Rachmaninoff. Gershwin

Sergei Rachmaninoff entered 20^th century music history as a custodian and guardian of “traditional values” in music. “If, before entering a new world, one makes the greatest possible effort to come close to the old world, then it may be the case that one comes to a certain conclusion: there are still many possibilities in the past… Old language contains inexhaustibly rich possibilities.” These words of the composer in an interview from 1941 are particularly true with regard to later works written in exile. One of them – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Op. 43, 1934) – was often viewed in this light: as a blend of the “old” (the style Rachmaninoff inherited from the 19^th century and enriched in his art) and the “new” (elements of contemporary music, jazz and variety genres). Critics have noted the virtuoso nature of the work, its allusions to Liszt and Moszkowski. Today, when arguments and even reproofs concerning Rachmaninoff’s “traditionalism” are in the past, the contemporary nature of the Rhapsody can be seen in an entirely different light.
Vladimir Goryachikh

Like almost all musicians on Broadway, George Gershwin (1898–1937) was the son of a Jewish family that had emigrated from Russia. Coming to music as a pianist and accompanist and a composer of songs for one-day shows, he very quickly scaled great heights in the profession. His first success as a composer came with his songs – Swanee (1919) in just one year brought him $10,000 (Gershwin composed a total of almost seven hundred songs for numerous musicals and films).
But neither glory nor money turned Gershwin’s head. Unlike many of his show business colleagues, as an established musician he was doing what he had been unable to do in his youth – he began to study composition seriously. Gershwin was lucky enough to discover the magic formula in America: based on jazz and the classical tradition he created the first serious works in a uniquely American style.
Among Gershwin’s masterpieces is the opera Porgy and Bess, while his instrumental music includes Rhapsody in Blue (1924).
Anna Bulycheva