Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Pianist Corner Old programs from Univ. of Michigan - Prokofiev, Rachmaninov

Back in the days when most musicians travelled by train, the University of Michigan was a convenient stop along the route from New York City to Chicago.

As a result, many of the greatest classical pianists gave concerts there, including:

Prokofiev in 1918: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19181214

Rachmaninov in:
1920: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19201111
1929: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19290213e
1931: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19310210e
1934: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19340118e
1935: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19351106
1937: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19371027
1939: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19391024

Horowitz's first recital there was in 1930: http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs_19300131e

He played there 12 more times, in 1933, 1941, 1945, 1947, 1949, 1951, 1952, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1980:
http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs


By 1960, the University of Michigan had heard recitals by Busoni, Dohnanyi, Hoffmann, Rubinstein, Paderewski, Cortot, Lhevinne, Solomon, Hess, Schnabel, Arau, Serkin, Bolet, Gieseking, Casadesus, and Janis.

Check out the full online collection of concert programs - it's fascinating! - http://ums.aadl.org/ums/programs

Not news to me! GO BLUE!!!!!!

Those are interesting indeed! I love that Prokofiev (spelled Prokofieff on that occasion) played some Rachmaninoff - didn't expect that. And it's amazing (and kind of sad) how little of his own music Rachmaninoff played. And that he played that much Bach. Or the Debussy Suite Bergamasque.

Odd too how the Rachmaninoff's first program started at 8 o'clock, then there were some at 8:15, and finally some at 8:30.

When I was a student there, I heard Louis Lortie play 27 Chopin Etudes in one concert, followed by the Chopin G Minor Ballade as an encore. It was unbelievable!

WOW!! Thanks so much for sharing...

Interesting observations! In these programs, Rachmaninov always included one or two of his own works in the 2nd half, but I wonder if that was more to fill an expectation.

By the way, Enesco played Enesco in 1948, Grainger played Grainger in 1920, and Ysaye played Ysaye in 1917. But, like Rachmaninov's, these programs were also filled mostly with works by other composers. In that sense, Prokofiev's program seems to have been an anomaly, at least in this venue.

also Paderewski, Hess, Rachmaninoff, Horowitz, Gilels, Cortot, Serkin, Schnabel, Hoffman played regularly...amazing.

viewing the archive it seems that, for whatever reason, there were virtually no more solo recitals after 1980 ;(

Wow, this is very interesting!
How I want to have been on all those concerts.. Especially Rachmaninov playing Beethoven op.111 which I'm currently studying.
Thanks for sharing!

You and me both. Reading through the Rachmaninov programmes literally made my mouth water, the thought of hearing him play that music! And the sorrow that so much of it he never recorded.

They were going strong when I was there in the late 90's. I heard Oppens, Uchida and Kissin. Also Goode (with Orpheus), Pressler (with Beaux Arts). They've also had Tomsic, Perahia, and a wide variety of instrumental soloists and chamber groups playing with various pianists. Plus the University (which is a separate entity from UMS) brings in a variety of guests as well.

What I wouldn't give to hear Rachmaninoff playing the Chopin Barcarolle and Sonata #3...even just a scratchy old recording...

It's a shame that, as far as I know, the biggest/most famous halls don't have similar listings of all their concert programs on line.

Does anyone know if there are any listings for places like Carnegie Hall?

It doesn't appear as if Rachmaninoff repeated anything on his programs over a span of 20 years. What a repertoire he had!

2006?

No more solo recitals? Are you kidding? I don't know what the archive looks like, but there are several every season. I've heard all of the pianists Kreisler mentioned at Hill or Rackham as well as Ashkenazy (three times), Schiff (his journey through the 32), Ohlsson, Blechacz, Lortie, Yuja Wang, Hewitt, Ax/Bronfman, Matsuev...and I'm sure I'm leaving some off the list that aren't immediately coming to mind. I've also heard Anne-Sophie, Perlman, Salerno-Sonnenberg, Julia Fischer, Zukerman, Emerson, Brentano (w/Peter Serkin), Guarneri, St. Lawrence Quartets, all of which are highlights that readily come to mind. Every time I walk into Hill I think "Rach played here"..."Horowitz played here"...that's pretty awe-inspiring itself.

Carnegie Hall does not have them online. But the NY Phil recently put its program archives online. Rachamninoff performed regularly starting in 1909 (His concerto No3 under Walter Damrosch; he played again a few months later under Mahler) and the last performance was about 3 months before he died (Dec '42): his program consisted of his rhapsody on a theme by Paganini for piano and orchestra, his Op45 symphonic dances, a Bach Prelude and Fugue and an overture by Berlioz, Mitropoulos conducting.

No LL???

How was Matsuev??

Lang, unfortunately gave a recital last year and I could have gone for free (key words being could have meaning I didn't).
Matsuev, left me a wee bit cold. Strong technically and the audience loved him, but I'm going to give him time yet.

Has he been doing those Etude recitals for that long? In 2010 he came to Kalamazoo, MI to do this set.