts to revive his interest in life were met by failure, but late in 1899 Rachmaninov was persuaded to consult with a certain Dr. Dahl whose successful treatment of various nervous maladies had created quite a stir in Moscow. The consultation resulted in a series of daily treatments extending over several months — treatments which consisted of constant repetition by the doctor of the words : "You will begin to write your concerto... You will work with great facility... The concerto will be of an excellent quality...", uttered while the young composer lay in a hypnotic doze in an easy chair in the doctor's apartment. Soon Rachmaninov's creative impulses were stirred to renewed activity, and gradually his previous fluency was restored to him. By autumn of 1900 the second and third movements of the interrupted concerto were complete, and in the spring of 1901 the whole work was ready for performance. Rachmaninov, in gratitude to Dr. Dahl, dedicated the work to him, a circumstance which caused much surprise and discussion as the services rendered by the doctor were not gererally known...
E. C. Stone (from the original Liner Notes)
Julius Katchen
Plays
Rachmaninov
Balakirev
Tracks
Serguei Rachmaninov
(1873-1941)
Piano Concerto n° 2 in C minor, Op. 18
1 I. Moderato 9:55
2 II. Adagio sostenuto 12:10
3 III. Allegro scherzando 11:23
Mily Balakirev
(1837-1910)
4 Islamey (Oriental Fantasia), Op. 18 8:07
*
Julius Katchen - p
The London Symphony Orchestra/Georg Solti - dir.
Recorded at Kingsway Hall, London ; June 1958