Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943), Piano Concerto No. 3 in D, Op. 30. This third of four concertos was written in 1909, on the occasion of the composer’s first concert tour of the United States. As Mozart had done 125 years earlier, he wrote it as a showpiece to play himself. It was finished in Russia in September of that year, and because it had to be performed only two months later in New York, he had to take a silent keyboard along on his voyage to America so that he could practice it. Like the first two concerti, it was a huge success; Rachmaninov’s bravura technique and the concerto’s memorably romantic tunes simply bowled the audience over. The work has the reputation of being one of the most technically difficult in the repertoire, not only for the usual reasons of speed and technique, but because Rachmaninov, who had unusually large hands, filled it with enormous spread-out chords that he could play with ease, but which gave other pianists some difficulty. The cadenza in the first movement is full of these big sonorous chords. The concerto has been recorded by most of the major pianists of the past hundred years, notably by Horowitz, Ashkenazy, and the composer himself. From the first bar you know it’s Russian, and a masterpiece.
Jean Sibelius (1865-1957), Finlandia. The 19th century was an age when composers wrote a good deal of nationalistic music—works based on or inspired by folk melodies, music designed to arouse feelings of patriotic enthusiasm. The Czech composer Bedrich Smetana’s tone poem Ma Vlast (My Fatherland) is a famous example, as is this present work. Finlandia was written in 1899, when Sibelius was young and relatively unknown, for a patriotic rally in support of Finnish independence from Russia, which still controlled the country at that time. It begins with stormy music depicting the struggle of the Finnish people, and ends with a serene hymn-like tune which though often sung in Finland, is not the country’s official national anthem.
Einojuhani Rautavaara (1928-) Cantus Arcticus. Rautavaara, the best-known Finnish composer after Sibelius, is a prolific composer, having written eight symphonies, ten concertos for various instruments, chamber music, solo piano, and other works. Subtitled “Concerto for Birds and Orchestra,” Cantus Arcticus was commissioned in 1972 for the first doctoral convocation of the University of Oulu, in northern Finland. Rautavaara has incorporated tape recordings of bird songs made near the Arctic Circle, and these birds—swans, larks, and others—are depicted particularly by the woodwinds. One commentator noted the “strange, atmospheric sounds . . . icy sounding chords” and called it “music that makes you shiver.”
Frederick Schipizky (1952-) Aurora Borealis. Born in Calgary, Schipizky studied performance and composition at Julliard, and for many years has played double bass with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. He has written several works for important public occasions, notably a fanfare for a visit by Queen Elizabeth to Vancouver Stadium. Aurora Borealis was commissioned for the first convocation held by the University of Northern British Columbia, in the spring of 1992.
Bill Morrison
