Conductor - Diary entries
Many of the performance details listed here have been compiled from Zarui Apetian’s important research, published in Literaturnoye Nasledie [Collected Literature] (Sovietskii Kompozitor: Moscow, 1980, vol. 3, pp. 439-467). These details have been subsequently cross-referenced and checked with the many itineraries and other corroborating materials collected by Rachmaninoff’s sister-in-law, Sophia Satina, housed in the Rachmaninoff Archive of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C (LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R22, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89). Further information has been gathered from Barrie Martyn’s book Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor (Scolar Press: London, 1990, pp. 532-562), A Catalogue of the Compositions of S. Rachmaninoff by Robert Threlfall and Geoffrey Norris (Scolar Press: London, 1982), and research undertaken at the Glinka Museum of Musical Culture, Moscow.
November 26 1905 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Kerzin’s Concert Series. Satina noted only the Introduction from Mussorgsky's opera, while Keldysh (p. 222) and Martyn (p. 545) include the Hopak as well. A review in the Moskovskiye Listok on November 29 confirms the works, and provides the order of the program. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 18 1905 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina indicates that this symphony concert was a Benefit for the Mutual Aid Society, for the Members of the Orchestra. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 11 1906 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: This was the premiere performance of both operas.
February 12 1906 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: This was Rachmaninoff's last appearance at the Bolshoi Theatre as an opera conductor.
May 26 1907
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 4th Russian Symphony Concert arranged by Sergei Diaghilev in Paris. Keldysh (p. 280) and Martyn (p. 547) indicate that Chevillard also conducted works by Glazunov, Balakirev, and Mussorgsky. Satina believed that Rachmaninoff's The Rock, op. 7, was performed at this concert, yet neither Keldysh nor Martyn noted it, nor is it mentioned in the translation of the attached review. I am grateful to J. Falleyn for confirming details of the this concert, and for supplying the review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 26 1908 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was Alexander Siloti’s Symphony Concert no. 8. She also notes that this was the first performance of Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. Martyn confirms that Rachmaninoff conducted only his Symphony and the Grieg Concerto (p. 548). LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 2 1908 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor, Concerto Soloist and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 5th Symphony Concert of the Moscow Philharmonic Society, and that it was the first time Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony was heard in Moscow. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
March 14 1908 (Julian Calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina noted that this was a Symphony Concert of the Philharmonic Society, and that it was the first performance in Warsaw of Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony. I am grateful to J. Falleyn for providing the translation of the attached review, which has clarified confusion regarding the date (likely stemming from the misattribution of Gregorian and Julian Calendars) and matters relating to the program. Martyn provided a different order of the works to Satina and, like Keldysh (p. 286), included a performance of Lisa's aria from Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades, also noting that Rachmaninoff accompanied two of his songs (p. 548), 'Spring Waters' and 'By My Window' (the review confirms Rachmaninoff's songs but does not mention Tchaikovsky's aria). Martyn believed that the second pianist in the Suite was Aleksander Mikhaiłowski, however Keldysh and the attached review confirm it was Henryk Melcer. In the Gregorian Calendar, the date of this concert was March 27. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 9 1908
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: There has been confusion about the date of this concert: in her Library of Congress materials, Satina listed it for November 9, although Martyn listed a concert in Amsterdam on this date, noting only a performance of the Symphony no. 2. Martyn listed a concert in Antwerp on November 27, with the program as outlined here. Satina, who relied on Rachmaninoff's notebook as her source, did not list any performance on November 27. Adding further to the confusion, Satina contradicted herself in 'Vospominania', noting a concert on November 9 in Amsterdam. Recent advice based on newspaper reviews indicates that November 9 is the correct date for this concert in Antwerp. It is not known who conducted the orchestra in Rachmaninoff's concerto. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 3 1909 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina notes that this 9pm concert was the 6th Symphony Concert in the season of the Imperial Russian Music Society. She does not note who conducted Rachmaninoff’s Symphony, but Martyn confirms it was the composer (p. 549). LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
April 15 1909 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 5th Symphony Concert of the season for the Moscow Philharmonic Society. Rachmaninoff substituted for Arthur Nikisch, who was ill. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
April 18 1909 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 6th Symphony Concert of the season for the Moscow Philharmonic Society, and that this was the first performance of Isle of the Dead. Rachmaninoff substituted for Arthur Nikisch, who was ill. Satina adds that ‘he accepted only two concerts and rushed back to Dresden’, which places doubt on whether Rachmaninoff similarly substituted for Nikisch in a third concert on April 27 (Julian calendar). Martyn lists the later concert; Satina did not. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
April 27 1909 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Martyn and Keldysh (p. 293) indicate that this was a Gogol centenary concert, yet Satina did not include it in her materials. Indeed, her note for the concert on April 18 states that Rachmaninoff subsequently 'rushed back to Dresden'. Keldysh notes the inclusion of M.N. Ermolova and A.I. Yuzhin, not mentioning Dobrovolsky, but nevertheless stating that the 'biggest stars of the Moscow drama and opera theatre took part'. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 26 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Solo Pianist
Notes: While the attached review does not mention Tchaikovsky's 1812, nor Karl Pohlig, the complete program is printed in the attached press clipping. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89. Review: Philadelphia Inquirer 1909.11.27 p. 15.