Rachmaninoff Prokofiev Petrenko

Let yourself be mesmerised as melancholy and incomparable harmonies roll off the keys in the composer’s acclaimed Piano Concerto No. 2. The Uzbek pianist Behzod Abduraimov already has the world at his extraordinary fingers — all before the age of thirty! Prokofiev’s Symphony No. 6 sprinkles the bitterness of reality over these reveries, with memories of war and a depth of feeling which bores into the listener’s soul, as powerfully today as in 1947.

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) grew deeply depressed when his first symphony resulted in fiasco in 1897. He eventually found solace through Dr. Nikolai Dahl’s hypnotherapy and psychotherapy treatments, and his first work after he completed therapy was his Piano Concerto No. 2 (1901), dedicated to the doctor who came to his aid. It was quite a comeback. The work was immediately celebrated and has assumed a position among the best known solo concertos, regardless of instrument and period in history. Listeners around the world are still hypnotised by the composer’s unique ability to produce captivating melodies, expressive feeling and an outstanding pianistic virtuosity.

A short half century after the appearance of Rachmaninov’s hypnotic piano dreams, the world had completely changed. Two world wars, a revolution and great turmoil had in 1947 left in its wake a Stalinistic Soviet Union and a world which, while celebrating peace, was also permanently damaged. With his complex Symphony No. 6 (1947), which spans from the lyrical to the grotesque, Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) intended to commemorate the aftermath of war, but Soviet powers condemned it for not being in line with party politics. It is precisely for this reason that the symphony counts among Prokofiev’s most powerful and significant works.

We find joy in victory, but each and every one of us suffers wounds that cannot heal. One has lost a loved one; another has lost his health. These must not be forgotten.

(Sergei Prokofiev, 1947)

(Text: Thomas Erma Møller; Translation (from Norwegian): Sarah Osa; In photo: Behzod Abduraimov; Photo: Nissor Abdourazakov)