Rachmaninoff, Martha Argerich, Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky, Live in Luxembourg 2006

Sergei RACHMANINOFF: Suite No. 2 for 2 Pianos, Op. 17: I. Introduction – II. Valse – III. Romance – IV. Tarantelle – Suite No. 1 for 2 Pianos, Op. 5: I. Barcarolle – II. La nuit… L’amour – III. Larmes – IV. Pâques – Maurice RAVEL: Ma mère l’Oye, M.60: III. Laideronnette, Impératrice des pagodes – Johannes BRAHMS: 16 Waltzes, Op. 39: No. 15 in A-Flat Major – Sergei RACHMANINOFF: 10 Preludes, Op. 23: No. 6, Andante in E-Flat Major – No. 7, Allegro in C Minor – Felix MENDELSSOHN: Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 62, MWV U 161: No. 6, Frühlingslied. Allegretto grazioso – Sergei RACHMANINOFF: 10 Preludes, Op. 23: No. 5 Alla marcia in G Minor.

Martha Argerich & Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky, piano.

Wikipedia

1.1 In the beginning, I was born in Baku (1945), where I spent my early years. A word of clarification – I’m Russian with a Jewish name (Russian on my mother’s side).

1.2 My earliest musical memories are linked to listening to Chopin’s Marche funèbre played by brass bands during daily funeral processions in the streets of Baku. Apart from such haunting music, my musical education was enriched by episodic listening to two 78 rpm records—with excerpts from Gounod’s opera Faust: the Valse and the aria by Mephistopheles (Le veau d’or) with Feodor Chaliapin.

1.3 In 1955, I had to travel alone by plane from Baku to Moscow to meet my parents. Having already acquired the habit of strolling the streets, I found myself in front of the Stanislavsky Theatre and, with two rubles in my pocket, I was able to buy a ticket and enter a magical theatre for the first time. And the magic of the first three chords of Puccini’s Tosca predetermined my future destiny, now associated with writing musical notes on snow-white paper that can withstand anything.

1.4 Good news—at the age of 12, I finally managed to start studying composition with Nikolai Korndorf and our teacher Grigory Frid.

1.5 Two years later, I finally decided to learn to play the piano with Nathan Fischman, a great specialist in deciphering Beethoven’s sketchbooks (almost indecipherable, in fact).

I treasure these three volumes containing Nathan Fischman’s very subtle analyses of the sketches and subsequent evolution of Beethoven’s creative thinking. In fact, my piano studies lasted only four years, after which I was forced to stop because of serious problems with my hands.

1.6 1963-1967 – Composition studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexander Pirumov and Dmitry Kabalevsky.

1.7 1967-1974 – Marriage, birth of my daughter Maria. I tried to revive my aborted relationship with the piano, that indomitable instrument, and this is how I managed to present to the public Messiaen’s marvelous 20 Regards sur l’Enfant Jésus, Ives’ 2nd Sonata, and the Klavierstücke by the composer born on the star Sirius (as everyone knows). Strangely enough, at the time I preferred to play all these works by heart, which wasn’t at all necessary…

Alexandre Rabinovitch-Barakovsky, 30.01.2025

VEL1742 Booklet.pdf