Rachmaninoff and colour

A student of Rachmaninoff, Ruth Slenczynska:

was practising one of Rachmaninov’s preludes when he asked her to join him at the window. It was springtime in Paris, and the avenues were lined with mimosa trees laden with fluffy, golden blossoms.

“He said: ‘You see that? That’s what you want to bring to your sound – gold.’ I said: ‘Show me.’ So he sat down at the piano and put colour into his sound, he made it meaningful. And a little kid can copy anything,” she said.

Nadia Khomami, “Ruth Slenczynska: the pupil of Rachmaninov still releasing music at 97”, The Guardian, 31 January 2022, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/jan/30/ruth-slenczynska-pupil-rachmanivov-still-releasing-music-age-97, (accessed 1 January 2024).

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