SECOND RACHMANINOFF SOCIETY NEW YORK CITY/WESTCHESTER RETREAT 15-16 APRIL 2007
We hope that this page will give you a flavour of what the Retreat was like – biblical weather and all!
An overview from the Retreat Director, Rita Anthoine
As Suzanne Tolstoy put it, “We had a blast!”. Regardless of the monsoon of April 15th, during which New York began to resemble New Delhi, the Rachmaninoff Society had a fantastic time together, with many members of the Rachmaninoff family present, including Natalie Wanamaker-Javier and her two very handsome sons, Serge and Jordan. Many thanks to our hostess, Regina Davidoff, Steinway Sales Specialist and the management of Steinway for their great generosity in offering the Henry Steinway Room for the afternoon sessions and Steinway Hall’s magnificent Rotunda for the evening.
The afternoon sessions were a Russian Romantic music lover’s dream, with great presentations from experts who really put their hearts and souls into their work. Special thanks to pianist Elizabeth Wolff, speaker Dr. Jasmin Cowin, soprano Liora Michelle, pianist Vladimir Leyetchkiss, and master pedagogue Seymour Bernstein and the two young people who played so beautifully for us, Mischa Pais and Winji Yi.
Following this packed afternoon, the Gala started with pianist Jung Lin playing exquisitely the 2 flower song transcriptions Lilacs and Daisies. She was followed by speaker and author David Dubal. Then the playing started with 2 solo performances: Adam Golka’s great playing of Medtner’s G Minor Sonata and Sandro Russo’s amazing playing of his own version of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Sonata. It is difficult to say who played best, but the bar was definitely raised and the excitement was building. Everyone was riveted and ready for the Grand Finale.
For me, this was the most exciting event of the entire Retreat, which I called Rachmaninoff Recreated, a reenactment of the 1928 first meeting between Rachmaninoff and Vladimir Horowitz when they went to the basement of Steinway Hall to play the 3rd Concerto together. When I first approached pianist Adam Golka about this idea, more than a year before, he was thrilled to be asked to impersonate Horowitz. Golka, who just this past July 3rd won the prestigious Gilmore Award for 2008, introduced himself by saying, ‘Joseph and I have been asked to go on a suicide mission, but we are happy and honored to do so!’ As I turned pages for Joseph Liccardo, who skillfully played the 2nd piano orchestra reduction while impersonating Rachmaninoff, I couldn’t help being mesmerized by Adam’s playing. I had to check myself to make sure I didn’t miss a page turn. When it was over, the audience reacted as if they were at a rock concert! One of the audience members, Robert Yrigoyen, supplied a birthday cake and we all sang a pre-Happy Birthday song to Adam, who was about to turn 20 years old the following weekend.
I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of the Retreat, including the planning phase, during which we met the wonderful people from the Spirit of Orthodoxy Choir. Not forgetting when our Chairman, Wouter de Voogd, arrived from the Netherlands to lend his help as co-Master of Ceremonies and recording engineer! I look forward to welcoming everyone to the September AGM and the special events at Juilliard featuring our President, Maestro Vladimir Ashkenazy. We will also have the chance to see and hear a recital by pianist Ching-Yun Hu, who on July 9th won the Gold Medal in the World Piano Competiton. See you in September!
15 April (adapted from an article by Debra Takakjian for the Rachmaninoff Society Newsletter)
The opening of the Rachmaninoff Society’s second retreat in Westchester was marked by rains of near biblical proportions. A mammoth Nor’easter swept up the East Coast of the United States and New York City received 7.57” of rain - the biggest rainfall in over 120 years! However, none of the participants’ spirits were dampened. Members of the Rachmaninoff Society were joined at Russian Samovar Restaurant by Natalie Wanamaker-Javier, Rachmaninoff’s great grand-daughter, as well as Vladimir Tolstoy, the great grand-nephew of Leo Tolstoy. Russian delicacies and vodkas were consumed with great enthusiasm over discussions of both the weather and all the music attendees were about to bathe themselves in.
Because of the storm warnings, plans were cautiously reconsidered but there was no way this day would be cancelled. The Spirit of Orthodoxy Choir had to cancel their gravesite appearance at Kensico Cemetary in Westchester County because of the dangerous travel conditions, but kindly moved the service indoors at a nearby Russian church. Raincoats, umbrellas, and a 36 foot (about 10 meters) SUV stretch limousine got attendees to the church. They sat huddled together in a state of shock with pop music blaring over the speakers, until the Society’s Chairman came to the rescue by popping in CDs of Mozart, Bruchner and Rachmaninoff……...aaaaah! They were on their way and all was right with the world again.
After a wild and wet ride through the flooded roadways, participants arrived at Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Jersey City and were greeted by Maestro Shipovalnikov and Father Joseph Lickwar, who appeared distressed, and asked if anyone could sing. Only 5 of the 30 member a cappella choir were able to get to the church that day, and the choir was augmented by one brave Society member, familiar with the similar Armenian Orthodox liturgy. The service was beautiful and Father Joseph remarked that Rachmaninoff’s use of the Russian liturgical melodies in his music guaranteed the world a universal and permanent access to this hauntingly beautiful music.
Despite the climatic insanities, Rachmaninoff Society members enjoyed being together again and nothing could, so to speak “rain on their parade!”
16 April (edited from personal recollections by Charles Frederick Frantz, Ph.D.)
An event such as this is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. New Jersey was declared a state of emergency because of excessive rain and severe flooding. I was travelling from Princeton Junction, NJ by train. Nothing was going to deter me from my destination, however. I was not disappointed.
The day was generously and genially hosted by Regina Davidoff at the Steinway Hall. I picked up my nametag, which I promptly misplaced, and which got promptly replaced by the Retreat’s organiser, Rita Anthoine. Engaging welcomes by Rachmaninoff Society members set the mood for a memorable day.
In the afternoon, Elizabeth Wolff performed Rachmaninoff’s Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33. Prior to the performance, she commented on some interesting compositional aspects of the pieces (e.g., choice of key, tonal color, diatonic and chromatic devices). Ms Wolff’s performance was engaging and emotionally charged, and she was able to express the individuality of poetic mood in each work.
Following this was a delightful lecture on the operas of Rachmaninoff by Dr. Jasmin Cowin. Besides being a faculty member of Hunter College and an active harp soloist, Dr. Cowin has lectured extensively on opera and music history. Her comments on origin of plots, musical treatment, and historical reception taught me a great deal about Rachmaninoff’s Aleko, The Miserly Knight, and Francesca da Rimini. During Dr. Cowin’s lecture, soprano Liora Michelle sang two arias from two of the operas. Ms. Michelle’s wonderful voice and dramatic presentation were inspiring, and Rita Anthoine’s piano accompaniment was very responsive to the nuances of her voice.
Pianist Vladmir Leyetchkiss then performed some less-known works of the Russian Romantics, featuring Prokofiev, Kalinnikov, Borodin, Liadov, and Scriabin. Mr. Leyetchkiss , an engaging performer, is one of the last pupils of Heinrich Neuhaus from the Moscow Conservatory.
The last event of the afternoon was a master class by eminent pianist and pedagogue Seymour Bernstein with gifted young students Mischa Pais and Winji Yi. Dr Bernstein comments were remarkably helpful and encouraging. He also made the audience feel as though they were part of this process.
The evening gala started with a performance by Jung Lin, who gave elegant performances of two solo piano transcriptions by Rachmaninoff: Lilacs, Op. 21, No. 5 and Daisies, Op. 38, No. 3. David Dubal, author, pianist, WQXR-FM radio host and Julliard Professor of Piano Literature then gave a lecture on Rachmaninoff’s life, which included some anecdotal information and interesting recordings of Rachmaninoff as pianist and conductor. The lecture overran, which left no time for introductory comments from the performers or questions from the audience. Fortunately, this was the only snarl for the entire day.
Sandro Russo performed Rachmaninoff’s 2ndSonata with great panache. Clothed in elegant black attire, he deferentially announced some of his own revisions in the first and third movements. The music was executed with great polish and confidence. From my personal perpective, Mr Russo sound world incorporated a mix of lush Chopinesque subtlety, Lisztian command, and Mozartian elegance.
The day’s “Grand Finale,” a re-enactment of the historic 1928 Steinway Hall meeting between Rachmaninoff and Horowitz, was particularly impressive. Adam Golka as the soloist (Horowitz) and Joseph Licardo on the second piano (Rachmaninoff) performed the Piano Concerto No. 3, Opus 30 in the spacious and elegant Rotunda. Mr Golka’s playing was astounding not only from a technical perspective, but also from a spiritual understanding of the music. His extraordinary range of timbre and dynamics always served the musical interpretation. Never was there any attempt at empty technical virtuosity. Besides his obvious gifts, 20-year-old Mr Golka is refreshingly humble. Mr Licardo’s playing of the orchestral reduction provided a rich balance to Golka’s solo part. It was complementary rather than intrusive - not an easy task for any second piano part, especially on the Rachmaninoff 3rd. The intimate communication between Golka and Licardo contributed significantly to this successful performance.
Earlier, Mr Golka’s understanding of the ‘Russian soul’ was also present in his performance of Nicolai Medtner’s G Minor Sonata. I was not familiar with this work, but Golka endeared it to me. I would imagine that a performer with less talent could not have pulled it off. Medtner’s work is rather heavy and lacks much of Rachmaninoff’s melodic invention. Nevertheless, Golka was able to extract beautiful high tones from a rich palette in the low and middle registers of the piano. He made the work interesting and highly emotional.
The event ‘Rachmaninoff Recreated’ was a joyful experience I will always remember. I want to thank all those who gave of their musical gifts, as well as the Retreat’s wonderful organisers.