It is a commonplace that
there have been many composers of primary rank who have originated no
new syntax, no new system of chords and key-relationships. It is said
that J. S. Bach himself did not invent a single harmony. There have been
composers of genius who have done little to enlarge the physical
boundaries of their art, have accepted the grammar of music from others,
and have rounded an epoch instead of initiating a new one. Nevertheless,
M. Rachmaninoff cannot quite be included in their company. There is as
great a difference between him and composers of this somewhat
conservative type as there is between him and the radical sort. For
though the recomposition of music does not necessarily consist in the
establishment of a new system, and can be fairly complete without it, it
does consist in the impregnation of tone with new character and virtue.
Doubtless, M. Rachmaninoff is an accomplished and charming workman. He
is almost uniformly suave and dexterous. The instances when he writes
badly are not frequent. The C-sharp minor Prelude is, after all,
something of a sport. No doubt, there are times, as in so many of the
passages of the new version of his first piano concerto, when he seeks
to dazzle with the opulence and clangor and glare of tones.
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