# 12         Onwards and downwards, Ian.

Indeed, Celia Johnson did smoke cigarettes.     As I did, too, until the Royal College of Surgeons' Report of the early 70's.      Fact is that you will always be a smoker but, in due course, you will stop thinking about it.

Whilst we (that's to say the staff at The Sorabji Archive) have no idea what Brahms would have said about any of the above, we are nevertheless indebted at least as much to Member Pace for providing the above examples as we remain to Member Grew for supplying the earlier ones - and most of those given to us by the Member Pace (the gloriously sensuous and delightfully amenable to the hands as to the eye as to the ear as to the soul extract from the deliciously lovely A major Prelude excepted) are from that later period in Rakhmaninov's ever-burgeoning creativity that was so signally celebrated by the majority of the critics of the time as the music of one of the world's universally acknowledged greatest pianists who nonethessles had nothing new to say as a composer but continued occasionally to say it regardless; as a composer (but absolutely no kind of pianist) myself, I can say to that only that, if I could only attain but the tiniest proportion of Sergey Vasilyevich's superlative grasp of the piano, orchestral sophistication and structural wonders and had nothing new to say as potently and convincingly as he said "nothing new" during those inter-War years, I'd be a very happy chappie indeed! No chance!

The Member Pace might be a little upset to note that Sorabji was one of the very few people in Britain who continued enthusiastically to champion Rakhmaninov the composer during this time and in the years following SVR's death and who had known and followed SVR's career as a composer from the early years of the last century to the point at which he considered writing a piano piece based upon that composer's famous Vocalise duing his final year (1988) but did not do so due to physical frailty alone; in the SVR centenary year, he laughed out loud at those who suddenly seemed to be discovering for the first time that SVR was actually a major composer in many fields of music - something which he had known well for almost 70 years at that time - but at the same time he celebrated it joyously. He it was, incidentally, who first talked to me of SVR's Francesca da Rimini, a work that I had, shamefully, not even heard of at the time (1972); "if only people knew just this one work alone", he said to me, "Rakhmaninov's reputation would be reinstated at a stroke"...

Best,

Alistair

Rachmaninoff's least marvellous moment was dying from lung cancer, brought on by all the cigarettes he smoked.....

(sorry guys, just have to keep reminding myself of such things! )

Absolutely agreed on the songs, Reiner. Some favourite Russian song recitals which include plenty of Rachmaninov:

   

Actually, Brilliant Classics has recently released the complete Chandos set of songs (3CDs) at a very attractive price, though I doubt there will be texts and translations.

A much needed reissue is the Decca CD set of Rachmaninov Songs performed by Elisabeth Soderstrom, accompanied by Vladimir Ashkenazy, in a wide selection which includes a song version of Sonya's final speech in Uncle Vanya.  John Shirley-Quirk joins them for Two Partings.   Recorded between 1974/79, the performance is incandescent.

   Ta very much, Ron.

   Exit, pursued by a bear.

I love Rachmaninov Orchestral works, but I just get completely transfixed by a CD I own of Rachmaninov's Ampico Roll Recordings (Sergei himself playing Rachmaninov, and some Rachy arrangements of Schubert, Rimsky, Smith and Kreisler)

I have to give a special nod to Op.3 Cinq Morceau de Fantasie.

Tommo

The Coda section of the Piano Concerto No. 3, played by Ashkenazy (although for the whole thing Volodos is tops) with André Previn conducting LSO (I think that's the right orchestra).Anyway, that's my favourite Rachmaninov moment ... well, all-time favourite  too.