Siloti Mystery Music--Please Identify!

Please forgive the horrible fidelity of these old, damaged amateur records that Alexander Siloti made sometime between the 1930's to the 1940's. This clip is a two minute fragment of an unknown piece of music that I wish someone could identify. It starts and ends abruptly at the wrong places, but it is all that has survived. It is possible that it was written by his cousin Sergei Rachmaninoff, or Siloti himself. You can hear Siloti himself adding some vocal sounds as he plays. This piece is too beautiful to be thrown in the garbage, which is essentially where the world has thrown it. I have yet to hear of anyone who likes it as much as me, but that is the world's problem and not mine. Please leave your opinions as I am curious to know if you like it or not. I was given a cassette tape of these old records by Charles Barber, author of "Lost In The Stars" which is a biography of Siloti. Mr. Barber was grateful for tape recordings I made of the Duo-Art Reproducing Piano Rolls that Siloti made in the 1920's. The photograph is of a page in the 1927 Aeolian Duo-Art Roll Catalogue. Please contact me at AeolianPiano@gmail.com if you have any comments or questions. Thanks much, Randolph Herr
PS: You can find a clip of me demonstrating a virtually lost piece by the great Enrique Granados at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja026X7vkhg

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Siloti
• Ziloti
• Rachmaninoff
• unknown
• mystery
• music

[AeolianHall1]

You can contact me at AeolianPiano@gmail.com and I would love to hear from you. Although the great majority of people do not like this piece, people like you and me know we are lucky to have heard this beautiful, lost fragment. There is truly magic in it.

[ron22696]

@AeolianHall1 If you could all please listen to this with headphones on, with the volume turned up. Is it me, or is there a female's voice in the background..vague, but still a bit recognizable???? It seems she is humming along for a bit...am I crazy??? Again, turn the volume up...thanks:)

[AeolianHall1]

@ron22696 Even I, with my bad hearing, can detect a voice at times; I assume it is Siloti himself almost unconsciously being carried away by the beauty of the music.

[MarianneAlkonost]

What is really great about Siloti and Rachmaninoff manner of playing is some special feeling of dignity and respect to the whole world and selfrespect... One can hear that this is played not for the sake of somebody listening but for the sake of Music in itself as something sacred and full of beauty... Enchanting is a perfect word indeed!

[AeolianHall1]

@MarianneAlkonost Dear Marianne: I recognized your name when I saw it, and I remembered that you had posted the comment about the piece coming from Rachmaninoff's Suite. I wish you would give me some more details as I have heard the Suites and do not remember hearing this melody in there. Thank you for your recent comments on this music. When I first heard it, I played it for my friends but no one could hear the magic that I heard in this music. Thank goodness for YouTube; now thousands hear it

[ron22696]

First off, let me thank you for preserving such a transcendental piece of music, even if it is only a fragment. I can't help but find myself mesmerized by such timeless beauty, and credit to you for preserving it. Secondly, is there any more insight as to where this came from? I see a comment that it may have been an improv from one of Rachmaninoff's suites, but I can't seem to find any that it could have come from. Again, thank you so much..,.

[AeolianHall1]

@ron22696 You and I are lucky we can find such beauty in this piece. Most people do not like it. Please write to me at AeolianPiano@gmail.com because the space to answer you is limited. Regards, Randolph

[trent12801]

I was told by Kyriena that it is, indeed, Siloti himself humming along. I heard the same sounds, and asked her. This was confirmed by Siloti's daughter-in-law, Maria (Mussy) Siloti. Both, sadly, are long passed away. The original tape is at the Library of Congress, Music Division.

Charles

[Rlaw2222]

is it possible that its a piece siloti composed? he did compose over 100 pieces in his life time, just a lot of it is forgotten nowadays.

[michelmans]

See the end (minute 3.24) of Hvorostovsky - Valentin's aria from Faust (Gounod)

[michelmans]

The last theme of the transcription , very free actually, is this Valentin Aria of Faust Gounod :-)