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The catastrophic failure of the First Symphony of Sergei Rachmaninov in 1897 threw him into an emotional tailspin. He couldn’t compose, and his few attempts after two years produced nothing of note. In 1900, the 27 year old composer decided to see a psychiatrist.
Dr. Nikolai Dahl had not trained under either Freud or Jung, but was a general practitioner who dabbled in hypnosis and post-hypnotic suggestion. At the time, these were considered the stuff of parlor games and carnival sideshows. Dr. Dahl put Sergei on his couch for three months in early 1900 and delved into his psyche.
The basic problem was simple: Rachmaninov was bipolar. Sergei was in distinguished company: Schubert and Rossini had the problem, as did a host of lesser composers. Great musical talent and depression often go hand in hand.
In those days it was called melancholia, and the prescribed therapy was fruit juices. Decades later, it would be renamed Manic-Depressive Syndrome, and the cheap mineral lithium carbonate would be prescribed. But then Big Pharma renamed it Bipolar Disorder and prescribed Prozac and a whole host of expensive drugs. Beware Big Pharma when it gets its hooks into anything!
Dr. Dahl hypnotized Sergei and planted this suggestion: “You will begin to write. You will work with great facility. The music you write will be good music.”
Rachmaninov wrote: “Although it sounds incredible, this cure really helped me. I began to write. New musical ideas began to stir within me, far more than I needed for my concerto.”
The overflow from this concerto-in-progress went into another suite for two pianos in 1901, this time better organized and less programmatic than its predecessor. It is one of the great showpieces and crowd pleasers of the piano literature.
The first movement is short and points back to the Baroque era. The exuberance just leaps off the page!
Rachmaninov: Suite #2 for Two Pianos, Op. 17, Introduction
The second movement is a whirlwind waltz, and it’s just as exuberant as its predecessor. The slower middle section is stunningly beautiful. At the end, the waltz simply fades into nothingness.
The third movement is the heart of the piece, and you may need to keep a handkerchief ready.
The finale is there to show off Sergei’s technique – and the technique of any pianist daring enough to tackle this piece. One of the pianists in this video, Inon Barnatan, played at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival last summer and the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, where I saw him play. What a performance! This is an absolutely astonishing movement!