We attended Beethoven’s 4th concert (Jeremy Denk, Christopher Zimmerman) and Rachmaninoff’s “Symphonic Dances”. It opened with the premiere of a contemporary composer Quinn Mason’s “She Dreams of Flying. Honestly, out of the trio, only Beethoven truly resonated with me, followed by Rachmaninoff.
I had never heard Rachmaninoff’s “Dances” before—they had somehow passed me by. Yet I am well-acquainted with his Second and Third Concertos, I know his Vocalise, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and once even attempted to learn the Prelude in C-sharp minor (to no avail), and it was with these expectations that I attended the “Symphonic Dances”—a piece which Rachmaninoff himself considered his best. And somehow, it just didn’t click. The first part is beautiful, the second a bit more complex, but beyond that, it became less comprehensible to me. There are some allusions to religious motifs, and that’s where I completely lose track.
Quinn Mason appeared to me like something out of a museum of modern art—all the components of art in place, and clearly resonating with someone, but that someone is not me. Probably, it’s somewhere in the same corner as Schnittke with his experiments.
Beethoven’s 4th concert with Jeremy Denk at the piano was wonderful. There’s nothing to critique here. Especially the second part is superb.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otJmf3pyb1E
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 