Showing us Hough to do it
INTERNATIONALLY acclaimed British pianist Stephen Hough will perform the Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Opus 43 with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra in Hobart tomorrow night.
Hough said the Paganini theme provided a wonderful basis for the work, which includes 24 variations.
“It’s simple in harmonic construction, which means you can do all sorts of things with it, which Rachmaninov does,” he said.
“What’s important for Rachmaninov is the harmonic structure of the theme. He doesn’t really treat it like a tune. It gives the bare bones of a harmonic structure. The first half is very simple and the second is complicated.
“It has a curly shape that goes up a third and wraps around itself, almost like a shell.
“He plays around with it, and just when you think he has exhausted all its possibilities he finds another way of shaping it. It has a wonderful inventiveness.”
Hough said the sense of unity differentiated the work from most other variations on a theme.
“It’s not just the gargoyles on the building, it’s the foundation underneath the structure,” he said.
“Structurally it is his best work and it is very satisfying. The proportions feel right and it works.
“It’s not as dark and turbulent as the concertos, and to me it is his neoclassic piece, even though he wasn’t really part of that movement.
“It is still very romantic but is quite lean, which gives it a purity.”
Conducted by Johannes Fritzsch, the program will also include The Tempest by Tchaikovsky and Symphony No.6 by Dvorak.
The concert will be held at Hobart’s Federation Concert Hall from 7.30pm tomorrow.
Tickets are $33, available from www.tso.com.au