patricia: Rachmaninov & His Ongoing Presence

Remember John Guare’s stunning play, “Six Degrees of Separation”? It proposes that we’re all connected to everyone else by just six persons (mostly unknown) in a people-to-people network that flows out from you through extended relationships across time and place. 

However, in the classical music world, I think those connections are much closer and intense because it’s an in-person universe of musical activity. You must be ‘in it’ interacting in-person with others to learn, to know, and to make music. Not words. Not books. Not recordings. To be a Classical music-maker is to be in the contemporary ‘now’ and to be immersed in the richness of music’s profound legacies.  

Here’s an example: When I studied with Madame Olga Conus at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, the presence of Rachmaninov in her studio was palpable. His photo was displayed; his corrections and fingerings of his musical scores were on her shelves. And most importantly, she was living history personified. She was related to Rachmaninov through marriage; had been coached by him when she was a brilliant young student at the Moscow Conservatory of Music; and enjoyed a close friendship after they all immigrated first to Paris and then to America. She conveyed in her teaching critical insights into his musical persona and intent, and how the ‘sound’ must infuse those into the audience experience. Underscoring everything - an emphasis on his humanity with snippets of his sense of humor. 

That’s how close you can be in the classical musical world. In my case, just one degree of separation. It’s a remarkable gift.

p.s. Mde. Conus also lived in the apartment below Scriabin in Moscow. But that’s another story . . .

Patricia Gray