Rachmaninov – Zwischen den Welten

"With Choreographer Jiří Bubeníček and Costume and Stage Designer Nadina Cojocaru"

Rachmaninoff’s music is known for its sweeping melodies and deep emotions, but it’s not typically associated with ballet. What made you decide to bring his music to the stage?
JB: Actually, the idea originated from Theatre Altenburg Gera - the ballet direction wanted to create a ballet inspired by Rachmaninoff. We embraced the concept, and for me, his music is not only profoundly melodic but also inherently connected to movement. Even in his orchestral and piano works, there’s a natural dance-like quality - a dynamic flow of interwoven melodies that build into powerful culmination. Although Rachmaninoff never composed a ballet, his music is remarkably expressive. Tchaikovsky was at one point a influence on him, and perhaps he didn’t feel the need to write for ballet when Tchaikovsky had already set such a high standard. Still, Rachmaninoff’s sweeping melodies, rich harmonies, and dramatic contrasts are highly visual. They practically beg to be brought to life through dance.

Does the ballet tell a biographical story?
JB: I didn’t want to create a strict, linear biography. Instead, the first act, Memories, reflects pivotal moments in Rachmaninoff’s life - his childhood, the people he met, and the emotions that shaped his music. It’s like glimpsing fragments of memories, where one image seamlessly fades into the next. The second act, Concerto, shifts away from narrative and immerses us purely in dance and music, as if we are stepping inside his compositions rather than his life.
Also the first act, Memories, is largely inspired by his life in Russia - the country that shaped his artistic identity. It explores the emotions, relationships, and experiences that fuelled his music. In contrast, the second act, Concerto, represents his life in the United States, a period of great success but also relentless demands as a pianist. With his career consuming much of his time, he had fewer opportunities to compose. That’s why this part of the ballet moves away from storytelling and focuses entirely on the music itself - a reflection of the energy, complexity, and passion that defined his later years. It is my purely instinctive response as a choreographer to the concerto.

How do you translate memories into movement?
JB: We aim to create poetic, dreamlike images rather than literal scenes. For example, Rachmaninoff’s early encounter with gypsies inspired Aleko, so we have a moment where he dances with a gypsy woman. Before he begins to write a new idea, a bell rings or a new figure appears - like a labyrinth of fading memories, leaving you to wonder if it truly happened or if it’s just a fleeting thought. It’s an abstract yet deeply emotional way of showing how his memories influenced his work.

You mentioned bells - one of the central symbols in Rachmaninoff’s work. How are they represented in the ballet?
NC: Bells play a major role in Rachmaninoff’s work, deeply connected to his childhood memories of his grandmother taking him to church. His music is rooted in the sound of bells. We incorporate them both through sound and visuals. At the beginning of the ballet, dancers bring a large bell and hang it in a tree, representing the strong religious traditions that shaped people’s lives during that time - a tradition that bound generations together and led to a peaceful village life. Placing the bell in the tree signifies an anchor to the past, and its eventual destruction reflects the chaos and disruption that took place during the Russian Revolution. Just as the bell's collapse marks the end of something stable and cherished.

What role does the set design play in this?
NC: In the first act we wanted to evoke the warmth and nostalgia of the past, like stepping back into your grandmother’s village and feeling the comforting embrace of the memories. We always aim to deeply connect with the set, letting it as well to shape the choreography. To capture this feeling, I thought about a big tree, about five meters tall - crafted from smaller pieces of birch wood, like a beautiful mosaic of Rachmaninoff’s memories. For the second act, we decided to leave the stage empty to allow for dynamic dance, but we played with lighting to create a festive, concert-like atmosphere.

How does the movement style evolve throughout the ballet?
JB: The first act begins with fluid, organic movements inspired by folk culture, contemporary way of moving, reflecting freedom, tradition, emotions, communication between people. As the ballet progresses, in the second act the movement becomes more structured, elegant, polished, and neoclassical—just as his life became more rigid in exile, defined by performance and routine.

His Second Piano Concerto was written after a deep depression. Do you show this period in the ballet?
JB: We touch on it briefly. After the failure of his First Symphony, he stopped composing for three years. Critics were harsh, and he fell into a deep depression. In the ballet, we hint at this through a scene with a conductor - portraying the unsuccessful First Symphony premiere that crushed his confidence. But we don’t dwell on it; instead, we focus on the beauty that came after.