Elzbieta Szmytka - Levente Kende

The vocal work of Sergeï Rachmaninov - the part of his oeuvre most neglected in the general anthologies of the Russian song - is by nature the most introspective, dramatic part of his musical legacy. Where the piano works of Rachmaninov are a balancing act between delicate modulation and dramatic accompaniment, the vocal oeuvre is characterized by a more meditative musical expression. The text actually feeds into the dramaturgy of the musical expression. Such as in the case of Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, the songs of Rachmaninov also reveal the stages of the personal development of the composer. The songs possess the abstract power of expression, characteristic for the 'Vespers', the 'Vocalise', and the piano trio, various 'Etudes Tableaux' and the Second Symphony. This is where you enter into the transcendental, the merciless, fragile last limits of the self.