This document identifies elements of a stylistic change which occurred in several of the pieces Rachmaninoff wrote during the last years of his life. These elements reflect a progressive trend in his music, which certainly maintained in spite of the change, its characteristic sound. The Variations on a Theme of Corelli, Op. 42 illustrate these new developments in their lean, angular unison sonorities, stripped of chordal padding and virtuosic display, in their percussive, staccato and incisive ostinato rhythmic figures, astringent chromatic harmony and modern air of detachment. The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 confirms this stylistic development in its remarkable similarity to the Corelli Variations. In the last twenty-six years of his life in exile from his homeland, making his way around the world as a concert pianist, Rachmaninoff wrote only six major works. Perhaps his increasing age, separation from homeland, and the musical revolutions surrounding him in the Western world produced this stylistic development.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc330593 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Ruttle, Mark |
| Contributors | Roberts, Jack Lundy, 1931-, Brothers, Lester Dwayne, 1945-, Cho, Gene J., Sale, Richard, 1930- |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | xi, 36 leaves : ill., Text |
| Rights | Public, Ruttle, Mark, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. |
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