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 27 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Solo Pianist
Notes: LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 3 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concert Soloist
Notes: Satina noted that this was an afternoon concert. The attached review indicates the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, was given as an encore. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 4 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina notes that this was an evening concert. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 17 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 18 1909
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: Review: Boston Journal 1909.12.18 p. 4. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 27 1910
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: The exact order of the program was not known to Satina, however the attached press clipping provides the details. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
April 4 1910 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist and Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that the program was different to that which was announced, and that Rachmaninoff’s Spring Cantata and The Rock were not heard. Instead, this was the first performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto in Moscow, postponed from a planned performance the previous month due to the delayed return of parts from the US. Satina also indicates that Rachmaninoff conducted in this concert, and it might be assumed that Plotnikoff conducted only in the concerto. Keldysh (p. 297) confirms that Rachmaninoff conducted his symphony. An image of the first page of this program is included in Keldysh's Rachmaninoff and His Time. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 13 1910
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina noted that this concert was part of the Leeds Festival, however she was not aware of the entire program. The first attached review indicates that the orchestra was large, the string section comprising 76 players. The concert began at 11am, however it is noted the interval was long at over an hour. The images of the Leeds Mercury and Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer are used with kind permission of The British Library Board. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 28, 1910 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina notes that this performance was in celebration of the 100th Concert given in the Kerzin series, known as the Society of Lovers of Russian Music. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 15 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 6th Symphony Concert of the season of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. Keldysh, in a footnote on p. 337, confirms that Pomerantsev conducted only in the concerto. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 21 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist and Conductor
Notes: Martyn indicates that Khodorovsky conducted only in Rachmaninoff’s concerto (p. 552). LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 12 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Concert Soloist
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 7th Symphony Concert in Alexander Siloti’s season, and that it was the first performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto in St Petersburg. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
March 25 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was part of Alexander Siloti’s 7th Season of Concerts. Satina also indicates that this was the first complete performance of the work, noting that individual sections had previously been performed a few months earlier, according to notices published in the Russkaya Muzykal’naya Gazeta. Keldysh (p. 337) indicates that several excerpts were performed at a concert of the Synodal Choir on March 10. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
March 29 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 8th Symphony Concert in the season of the Philharmonic Society. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 24 1911
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist and Conductor
Notes: Satina believed that Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony was conducted by Simon Speelman, however the attached press clippings indicate it was conducted by the composer. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 10 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 5th Symphony Concert of the season. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 15 1911 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina believed that the program was incomplete, further indicating that Rachmaninoff conducted Mussorgsky’s Hopak as an encore, a detail supported by Keldysh (p. 339) and Martyn (p. 554). The concert was arranged by Mr Baklanoff ‘for benefit of the Society to help the needy Moscow students’. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 7 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina indicated that this was the 7th Symphony Concert of the season of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. She had wondered if only the Prelude of Glazunov’s work was played, however a review in the Russian Musical Gazette (1912, no. 2) indicates the entire suite was performed. It is not clear which concerto by Davidov was performed. Satina also noted that the work by Mussorgsky was played in place of the advertised Capriccio Espagnole of Rimsky Korsakov. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 14 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 8th Symphony Concert of the season of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 13 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
February 15 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
February 17 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
February 20 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
February 22 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
February 23 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
October 6 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 1st Symphony Concert of the season of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 20 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 2nd Symphony Concert of the season of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. Details about which symphony by Mozart was performed were not known to Satina. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 22 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina indicates that this was a concert in memory of Edvard Grieg. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
October 27 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 3rd Symphony Concert of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. Satina cites as her reference for this concert Apetian’s collection of Rachmaninoff’s letters, p. 433. Martyn provides a slightly different ordering of the program (p. 556). LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 3 1912 (Julian calendar)
Rachmaninoff's role: Conductor and Chamber Musician
Notes: Satina notes that this was the 4th Symphony Concert of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.