The climactic sections, boasting some truly grandiose and highly virtuosic stretches of piano writing, indeed amplify the emotional range of the work. Every melodic line in this movement acquires new lyrical qualities transcribed with such ingenuity and elegance, it is as if the piece found a more pure nature in this solo-piano version. While the Waltz’s double notes, in fact, may easily appear rather daunting to the performer at first, it doesn’t take long to appreciate their pianistic congeniality. Both evince prodigious skills in the art of the piano transcription and require no less of the pianist in terms of their execution, particularly the Waltz! The Waltz and Romance movements are particularly dear to me, inasmuch as my learning and premiering them in several venues opened the door to friendship with Mr. The cantabile lines themselves assume more transparent colors and nuances.
Striking, as well, is Leyetchkiss’s way of conferring new pianistic gestures and tonal characteristics to each movement of the Suite.įrom the onset of the first movement, Introduction, one can actually appreciate a new sonority concept, something more blended and unique, even more noble obviously, this stands in contrast to the massive textures of the two-piano version. He does so without altering either the clarity of the harmonic structure or the voice-leading, both of which remain quite pristine. In this respect, it’s truly remarkable how Leyetchkiss’s transcription of the 2nd Suite managed to slim down the intricate textures of the original score while still enabling us to hear each of Rachmaninoff’s soaring lines. It should be noted, however, that one of the keys to his success in this genre is to avoid transcribing for the piano in an over-elaborated or over-contrapuntal manner (such as Godowsky). Leyetchkiss himself once expressed to me he strongly believed any work written for two pianos could indeed exist in a solo-piano version. Unlike Leyetchkiss’s numerous transcriptions of orchestral works (e.g., Debussy’s Fêtes, Ravel’s Boléro), this is a composition Rachmaninoff conceived for two pianos, though in a very “orchestral” and grand fashion!ĭespite the many intricacies in Rachmaninoff’s original, two-piano version of the Suite, Leyetchkiss masterfully imbues his entire solo-piano transcription with a laudable naturalness and pianistic ingenuity. Vladimir Leyetchkiss’s solo piano transcription of the Rachmaninoff 2nd Suite for two pianos represents, without a doubt, one of his greatest and most ambitious accomplishments amongst his vast piano-transcriptions output. 2” for two pianos, which has become known among piano enthusiasts for the recording by Cyprien Katsaris.
The long-awaited first publication of the piano solo transcription of Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece “Suite No.
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