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-Bianconi: Rachmaninoff gets simpler as he gets older
I think the “Corelli” Variations, which are late, are outstanding. It is so touching. There’s a kind of detachment to the music. It seems purer. I feel Rachmaninoff gets simpler as he gets older; it is purified. It’s great piece.
I play all the concertos but the fourth. I love the Third. And I love the First Concerto. It was revised. So it has the material of the young Rachmaninoff but the skills are more mature Rachmaninoff. My least favorite concerto is the second, maybe because it has been played so much. The third is great, but it is a monster and took me long time to learn it, though mastering it is a great achievement.
I personally think the Rhapsody is probably the best of his concertos. It’s a late work. It has great sense of structure and again it is pure Rachmaninoff but because of the structure of the theme, he doesn’t go overboard. But it’s all there – it is witty and intelligent. It never goes overboard with emotions he does in the second and third concertos. It’s still very tonal but a little bit more modern.
You can tell he has heard some Stravinsky and maybe some modern American music – he had been living in the States for several years. There is not too much pathos – just a little bit. It is almost like a quintessence or distillation of himself without becoming a caricature.
It’s very fun to play. There are a few really tricky parts. But it isn’t as hard as the Third. It’s also a great orchestra piece, which I love. The colors he gets out of the orchestra and the piano are absolutely great. It’s much more developed than in the earlier concertos. It’s a great piece for the orchestra.
From an interview of Philippe Bianconi at the Well-Tempered Ear; excerpts, edited by MUSICON