From 1917 to 1930, Rachmaninoff composed no original works for piano. Then, in the summer of 1931, he wrote his last piece for solo piano: the Corelli Variations. It’s a masterwork that’s a bit hard to grasp, because unlike the Op.22 Chopin Variations or the Op.43 Paganini Rhapsody, it inhabits a very constricted emotional space. In short: with the possible exception of one variation, it’s very, very sad. Every variation contains something that’s disturbing or off-kilter – chromaticism (even if disguised: Var.20), icebergs of wayward harmony, unsettling changes in meter, and biting motoric movement. In the Paganini or Chopin variations you build up into joyous perorations, but there there isn’t a single triumphant note.

The work is compact (it’s a lot shorter than the other variations R. wrote) and very tightly organised: three clear movements, with a similar tonal structure to the first movement of R.’s D minor sonata. Liszt’s description of the Moonlight’s 2nd movement (“a flower between two chasms”) pretty accurately describes the middle movement here: it’s also in Db, and is a tiny two variations long. R. rigorously applies structural unifying devices in this work: he prepares the Db tonality of the middle movement by introducing Db harmony in Vars. 9, and 11, and a little rhythmic motif he introduces in Var.13 suddenly blossoms into huge proportions in Vars. 18-20 before a magical coda curls the piece inward and folds it closed.

[MVT I]
00:00 – Theme, austere & pure, desolate.
01:03 – Var.1, Poco piu mosso. Lush initially, but with disturbing accents in bass.
01:33 – Var.2, L’istesso tempo. Motoric, built off theme’s melodic shape.
02:01 – Var.3, Tempo di menuetto. Eerie, with rich harmonies.
02:44 – Var.4, Andante. Similar to 13th variation of Op.22. Modal colour.
03:58 – Var.5, Allegro (ma non tanto). Vacant and primitive, with open fifths/octaves providing most of the colour.
04:19 – Var.6, L’istesso tempo. A development of Var.5, with fistfuls of chromatic movement.
04:41 – Var.7, Vivace. Motoric, imitating crossed strings on a violin.
05:10 – Var.8, Adagio misterioso. Oscillating lines, irregular phrases, pungent harmonies.
06:07 – Var.9, Un poco piu mosso. Extraordinary, almost Debussy-like colours prowling in the harmonic movement of the LH.
07:11 – Var.10, Allegro scherzando. Return to harmonic stability. Mendelssohn-like.
07:45 – Var.11, Allegro vivace. Motoric, brutish toccata.
08:10 – Var.12, L’istesso tempo. A compact and dark march, with wrongfooted rhythms.
08:45 – Var.13, Agitato. Convulsive. Frequent metrical changes, with almost all chords 7ths/9ths/11ths. Introduces a galloping rhythm developed in Vars.18-20.

[INTERMEZZO]
09:19 – Var.13+1. An ingenious construction, sounding like a concerto cadenza that leads into a thematic restatement (compare it to Var.11 of the Paganini Rhapsody). Built around the double harmonic minor scale (flattened 2nd and 6th), which gives it an eastern flavour. Washes of coloristic harmony and dense embellishment loosen the piece’s grip on D minor, preparing for next variation.

[MVT II]
10:34 – Var.14, Andante (come prima). Theme restatement. Played alone, this variation might sound warm – but it the context of this set it is world-weary and resigned. The register is lower than the first statement of the theme, and the harmonies are lusher and darker: the theme seems have aged somehow. This might be a function of the Db tonality, a semitone down from D min, but in the second-last bar a D minor chord appears as a reminder of where we are. (NB: R. also exploits the Dmin/Db tension in his first sonata.)
11:43 – Var.15, L’istesso tempo. A radiant nocturne. The only happy moment of the piece

[MVT III]
13:13 – Var.16, Allegro vivace. Sudden shift back to D min. Open fourths/fifths, with Gypsy scale runs for colour.
13:44 – Var.17, Meno mosso. Open fifths remain. Metrical changes, chantlike melody floating over ostinato.
14:52 – Var.18, Allegro con brio. The beginning of the closing triptych. The little rhythmic seed planted in Var.13 sprouts. Schumannesque.
15:26 – Var.19. Rhythm further developed and made more jagged with the addition of snare drum-like figuration (cf: the dramatic vivace passage at the end of R.’s 3rd PC). The end of this variation dissolves into a chromatic whirlwind (note the chromatic line that also emerges in the LH).
15:55 – Var.20. Climax. A wall of sound echoing from all registers, with lots of implied chromatic movement in the outer + inner voices. Some biting harmonic writing (15:21), and an ending like Chopin’s last Op.28 prelude.

CODA
17:04 – Var.20+1, Coda. Smokily chromatic. Melody unfurling in neverending fashion over a D pedal. A kind of weary, improvised extension of the low Ds ending Var.20. (Cf. the Meno mosso in the Op.22 coda).

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