PART I
The "minorness" of Rachmaninoff's
aesthetics and where (not) to
look for its origins
1. Structural principle and gesture
2. Old and New in Rachmaninoff's
Manuscript
3. Hypertrophy-but not in interpretation
4. Appassionato vs sostenuto
5. Feel-and what to do with it
6. How the “very old composer”
Rachmaninov teaches new things
PART II
Approaching the second
half of the motto
look at the old as the
new and the new as the old
Commentary on the attached audio files
In connection with the examples of works of Ilja Zeljenka, a telling example of the crystallization of my interpretative approach is the difference between my recordings from 2005 and 2020. I include two interpretative versions of the 2nd Piano Sonata. First version from 2005 precisely as an example of what I consider a lifeless – rigid and unsatisfactory interpretation (example 6). The Preludes already show a shift from asceticism as the highest value and an exploration of how to connect it with the atributes of emotionality. Both strive for graphic precision. For both, emotional restraint is essential. And yet, I belive, there is a noticeable and fundamental difference in the type of experience they convey. The second version of the Sonata is a live recording from a concert in Bergen and provides a good comparison of interpretative concepts and artistic development so far.
