Musical Mental Feats
Evening Music | May 6, 2010
Wunderkind Mozart may have entered legend-status after transcribing Allegri's famously secret "Miserere" from memory after one hearing, but the prodigiously gifted Shostakovich had his own set of musical mental feats; we'll hear one tonight.
Once, after sounding a note of displeasure about the fashionable musical "No, No, Nannette" by Vincent Youmans, Shostakovich was challenged to transcribe and reorchestrate to his liking one its numbers from memory — and in under an hour. The composer took up the gauntlet and forty-five minutes later the result was the delightful "Tahiti Trot"; our performance tonight is by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra under Constantine Orbelian.
Later on, we'll immerse ourselves in Rachmaninoff's imposing Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. Dedicated to a Dr. Dahl (who treated Rachmaninoff through therapeutic autosuggestion), this difficult and dense work comes to viruosic life under the commanding fingers of pianist Van Cliburn.
Once, after sounding a note of displeasure about the fashionable musical "No, No, Nannette" by Vincent Youmans, Shostakovich was challenged to transcribe and reorchestrate to his liking one its numbers from memory — and in under an hour. The composer took up the gauntlet and forty-five minutes later the result was the delightful "Tahiti Trot"; our performance tonight is by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra under Constantine Orbelian.
Later on, we'll immerse ourselves in Rachmaninoff's imposing Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor. Dedicated to a Dr. Dahl (who treated Rachmaninoff through therapeutic autosuggestion), this difficult and dense work comes to viruosic life under the commanding fingers of pianist Van Cliburn.
