Flawed Masterpieces (That We Love Anyway) Rachmaninoff: Symphony No. 2

[00:00:00]Hello friends, this is Dave Hurwitz, executive editor at classicstoday.com here with flawed masterpieces that we love anyway because they're just so warm and snuggly. And today's flawed masterpiece is Rock Manov's second symphony. Is anybody going to argue about this one? Well, maybe somebody will. I'm not sure you can because when a composer writes a work that's about an hour long and then agrees to make cuts and legitimizes those cuts, chopping it down to about 45 minutes, 40 minutes or so, it's hard to argue that the piece is not flawed. The flaw is very simple.

[00:00:47]It's too long. you can get rid of whole hunks of it and no one's going to care or maybe even notice. And this is true at every single movement.

[00:00:59]So, uh let's let's take it one movement at a time and see where we wind up, shall we? So, the first movement. Now, don't get me wrong, I adore the second symphony and I adore it in its complete form. I don't like any cuts. I think we should hear the whole thing, warts and all because it's all so beautiful. It really is. Um, but the first movement has a couple issues. The main issue with the first movement is that the motive d you know the thing that opens the symphony which is its recurring motive.

[00:01:36]Um, and then the ensuing introduction there's a big long introduction very beautiful. Then the allegro starts. They are insufficiently contrasted.

[00:01:47]The the characteristic of the almost the entire first movement is that it's insufficiently contrasted. The thematic material needs more diversity, more difference in tempo and rhythm and character. It's all very stringheavy, very dark and somber. Um, and you know, the second subject of course is luscious, yummy rockoff, but there's a lot of that stuff going on in this movement. And so, for that reason, Rock Manov okayed some cuts principally in the development section to bring it to a climax more quickly. Um, the moment where the recapitulation steers in and all that, he's like, "Yeah, what the hell? Let's just go to the big moment with the symbols and bass drum. It's their one moment in the entire movement." and then he can skip to the gorgeous second subject and on to the kod and end it.

[00:02:42]Um, I don't think that helps the movement to be honest with you. I think I think that throws off the proportions.

[00:02:48]Um, I like hearing when the recapitulation steals in. The key of course is that the conductor has to be able to identify these various sections and through his conducting and handling of tempo and phrasing and whatnot uh call attention to them and differentiate them which is all doable and a wonderful performance. It happens um but it's it's an issue. Now the scarzo I think was absolutely perfect the way rockabonov left it. It was an aba form and in the cut version the the a return of the a section is severely abbreviated. I mean it's like mostly missing you. It's just it just comes back for a second. And I think I think that that's I'd be again it's a question of balance but it's a terrible idea. I mean the music is wonderful. You got this big long slow movement that's coming afterwards. It's good to have some more quick music. It's good to have some more quick music that's very contrasted in rhythm and character and color to that of the first movement. Um, and the A section is just it's wonderful. And hearing it twice doesn't kill you. It's not like it's so repetitious that it's going to really bother you like drive you nuts. But Rakmanov sanctioned it and so the return of the A section is terribly abbreviated. And I think mistakenly so.

[00:04:18]The Adagio on the other hand, I think it can use some trimming. Uh it doesn't bother me. I mean, there are moment.

[00:04:23]First of all, the movement is very beautiful, but it has a couple real defects in my view. The first is that the opening tune, you know, the one Eric Carman used for that song I'm Never Going to Love Again, that tune never comes back in its entirety. You only hear the opening phrase that comes back in a couple spots as the movement proceeds. But as a result of that, it's the most beautiful and and immediately recognizable idea in the movement. It's frustrating. It's frustrating because the longer it goes, the more you want to hear a clear return to it. The principal theme is actually the clarinet solo that follows, but that's not as memorable. It's much, much longer. and it it it sort of goes on and that's going to come back. But I just I just find it very frustrating. And then, you know, there's that moment in the middle of the in the middle of the movement where it stops entirely.

[00:05:28]Totally stops. There's a big empty pause and then you hear the clarinets or whatever it is. That's irritating because you sort of hope it's the end and it's not. You're not even close. You're about twothirds of the way through and there's a big middle section that dwells on the the main theme from the back from the first movement, the motto theme of the symphony. Um, also goes on a bit too long. Um, so, you know, like I said, I don't like the piece with cuts. I'm willing to listen to it. It's all lovely, but I mean, come on. It doesn't hurt to chop it back. And the same thing is true of the finale. The finale does come around a few times too many with opening thematic material. It's not the most distinguished thing in the symphony, right? You know how many times you want to hear that? The second subject, um, the big tune that's going to come back at the end. Oh my god.

[00:06:38]lovely and the final apotheiois is lovely but again that middle development section these were not rockmanov specialties he had similar issues in the third piano conerto you know where where he gets into the weeds and when he gets into the weeds he noodles because he's a pianist and he p he he noodles with little piano figurations in the orchestra da da da da da da da da da da da da da Da da da da da da da da da, you know, da da da da da da da da da da da.

[00:07:12]He gets these accompaniment figures going and then he just pastes bits of other tunes on top of them and he can do that sequentially almost forever. Um, and so the finale, uh, which also has an exposition repeat, which for some reason people take, um, but basically, uh, and the first movement has an exposition repeat, which I like because it tells you where the exposition starts and that clears up a lot of the structural issues, but if you're going to leave it out, then you have a bigger issue than if you put it in. Kind of interesting there. With the finale, that's not quite the case. With the finale, you just should play it straight through and leave it be. Um there's just no way around the conclusion that uh Rockmanov wrote a lot more music than than the piece actually needed.

[00:08:06]And I love it when I hear it complete.

[00:08:08]And I like I said, I have no issue with playing the whole thing all the way through because it moment by moment it's beautiful. But it takes a really, really good performance to cover up the flaws.

[00:08:22]If you're going to do the whole sucker, the whole enchilada, it needs a little extra oomph, a little more character, a little more speed. You can get away with a mediocre performance if you're not going to make it that long. But if you're going to do all of it, you really got to know what you're doing. And a bunch of conductors do and a whole lot of conductors don't. And that's what happens when you have audible flaws. So keep on listening friends. Thanks for joining me.