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Hypnotising Rachmaninov

Georgia Mann delves into the world of hypnosis. How did Rachmaninov use it to write a masterpiece? What in fact happens in a session? And why do we think it's for Disney villains?

β€œNo sooner had the last chords died away than I fled, horrified, into the street… All my hopes, all my belief in myself, had been destroyed.”
Sergei Rachmaninov described the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony which plunged him into a three-year creative crisis, unable to compose.

And yet three years later the piece that finally emerged was his masterpiece - his Second Piano Concerto - one of the best loved pieces of music ever written, immortalised in the public consciousness by Eric Carmen. Brief Encounter and any number of romantic music playlists.

Rachmaninov dedicated it to a Dr Nikolai Dahl - and Dahl practised hypnosis. Rachmaninov put his revival down to a series of hypnosis sessions with Dahl who repeated the same hypnotic formula day after day, β€œYou WILL write a Concerto…It WILL be excellent….”

Now Georgia Mann has heard this story before and even told it on the radio, but has always been a bit sceptical. Can hypnosis really cure an artist to such a degree that they can go from despair to writing a masterpiece? Isn't it just for stage magicians and Disney villains?

The roots of modern hypnosis are often thought to lie with the Viennese Doctor, Franz Anton Mesmer in the 18th century, so Georgia visits Vienna and eminent hypnotherapist Dr Stella Nkenke to learn about mesmerism, what exactly happens when we're under hypnosis, and how it can be used to help musicians today. She talks to guitarist Craig Ogden about how he, like Rachmaninov, turned to the therapy to help cure a musical problem. And Georgia's scepticism is put to the test with a session in the hypnotic chair...

She enlists broadcaster Matthew Sweet to help understand how film and literature have shaped our understanding of hypnotism today, and she sits down with pianists Nikolai Lugansky and Katya Apekisheva and musicologist Marina Frolova-Walker to understand more about Rachmaninov's story via his glorious piano music. Can we learn anything of his struggles and personality in the heart-wrenching melodies of the Second Piano Concerto?

Producer - Hannah Thorne

Available now

44 minutes

Last on

Sun 2 Apr 2023 19:45
ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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Music Played

  • CΓ©line Dion

    All By Myself

    • Epic.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Symphony no.1 in D minor Op.13 (4th mvt)

    Orchestra: Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Vasily Petrenko.
    • Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 1 & Prince Rostislav.
    • Warner Classics International.
    • 5.

  • Frankie Goes to Hollywood

    Relax

    • ZTT Records Ltd.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    3 Symphonic dances Op.45 (no.2)

    Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
    • Warner Classics.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Cosi fan Tutte - Overture

    Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • Chandos.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

    Cosi fan Tutte - Act 1 Finale

    Orchestra: Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Conductor: Charles Mackerras.
    • Chandos.

  • Maria Theresia von Paradis

    Sicilienne

    Music Arranger: Chris Hazell. Performer: Sheku Kanneh‐Mason. Orchestra: ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ National Orchestra of Wales. Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra. Orchestra: English Chamber Orchestra. Conductor: Christopher Warren‐Green.
    • Decca.

  • Takashi Yoshimatsu

    Wind Color Vector, Op. 48

    Performer: Craig Ogden.
    • Chandos.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    13 Preludes Op.32 (no.2 in G major)

    Performer: Nelson Goerner.
    • Chopin, Polonaise-Fantasie: Nelson Goerner.
    • Wigmore Hall Live.
    • 18.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Symphony No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 13 - 1st mvt Grave

    Conductor: Yannick NΓ©zet‐SΓ©guin. Orchestra: The Philadelphia Orchestra.
    • Rachmaninoff: Symphony 1 + Symphonic Dances.
    • Deutsche Grammophon (DG).
    • 1.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini Op.43 for piano and orchestra

    Performer: Daniil Trifonov. Orchestra: Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Vasily Petrenko.
    • NONRK.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    3 Symphonic dances Op.45 for orchestra: no.1; Non allegro - lento - tempo 1

    Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker. Conductor: Sir Simon Rattle.
    • Rachmaninov: The Bells, Symphonic Dances.
    • Warner Classics.
    • 005.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18 (1st mvt)

    Performer: Khatia Buniatishvili. Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic. Conductor: Paavo JΓ€rvi.
    • Rachmaninoff: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3.
    • Sony Classical.
    • 1.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 (2nd mvt)

    Performer: Nikolai Lugansky. Orchestra: City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Conductor: Sakari Oramo.
    • The Rachmaninov Experience.
    • Warner Classics and Jazz.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Piano Concerto no.2

    Performer: Katya Apekisheva.

  • Sergey Rachmaninov

    Concerto no. 2 in C minor Op.18 for piano and orchestra - slow movement

    Performer: Khatia Buniatishvili. Performer: Czech Philharmonic. Conductor: Paavo JΓ€rvi.
    • Sony.

Broadcast

  • Sun 2 Apr 2023 19:45
    ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ Radio 3

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