As a reaction to the Age of Enlightenment, artists of the late 18th century began to create works that were reflections of their ideals of free expression. This was the beginning of the Romantic movement, a movement that was guided by numerous influences, with the emphasis on emotion. The emotion most often represented was love, which sometimes took the form of unrequited love that ended in the violent end of one or both the parties involved.
Mizra Shafi Vazeh
Another influence on the Romantics was the exoticism of different lands and peoples. These were often expressed as crude stereotypes such as the Janissary music imitated by Mozart in the third movement of his Piano Sonata In A Major K.331. But exoticism also exerted an influence through artists that were natives of those far away places. One of those artists was a poet from Azerbaijan, Mirza Shafi Vazeh, who continued the tradition of Azerbaijani classic poetry. He was also fluent in the Persian language and some of those poems were collected by one of his devoted German disciples Friedrich Martin von Bodenstedt. Mirza Shafi Vazeh was literate but seldom wrote down his poems. Bodenstedt wrote some of them down in the original Persian, translated them to German and in 1851 published them in a book titled Die Lieder des Mirza Schaffy. Anton Rubinstein chose twelve poems from this book to set to music for his opus 34 12 Lieder des Mirza-Schaffy, also known as Persian Love Songs.
Friedrich von Bodenstedt
Rubinstein was second only to Liszt in his ability to play the piano. His repertoire was vast, his stamina legendary, he also became a conductor and founded the St. Petersburg Conservatory. But he also had ambitions as a composer and wrote a huge amount of music in all the forms of the day. His 4th Piano concerto was once a staple of the repertoire, but despite a modern resurgence of interest, his music is rarely heard. Persian Love Songs has been recorded a few times and although the text Rubinstein set was in German, they are usually sung in Russian translation. The 9th song in the set, 'Swirling Waves', was a favorite of the Russian opera singer Feodor Chaliapin, whose interpretation of the song has become somewhat of a tradition. The video below has a recording sung by Boris Shtokolov, one of the most famous Russian bass singers of the modern era. His interpretation adds some of the falsetto singing introduced in the song by Chaliapin that deviates from Rubinstein's original music:
In the beginning of the Romantic era in the early 19th century, the virtuoso pianist/composer emerged. Major composers such as Hummel, Chopin, Mendelssohn, Thalberg and many others dazzled audiences with their own compositions for piano and orchestra. At the top of them all were Liszt and Rubinstein.
Due to musical tastes changing with time, Liszt's music has been more appreciated now than in his own time. The politics of the music scene of late 19th century Romanticism, the Wagner versus Brahms debate, no doubt added to the problems Liszt's music had in gaining a more solid foothold in the repertoire. The opposite has happened with the music of Rubinstein. Once regarded just as important a composer as pianist, his works are now performed infrequently, more of a novelty than anything else.
Perhaps Rubinstein himself put his finger on the reason that his compositions suffered so much neglect later on when he said:
I write on the spur of the moment, driven by an inner force; I could not... criticize, file and brood over my compositions. They are indeed improvisations and have the virtues and vices of improvisations.
Rubinstein's piano concertos fare better than some of his other works and a few are occasionally performed. He wrote 5 in all, along with three other works for piano and orchestra. His first concerto was written in 1850 and is a rather traditional piano concerto in form, but the force of Rubinstein's personality and prowess at the keyboard can be felt in it. It is in the traditional 3 movements:
I. Moderato -The first movement is in a traditional concerto sonata form. The orchestra plays through the themes of the concerto before the soloist enters playing the main theme of the movement. The lyrical second theme appears in a piano solo with a very slight orchestral accompaniment. A third dance-like theme is taken up by the piano. The development section expands on the themes. The recapitulation follows the same order of themes along with modulations to other keys. Further development of themes occur in the coda and Rubinstein increases the drama with a short section for piano and timpani. The tempo quickens as the beginning of the main theme is tossed about in different keys. The virtuosity of the piano part increases as the orchestra helps build tension. There is a sudden dying away of volume as the piano and clarinet have a short dialog. The piano plays quietly, and a sudden loud chord for piano and orchestra sounds to end the movement.
II. Andante con moto -The horn plays the beginning of the main theme of the second movement. The piano takes up the theme. The horn and piano alternate with the theme. A dramatic middle section presents the strings playing a persistent long-short-short rhythm as the low strings and bassoon play a short motif. The piano accents the proceedings with loud chords. The horn and piano have a dialog between presentations of the strings dramatic pulse. The main theme come to the fore again after a short transition and continues to play until near the end of the movement when the strings dramatic pulse interrupts a few times until the lyrical main theme ends the movement.
III. Con moto -There is a short introduction by the woodwinds before the main theme of the movement is played by the piano. This theme occurs throughout the movement along with other themes, most notably a march-like theme, until the coda is reached. The coda is a double octave tour de force for the soloist as the orchestra plays the march-like theme at full volume.
Anton Rubinstein (1829 - 1894) was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. He was part of the tradition of the 19th century virtuoso performer/composers such as Franz Liszt. Although his compositions are seldom heard now, at one time he was equally valued as a composer as a performer.
He toured Europe as a virtuoso pianist and even toured the United States during the 1872-73 concert season. He gave over 200 concerts in 239 days. The Steinway piano company financed this tour, and he received $200 per concert plus expenses. Rubinstein said of this tour: "May Heaven preserve us from such slavery! Under these conditions there is no chance for art—one simply grows into an automaton, performing mechanical work; no dignity remains to the artist; he is lost.... The receipts and the success were invariably gratifying, but it was all so tedious that I began to despise myself and my art. So profound was my dissatisfaction that when several years later I was asked to repeat my American tour, I refused pointblank..." The fact that he earned enough from this tour alone to never have to worry about money no doubt helped him make the decision to not do it again.
In appearance, Rubinstein favored Beethoven so much that rumors had him as Beethoven's illegitimate son. Liszt called him 'Van II'. He had hands that were more like paws with a broad palm, short, thick fingers that were broad and square at the finger tip. He could make the piano roar, or have it speak in a whisper. He was a master of the pedal, and said of it that, "The pedal is the soul of the piano."
Rubinstein's life was music and he contributed greatly to music education in Russia by founding the St. Petersburg Conservatory of Music in 1862. He continued to compose, conduct, and give recitals all of his life until his death from heart disease.
His Piano Concerto No. 4 was once highly esteemed and was part of the repertoire of such virtuoso pianists as Rachmaninoff and Paderewski. It was composed in 1864, revised twice and the final version was published in 1872. It follows the typical Romantic piano concerto structure and is in 3 movements:
I. Moderato assai - The main theme is stated by orchestra alone, the piano enters alone then joins with the orchestra in the main theme. The movement is in sonata form with a cadenza added towards the end. The movement ends with another statement of the main theme and a coda. II. Andante - Serene music that begins in D minor and progresses to F major. Some of the most beautiful music Rubinstein ever composed. III. Allegro- An exuberant rondo in the style of a Russian peasant dance. After the orchestra and piano take turns yelling and stamping, the movement ends with piano pyrotechnics.
