Diary entries
November 5 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that according to Rachmaninoff’s wife the Chopin Mazurka was either op. 17, no. 4 or op. 67, no. 4, or op. 68, no. 2. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as the encore in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 7 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert began at 8.30pm. Satina notes that this was the first performance of the Paganini Rhapsody. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 8 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina notes that these were the first performances of the Paganini Rhapsody. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 9 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that according to Rachmaninoff’s wife the Chopin Mazurka was either op. 17, no. 4 or op. 67, no. 4, or op. 68, no. 2. Rachmaninoff's transcriptions of Bizet's Minuet and Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee, along with the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, are noted as the encores in the attached reviews. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 11 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that according to Rachmaninoff’s wife the Chopin Mazurka was either op. 17, no. 4 or op. 67, no. 4, or op. 68, no. 2. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 12 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that according to Rachmaninoff’s wife the Chopin Mazurka was either op. 17, no. 4 or op. 67, no. 4, or op. 68, no. 2. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as the first in a group of encores in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 14 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Chopin Waltz could have been either op. 64, no. 3, op. 69, no. 1, or op. 42, and that the concert was given at 11am in the morning. Rachmaninoff's transcription of Kreisler's Liebesleid is noted as the encore in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 16 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina noted that the key and number of the Chopin Ballade were not printed in the program, however as the same program was played in Seattle the following week she copied the details from there. One of the attached reviews confirms this, and also indicates the keys of Rachmaninoff's Preludes. Chopin's Waltz in D flat, op. 64, no. 1, the 'Minute', is noted as the encore. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 19 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina believes that the Scriabin poem was in F sharp major, op. 32, no. 1, and the Etude was in D sharp minor, op. 8, no. 12. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 22 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: In error, Satina listed this concert for November 24. She believed that the Scriabin poem was in F sharp major, op. 32, no. 1, and the Etude was in D sharp minor, op. 8, no. 12, as were included in other programs of the time. According to the attached reviews, after playing God Save the King, Rachmaninoff sat at the piano and waited for 15 minutes until latecomers were seated and there was silence in the hall. The description of this by Bob Bouchette, who also supplies an interview in an attached press clipping, is poetic. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted among the encores. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 23 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 26 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina noted that the Liszt Ballade was probably no. 2 in B minor, and that the keys of the Rachmaninoff Preludes were according to the review, the latter confirmed by one of those attached. The encores included the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, and an etude-tableau. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
November 27 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina believes that the Scriabin poem was in F sharp major, op. 32, no. 1, and the Etude was in D sharp minor, op. 8, no. 12. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, is noted as among the encores in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 1 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Rachmaninoff's transcriptions of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee and Mussorgsky's Hopak, along with the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2 (which the reviewer indicates Rachmaninoff returned to play after the stage lights had been turned off, due to the insistence of the audience), are among the encores noted in the attached review. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 4 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina notes that the Liszt Ballade was probably no. 2 in B minor. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 9 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina believed that she had incomplete details for this unusual program, however the attached press clippings and reviews shed more light. Atypically, Rachmaninoff placed the Beethoven Sonata after interval, devoting the first half to seven works by Chopin. Yet in regard to these pieces, the press clippings diverge as to whether the third or fourth Ballade was played. The review of the Daily News notes the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, and Tchaikovsky's Troika as among the encores, which also included 'Bizet, Schumann, and Godowsky'. Satina further noted about this recital: ‘A picture was taken without his knowledge by a newspaper man when he played the nocturne. It is one of the best pictures kept in Rachmaninoff’s Archives now.’ LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 10 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: Satina believes that the Scriabin poem was in F sharp major, op. 32, no. 1, and the Etude was in D sharp minor, op. 8, no. 12. Her ordering of the second half of the program was slightly different to that outlined in the attached review and press clipping, the latter which is followed here. The Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, a Chopin Waltz, Liszt's transcription of Wagner's Spinning Song, and Rachmaninoff's transcription of Rimsky-Korsakov's Bumble Bee are noted as the encores. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 12 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: While Satina was unable to find complete program details for this recital, they have been reconstructed from the attached press clipping. The review notes that the Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2, was played as the encore. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 14 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist
Notes: The reviewer of the Globe-Democrat notes that Mr and Mrs Rachmaninoff listened to the performance of the Tchaikovsky symphony in the hall. The same reviewer, who was very perceptive in his reception of the Rhapsody, also reviews the concert the following day. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 15 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist
Notes: LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 27 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert (which began at 8.45pm) was the 3047th concert of the New York Philharmonic Society, and the first performance of the Paganini Rhapsody in New York. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
December 28 1934
Rachmaninoff's role: Concerto Soloist
Notes: Satina indicates that this concert began at 2.30pm. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
January 8 1935
Rachmaninoff's role: Gramophone Recording
Notes: Recorded at Studio 2.
January 10 1935
Rachmaninoff's role: Gramophone Recording
Notes: Recorded at Studio 2.
February 1 1935
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: About this concert Satina is not clear: it could be that the program is speculative, based on what was played in Stockholm on February 8. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 5 1935
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: About this concert Satina is not clear: it could be that the program is speculative, based on what was played in Stockholm on February 8. LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 8 1935
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 12 1935
Rachmaninoff's role: Solo Pianist
Notes: LoC, Sergei Rachmaninoff Archive, ML31.R33, Papers of Sophie Satin, boxes 82-89.
February 15 1935
Notes: Satina was unaware of details for this concert, however they have been reconstructed from the attached review. Translation of review: copyright J. Falleyn.