Sergei Rachmaninoff's First Symphony Op. 13: the Creative Crisis Consequences

Main Article Content

Arseny N. Merzlov

Abstract

The article defines the essence of the creative crisis of Sergei Rachmaninoff, which followed after the premiere performance of his First Symphony, Op. 13 d-moll in 1897. The composer’s and his contemporaries’ memoirs, connected with the events of Rachmaninoffʼs creative life in 1896–1897 are considered. The author analyzes the musical-thematic and content interactions between the First Symphony and the works of the middle and late periods of his creativity: The First Piano Sonata, op. 28, the symphonic poem “Isle of the Dead” op. 29, the Third Piano Concerto, op. 30, vocal cycle “Six Poems” op. 38, piano cycle “Etudes-Pictures” op. 39, Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, op. 43. The crisis influence on the further formation of Rachmaninoffʼs composer style determines in the article as well. It is suggested that there is a direct interrelationship between the peculiarities of Rachmaninoff's style thinking and the 1897–1901creative crisis. In the context of M. Aranovsky’s researches on the structure and properties of a musical text is proposed a thesis about the internal intertextuality of Rachmaninoff's individual style. The categories of “empirical” and “a priori” in the system of Rachmaninoffʼs composer language are analyzed in this article.


Keywords: Rachmaninoff, “First Symphony”, creative crisis, composerʼs style, intertextuality, musical lexeme

Article Details

How to Cite
Merzlov А. Н. (2021). Sergei Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony Op. 13: the Creative Crisis Consequences. Music Scholarship / Problemy Muzykal’noj Nauki, 42(1), 38–47. Retrieved from https://musicscholar.ru/index.php/PMN/article/view/1240
Section
History and Theory of Music
Author Biography

Arseny N. Merzlov, Ural State M. P. Mussorgsky Conservatory Ekaterinburg, Russia

Arseny N. Merzlov, Teacher of the Special Piano Department, Graduate Student at the History and Theory of Performing Arts Department Ural State M. P. Mussorgsky Conservatory