Rachmaninoff - Symphonic Dances, Opus 45

 Sergei Rachmaninoff completed his last major work, the Symphonic Dances, in 1940. It had a good reception at the time of its premiere in 1941 with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. But subsequent performances were received lukewarmly, and Ormandy showed no interest in recording the work. 

It was the time of the modernists like Schoenberg and Stravinsky, who each in their own style changed the world of classical music for composers and audiences. Rachmaninoff's music looked backwards instead of forwards. Indeed, his previous composition, the Third Symphony,  was akin to the Symphonic Dances as it reflected his past. Rachmaninoff himself knew this better than anyone else. Interviewed in 1939, he admitted:

I feel like a ghost wandering in a world grown alien. I cannot cast out the old way of writing and I cannot acquire the new. I have made an intense effort to feel the musical manner of today, but it will not come to me.

After leaving Russia at a time of great political and cultural upheaval in 1917, Rachmaninoff eventually made his way to the United States and relied on his incredible piano technique and conducting skills to make a living for himself and family. He grew to become financially well-off, so much so that he could afford another home in Lucerne, Switzerland, where he would spend time during the concert off season. It was there that he composed most of his later works. Symphonic Dances was the only major work that was composed in The United States.  

I. Non allegro - The music begins quietly with the ticking of strings and the commentary of solo woodwinds in turn. The music turns loud with drums punctuating a rhythmic drive that continues throughout the first section. A piano joins in as the rhythmic dance continues. instruments in turn enter and make their comments, almost like the music is a concerto for orchestra. The first section winds down as the oboe and clarinet herald the beginning of the middle section which is carried by a solo saxophone. The saxophone makes few appearances in the symphony orchestra, but Rachmaninoff's use of it makes a listener wonder why. The tone of the instrument blends nicely with the rest of the woodwinds. Rachmaninoff may have written in a less than modern style for the time, but there is no doubting his skill and talent for orchestration and melody. 

The first section returns with brilliance as Rachmaninoff continues to showcase the differing timbres of the orchestral instruments. As the movement begins to wind down, a new theme is played by the strings and accompanied by piano, glockenspiel, and harp. This theme is a reworking of a theme from his 1st Symphony, which was heard only once in 1897 in Russia. The work had a disastrous premiere, and Rachmaninoff abandoned it. After the reminiscence of the theme, the movement quietly ends with short snippets of the beginning. 

II. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse) - It is indeed a waltz as Rachmaninoff designates, but it begins in 6/8 time rather than the usual 3/4 time of a waltz. Rachmaninoff visits the waltz form with ingenuity, a continuation of instrument spotlighting and nostalgia, with some eerie sounds thrown in, like the sounds of muted horns and trumpets. There is a solo for violin that leads the proceedings. There is an atmosphere of haunted dreaminess in the music. The pace quickens near the end, as the instruments (or dancers) scurry off the dance floor. 

III. Lento assai - Allegro vivace -  After the poor reception of his Third Symphony in 1936,  Rachmaninoff vowed to cease composing. His career of concert pianist and conductor were taking up most of his time, and felt underappreciated as a composer. But it wasn't the first time that he had tried to give up composing. After the disaster of his First Symphony, he stopped composing for three years. And like so many years ago, the inner drive for creative work returned to him in 1940 when he wrote the Symphonic Dances. The final movement has the same basic A-B-A form as the other two, and it shares the brilliance in orchestration as well. A section from his setting of the Russian Orthodox All Night Vigil is used, along with what was a somewhat ubiquitous theme for Rachmaninoff, the Latin hymn Dies irae. The Dies irae theme was referenced in many of his compositions. 

The movement begins with a reworking of snippets of the Dies irae, punctuated by bells and other percussion. The Dies irae continues with syncopations until a climax is reached. A different, more laid-back version of the theme is heard in low strings with the glissandos of harps. parts of the Russian Orthodox litany is also heard. The middle section is in contrast to the two turbulent outer sections, with parts of it vaguely similar to the Dies irae theme that are more tranquil. The final section brings back the Dies irae theme, but this time it is in competition with a Russian chant Blessed Is The Lord. The Russian chant wins out, and a new theme, Allilyua, taken from his 1915 work for chorus All-Night Vigil. The work ends in a blaze of rhythmic percussion and full orchestra.

Rachmaninoff was 67 years old when he wrote Symphonic Dances, and his many years of extensive traveling, piano playing (piano players are prone to bad backs and arthritis), and cigarette smoking took a toll on his health. The concert season of 1939 was especially tiring for him, and he himself said after writing the work, "It must have been my final spark". He was a deeply religious man, and at the end of the manuscript he wrote, "I thank thee, Lord." 

Rachmaninoff - Trio Élégiaque No. 1 In G Minor

Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote two piano trios within a year of each other, and both were called Trio Élégiaque (elegiac, or mournful trio). The first was written in 1892 when Rachmaninoff was 19 years old. He wrote it in a three-day period, and he was the pianist at the premiere of the work a few days later.  The second trio was written in 1893 shortly after the death of Tchaikovsky, a composer Rachmaninoff admired. So the second trio is actually an elegy in remembrance of Tchaikovsky, but the first was written when Tchaikovsky was in good health the year before.

The first trio is in but one movement, and is modeled somewhat after Tchaikovsky's Piano Trio In A Minor written in 1882, which was written in memory of Tchaikovsky's deceased friend Nicolai Rubinstein. This work made a lasting impression on Rachmaninoff and influenced him greatly when he composed his own trios.

The work opens with the violin and cello slowly and softly playing a repetitive figure that gradually grows in intensity. The piano enters with the theme that dominates the work:

This theme goes through various changes in the twelve sections that make up the trio, and in the end is transformed into a funeral march, as the Tchaikovsky trio does.

Rachmaninoff was still a student when he composed this trio, but he already had the emotional intensity and sense of instrumental color that was to be a part of his future compositions.

On account of it being a student work or its short length (it takes about 15 minutes to perform),  Trio Élégiaque No. 1 In G Minor was not published in Rachmaninoff's lifetime. The first edition appeared in 1947, and the work has no opus number.

Rachmaninoff - Isle Of The Dead

Sergei Rachmaninoff  was a world-renowned Russian concert pianist, conductor and composer. He left his native Russia after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Most of his compositions are for solo piano,  piano with orchestra and orchestra alone, along with some songs and chamber music.  He was regarded as one of the best pianists of his generation with a virtuoso technique and phenomenal memory.

The Symphonic Poem "Isle Of The Dead"  Opus 29 was written in 1908 and was inspired by a painting titled Isle Of The Dead by the Swiss artist Arnold Böcklin that he saw exhibited in Paris in 1907.  The painting depicts the ancient Greek myth of the newly dead on their way across the river Styx  that separates the land of the living from the land of the dead. 

The opening of the work begins softly in the low strings, with a time signature of 5/8.  The resultant rhythm of this quintuple meter may represent the rhythm of the rowing of oars as Charon, the boatsman of the myth, rows the boat to the land of the dead.  In the beginning, Rachmaninoff beats this 5/8 time signature as 1-2-3-4-5, with emphasis on the first beat and the third beat. This breaks it down into essentially alternating bars of 2/8 and 3/8 time.  He then shifts the beats into 1-2-3-4-5,  and further along he has a section that shifts the beat to 1-2-3-4-5.

This shifting within the beats of the 5/8 time signature  is very subtle and it is one of the many details of this master work that helps give the impression of bleakness, loneliness and tension that leads to the climax of the composition, and its denouement.  To add to the effect, Rachmaninoff includes variants of the ancient Latin hymn Dies Irae (day of wrath), a hymn thought to have been written in the 12th century and was part of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass. This hymn was something of a fixation for Rachmaninoff, as it appears in many of his works.

Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody On A Theme of Paganini

Sergei Rachmaninoff initially wanted to be a composer, but he had to rely on his abilities as a pianist  to make a living after he left Russia. The revolution of 1917 saw the loss of Rachmaninoff's estate (he was a member of the bourgeoisie), and his way to make a living. He was 44 years old when he left his native country in late 1917 and he never went back.

In 1921 he immigrated to the United States and toured extensively as piano soloist and conductor. He completed only six compositions between 1918 and 1943, the year of his death. His home in the U.S. reflected his homesickness for his native Russia, as the household practiced Russian customs and had Russian servants. He did build a vacation home on Lake Lucerne, Switzerland where he spent his summers. It was there that he wrote Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini in 1934.

 Rachmaninoff himself was the pianist at the premiere of the work with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conductor. Rachmaninoff admitted the work was very difficult and that he had to practice it diligently. Paganini's 24th Caprice For Solo Violin is the theme used for the variations, a theme used for other sets of variations by Liszt, Brahms, and other composers. 

Coincidentally (or not) Rachmaninoff writes 24 variations on the theme, the same number as Brahms. The work is played non-stop, but the variations are arranged in three groups that roughly coincide with the usual fast-slow-fast movement plan of a conventional piano concerto.

Introduction : Allegro vivace - A nine bar introduction that uses a fragment of the theme.

Variation 1 (Precedente) - Instead of playing the theme itself, Rachmaninoff plays the first variation on it. Actually a variation on the bass of the theme, as Beethoven did in the last movement of the Third Symphony ‘Eroioca’.

Theme -  The theme is first heard in the strings as the soloist plays a simple outline of the harmony in A minor.  

Variation 2 - It is the piano’s turn to state the theme at the beginning of this variation. The piano then outlines the theme in arpeggios as woodwinds, horn and strings trade off playing fragments of it.

Variation 3 - The piano plays a simple counter melody while the woodwinds and strings chatter amongst themselves.

Variation 4: Piu vivo -  The tempo increases slightly, the piano has each hand in turn take up a fragment of the theme as an accompaniment to the strings and single woodwinds.

Variation 5 - Alternating chords in the piano play chords that soon lead up to a few sparse octaves and snatches of the theme played an octave apart in each hand.

Variation 6 - A quiet variation that has the piano play a part of the theme, and a cadenza-like ritard that ends the phrase. The piano part becomes slightly more complex and louder, and then returns to the quiet of the beginning.

Variation 7 : Meno mosso, a tempo moderato -  While a solo bassoon plays the theme, the piano quotes the ancient plainchant Dies Irae, something of a fixation for Rachmaninoff as it appears in other of his compositions.

Variation 8 : Tempo I - The music grows more intense, the piano part more complex as the variation progresses.

Variation 9 -  Violins and violas are instructed to play col legno, with the wood of the bow. The strange clicking sounds that result are played in triplets with the rest of the orchestra that have the first beat in the triplet as a rest, thus giving an off the beat feel to the music. The piano plays the theme in eighth notes separated by an eight rest, which further adds to a disquieting rhythmic pattern. The dynamic range of the variation stays mostly on the quiet side. All of it adds up to appropriate music after the ‘Day Of Wrath’ of the Dies Irae appearance, as strings played col legno have been compared to the rattling of bones.

Variation 10 - The Dies Irae returns, and the music slowly reaches a quiet conclusion to the variation. From the beginning of the work to the end of the 10^th variation has all been in the key of A minor, and these variations have been considered representing the first movement of a concerto.  

Variation 11 : Moderato - This variation remains in A minor, and is considered to be the start of the slow movement of a concerto.  The tempo has slowed; the mood is more melancholy than fierce. The piano weaves chromatic runs and octaves as the orchestra adds discreet accompaniment. The piano takes off on a fortissimo run of arpeggios and is accompanied by glissandos on the harp, after which the piano winds down and plays a solo.  

Variation 12: Tempo did Minuet to - This variation is in D minor, and as indicated is in the tempo of a minuet - a slow minuet.  The orchestration is very sparse with alternating solos for clarinet and horn, with accompaniment by the harp.

Variation 13 : Allegro - Still in D minor, the music picks up the pace and volume as the strings play the theme while the piano hammers out chords.

Variation 14 - The key shifts to F major, the volume increases, and the piano takes a rest while the orchestra plays the varied theme. When the soloist does enter, it mostly at an accompaniment level.

Variation 15 : Piu vivo scherzando -  The piano plays a rapid, brilliant solo in F major before the orchestra joins in. The piano keeps up its virtuosity until the variation ends with a quiet chord in the piano.

Variation 16 : Allegretto - The key changes to B-flat minor as muted violins and violas softly begin the movement. The oboe and cor anglaise take up the theme while the piano plays a harmonic counter theme.  A solo violin plays while the piano changes to a short chromatic run. After the dialogue between piano and violin, the variation returns to the beginning as the violins lead to the next variation.

Variation 17 -  The piano continues in B-flat minor as it plays slow arpeggios to accompaniment by woodwinds with the violins and violas punctuating with tremolos. The piano makes a wonderful modulation along with the cellos to the next variation.

Variation 18 : Andante cantabile -  The piano begins in D-flat major with the variation that is known all by itself, a variant of the original theme where the 4-note motive of the theme is inverted.  This variation not only shows Rachmaninoff’s mastery of the piano and orchestration, but also shows his gift for melody. The piano plays the variant by itself until the strings take it up. It then plays accompanying chords. The music keeps building until upon the third repetition of the inversion the volume, passion (and rubato) increase as the piano continues to accompany with chords. The music slowly begins to grow quiet until the piano ends the variation pianissimo. The end of this variation suggests the end of the slow movement of the piano concerto.

Variation 19 : A tempo vivace -  The next variation begins with 4 bars of pizzicato strings, and it is back in the key of A minor. The soloist enters and plays in eight note triplet arpeggios that are marked quasi pizzicato.  

Variation 20 : Un poco piu vivo -  The music increases in tempo as the strings race in sixteenth note figures. The soloist skips around the keyboard in single notes for each hand and finally switches to octaves. Clarinets and flutes join in with the running sixteenth notes as the variation builds to a crescendo and then back to quiet at the end.

Variation 21 : Un poco piu vivo - The piano plays in triplets in each hand as the orchestra punctuates the harmony. The music keeps on building in intensity.

Variation 22 : Un poco piu vivo (alla breve) - The piano plays short, clipped chords with an indication of marziale. The accompaniment is light to begin with, but as the soloist grows in volume and intensity, more instruments start to play. The music builds to tremendous climax, after which the piano plays triplets in each hand. The triplets become sixteenth note arpeggios. Soloist and orchestra trade off statements in triplets until the climax is reached. The soloist plays a cadenza that leads to the next variation.

Variation 23 -  The piano plays the theme in A-flat minor (!) before the strings bring it back to A minor.  The soloist has another cadenza and that leads to the finale.

Variation 24 : A tempo un poco meno mosso - The tempo slows slightly as the piano plays another theme variant to a light accompaniment.  Piano and orchestra grow more involved until a final loud appearance of Dies Irae is heard in the brass. The piano is all but drowned out by the orchestra as things are leading up to a big finish that includes a double glissando by the soloist. The volume is fortissimo, the music slips into the key of A major, but after one last outburst, the music ends with the piano quoting the opening of the original theme’s first notes quietly with an equally quiet accompaniment.

Rachmaninoff - Vocalise Opus 34, No. 14

The term vocalise can be traced back to the Italian/French composer Jean-Baptiste Lully as well as other French composers of the Baroque period who wrote songs without words that were known for their value as exercises in vocal technique, as etudes for the voice. Later vocalise were written specifically for teaching purposes.  In the 19th century these exercises for voice were sometimes written with piano accompaniment to further train the singer in execution and style.  The beginning of the 20th century saw composers writing wordless music for soloists as well as choruses. These works treated the voice more as music of expression rather than technical studies.


Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote his opus 34 set of Fourteen Songs to various texts with the final song Vocalise being one of his most popular and well known works. The songs of opus 34 were originally written for solo voice and piano, with Vocalise being the final song written in 1915.  The other 13 songs in the set are seldom performed, but Vocalise was an audience favorite from the start. The song has been transcribed for many different instrumental combinations, with individual instruments like the violin or cello playing the vocal part. Rachmaninoff himself transcribed the work for soprano and orchestra and orchestra alone.

Vocalise is one of Rachmaninoff's most beautiful melodies. The soloist sings no words, but in a constant vowel sound. The soloist covers two octaves as the melody begins in a whisper, reaches a climax and ends in a whisper.  As with many of Rachmaninoff's melodies, there is a hue of Russian melancholy about it. The original version is written in the key of C-sharp minor.

Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto No. 3 In D Minor

Sergei Rachmaninoff was a composer inspired by many of his Russian compatriot composers, especially Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky, but it may come as a surprise that Rachmaninoff held the Grieg Piano Concerto In A Minor as the greatest piano concerto ever written. At least that is the recollection of the great pianist Arthur Rubinstein in an interview for television called Arthur Rubinstein At 90. Rachmaninoff liked the Grieg concerto so well that his 1st  Piano Concerto's beginning resembles the opening of Grieg's. Although it is difficult to hear any obvious similarities between the 3rd concerto and Grieg's, that doesn't mean that Rachmaninoff wasn't still influenced by it. Inspiration doesn't necessarily result in imitation.

Rachmaninoff wrote his 3rd Piano Concerto in 1909 during a summer vacation on his family's estate in Russia, where he wrote many of his works before he left Russia in 1917.  The work has never been as popular as his 2nd piano concerto, but Rachmaninoff himself preferred the 3rd as he said the 2nd was more uncomfortable to play.

There has not been a great deal of agreement with Rachmaninoff's comment as the 3rd Piano Concerto's reputation persists among other pianists as one of the most difficult in the entire repertoire. All of his works for piano and orchestra are difficult technically and with Rachmaninoff being one of the top virtuoso performers of the 20th century, that is no surprise. But there is more to it than that. Part of the difficulty is that the soloist has very few measures where the piano is not contributing either as soloist or accompanist. Rachmaninoff approved some optional cuts in the work to help shorten it and make it more popular, but these cuts are seldom taken in modern performances. Without the cuts the work lasts roughly 40 minutes, a real test for a pianist's stamina and alertness.

The 3rd Piano Concerto was premiered in New York late in 1909 with the New York Symphony Society, and was repeated a few weeks later with Rachmaninoff again the soloist and Gustav Mahler conducting. The concerto was dedicated to the Polish-American virtuoso pianist Josef Hofmann, but he never performed it in public. The concerto is in three movements:

I. Allegro ma non tanto -  The first movement begins with the orchestra playing two bars of gently throbbing material and the piano enters with a simple theme played in both hands an octave apart. This theme and parts of it occur throughout the concerto:

 The theme expands until the piano erupts into running sixteenth notes and the theme is taken up by the horns. The piano part grows more complex as well as the orchestra's part until there is a short episode for solo piano. The orchestra plays a section of transition to the 2nd theme in a major key. The first time it is played as a give and take with piano and orchestra, which is followed by a more rhapsodic version of the 2nd theme played by piano with sparse and subtle accompaniment by woodwinds and strings. After the 2nd theme is worked through, the first theme reappears but with stopped horns making an eerie comment Rachmaninoff launches into a robust and complex development section, after which the piano plays an extended cadenza with fragments of the first them sprinkled throughout it. The woodwinds take their turn with parts of the first theme as the pianist plays a rippling accompaniment. The pianist again has a solo cadenza, this time it is a fantasia on the 2nd theme. Rachmaninoff has just used a novel approach to the recapitulation section of concerto sonata form by playing the themes as piano cadenzas. The orchestra finally reenters and leads the music back to the first theme.  The orchestra and pianist make a last fleeting reference to the 2nd theme, and the music quickly leads to a very subtle and surprising pianissimo ending.

II. Intermezzo: Adagio -  The orchestra plays a melancholy theme in F-sharp minor for an extended time in the beginning of this movement, the longest section without piano participation in the entire concerto. Shortly after the piano enters the second theme in a major key is played by the soloist. The piano takes up the first theme, and piano and orchestra develop it. The second theme is heard once again and varied. Among the variations is a waltz with the orchestra carrying the thematic material while the piano plays a glittering accompaniment.  The orchestra then plays an interlude without piano that is reminiscent of the main theme of the first movement and then harks back to the introduction of the second movement. The piano changes the mood with a short solo, and then soloist and orchestra join together to lead into the last movement without pause.

III. Finale: Alla breve - There are two vigorous themes in this movement that are heard one after the other in the beginning. After these themes are presented, the second theme of the first movement is combined with the initial theme of this movement for what at first appears to the ear as new material.  The main theme of the first movement then appears in a varied form in the cellos and is hinted at in the piano, after which the second theme from the first movement makes another appearance. After some transitional material, the two themes of this movement reappear, recognizable but in different clothes. Then Rachmaninoff switches keys to D major, and the music gets more and more animated. A new theme in the new major key and as it broadens it rises into the stratosphere of Romantic expression, something that Rachmaninoff was a master of.  The music quickens again and rushes to a glorious ending.

Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 1

Sergei Rachmaninoff's 1st Symphony was not his first foray into symphonic form. He wrote a scherzo for orchestra when he was thirteen, and as a student wrote the first movement of a symphony. His official first symphony was composed between January and October of 1895 when he was 22 years old. Rachmaninoff was typically a composer that worked very rapidly, but the first symphony caused him much effort and work. He finally dedicated ten-hour workdays to see the work through to completion.

It did not have its premiere until nearly two years later. Rachmaninoff played the work in a version for piano for the composer and teacher Sergei Taneyev in 1896. Taneyev's negativity towards the work led Rachmaninoff to make changes in the symphony, and he was finally granted a performance of the work in March of 1897 in St. Petersburg with Alexander Glazunov conducting.

Rimsky-Korsakov attended the rehearsals of the symphony and was not overly impressed, and neither was the conductor Glazunov. Glazunov was not a very good conductor to begin with and his control of the orchestra was not strong. Rachmaninoff tried to make suggestions to the conductor but Glazunov ignored him.  Glazunov even had the nerve to make some cuts in the work and change some of the orchestration, with neither action benefiting the symphony. To add insult to injury, people who attended the performance thought that Glazunov, a heavy drinker, was drunk. Whether he was drunk or sober, Glazunov never much cared for or understood Rachmaninoff's music.  The effect on Rachmaninoff was devastating. He left the hall before the work ended. Critics were brutal, especially one of The Five composers César Cui who in part wrote:

 "If there were a conservatory in Hell, and if one of its talented students were to compose a program symphony based on the story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, and if he were to compose a symphony like Mr. Rachmaninoff's, then he would have fulfilled his task brilliantly and would delight the inhabitants of Hell."

As for Rachmaninoff, his initial reaction was calm, but with the passage of time the negative reception of his symphony caused him to lose his self-confidence and he gave up composing until 1899. He did not destroy the work, but it was not performed again in his lifetime. Rachmaninoff put the score in his writing desk and it was left in Russia after Rachmaninoff fled the country in 1917.

In 1944 the instrumental parts and a two-piano reduction done by the composer were found in the archives of the Leningrad Conservatory Library. The manuscript score has never been found. Using the available parts and piano version, the symphony was reconstructed and given its second performance at the Moscow Conservatory in 1945.

The symphony is in 4 movements:
I. Grave - Allegro non troppo - The reasons for the poor reception to the symphony are many. Rachmaninoff was not a member of the 'ruling elite' of Russian music at the time. The Five (at least the three that were still alive; Mussorgsky and Borodin were dead) had become the gatekeepers of what constituted 'Russian' music. Rimsky-Korsakov had grown conservative, Cui was more of a critic than composer and Balakirev was increasingly irrational, with honorary member Glazunov being borderline reactionary. What was once a group of progressive and forward-looking composers could not support the changes Rachmaninoff brought to the symphony.

The first movement begins with a slow and powerful introduction. It is only seven bars long, but sets the stage for the entire symphony. The simple motif:

Makes an appearance in each movement of the symphony and acts to unify the entire work, as does the main theme of the movement. The main theme of the first movement is taken from the medieval Dies Irae plainchant, a kind of idee fixe that appears in different guises in many of Rachmaninoff's works. The second theme first appears in the strings, a gentle melody in contrast to the first theme in texture and volume.  This theme climaxes and then is brushed aside by a fugal treatment of the first theme. The theme is thoroughly worked out and developed before the recapitulation. The two themes are presented again along with the outburst heard after the exposition, which is followed by a coda. The movement ends suddenly with a figure derived from the first theme.

II. Allegro animato - A scherzo in everything but name, the movement begins with snatches of notes from the introduction and the main theme of the first movement. The main theme of the movement (Dies Irae in another disguise) is interrupted by call-like motives. The middle section has a new tune made from bits and pieces of what has gone on before. Thematic material floats in and out and the movement comes to a quiet close.

III. Larghetto - A lyrical tune punctuated by the opening motive of the introduction. There is a middle section that is darker in mood, but the tune reappears and is repeated until it becomes very quiet. The music gently evaporates with the sounds of clarinets and plucked strings.

IV. Allegro con fuoco - The finale begins with martial music in a variant of the Dies Irae theme. The music grows in lushness before it resumes its march-like quality. The music remains tuneful with brass added for emphasis. Rachmaninoff keeps everything moving with energy as snippets of motifs somewhat familiar make their appearance. The tension builds, syncopations are heard. The bass drum and percussion add texture to the music that grows until a tam tam signals the beginning of the end. The opening motif insistently reappears and guides the brass and orchestra to the final chords

Rachmaninoff - Prince Rostislav

Sergei Rachmaninoff graduated with high honors from the Moscow Conservatory after taking the piano exam in 1891, and remained at the conservatory to finish his studies. By this time he had already written some songs and piano pieces and began work on his first compositions for orchestra. The first was a one-movement Youth Symphony and the second piece was the tone poem Prince Rostislav, inspired by a poem by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, cousin to the more well - known Russian author Leo Tolstoy.

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy

Tolstoy's poem deals with a mythical warrior that is based on an historical Prince. Tolstoy's poem begins with the brave knight Prince Rostislav laying on the bottom of the Dnieper river wearing his chain mail and holding a broken sword in his hand.  The low strings play a theme that represents the prince. The other strings gently swell in tone to give the impression of the waters of the Dnieper.  The underwater beauties of the Dnieper caress the prince and comb his golden hair. The mood swiftly changes by the brass and the loud drum rolls of the timpani. The ensuing storm has awakened the prince and he cries out three times. He calls out to his wife, but he has been gone so long that she believes him dead and is now betrothed to another.  He then calls out to his brother, then to the priests, but they can no longer hear him.  The prince gives up, and resigns himself to his watery grave as the strings resume the gentle swell of the water that covers the prince.

Rachmaninoff was but 18 years old when he wrote this piece, and his skill with handling the orchestra is already apparent. He completed the piece in 1891, but it was never played in his lifetime. It was finally premiered two years after Rachmaninoff's death, in 1945

Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2 in E Minor

Sergei Rachmaninoff was an immensely gifted pianist and fine orchestral conductor, but he thought of himself first and foremost as a composer. In his earlier years while still in Russia, he composed most of his 45 opus numbered works. With the political and cultural upheaval brought about by the Russian Revolution of 1917,  Rachmaninoff lost his livelihood (his family were members of the bourgeoisie) and fled the country, never to return.

From 1917 until his death in 1943, Rachmaninoff was constantly on tour in Europe and the United States as pianist and conductor to provide for his family and had little time or inclination to compose. He composed only six more opus numbers during those years.  His prodigious memory was legendary, along with his singing piano tone, quiet demeanor at the keyboard, and his huge hands. He was one of the great piano virtuosos of the 20th century.

His success as a composer came while he was still a student. His one-act opera Aleko was written in 1892 and was such a success that the Bolshoi Theater agreed to perform it.  The Symphony No. 2 was written in 1906-07 and was first performed in 1908 at St. Petersburg with the composer conducting.

The symphony is in 4 movements:
I. Largo, Allegro moderato - The symphony begins with a slow introduction with the low strings stating the main motif that will appear in various forms in all four of the movements. This motif dominates the introduction and main section of the movement as it begins quietly and slowly and through variations transforms into powerful music played by the full orchestra. The secondary theme of the movement has the strings and woodwinds alternate until the theme ends quietly. The development section begins with a solo violin initially playing the main theme which is again transformed into rapidly moving variants until a passionate climax is reached. The recapitulation begins, the second theme is emphasized in the parallel key of E major. The end of the movement returns to the home key of E minor and brings the opening movement to a resounding close.

II. Allegro molto -  Unlike many symphonic scherzos that are written in three beats to the measure, this one is written in two beats to the measure. It is in the usual scherzo-trio-scherzo form, but the scherzo itself has two contrasting themes, as does the trio. It's a combination of the traditional scherzo with aspects of sonata form also. The second theme of the scherzo itself resembles the main motif of the first movement in motion and rhythm.

III. Adagio - Along with an innate sense of rich orchestration, Rachmaninoff is also well-known for a remarkable gift of melody. One of his best melodies is heard here as the movement begins with the violin and then the main theme of the movement (which itself is related to the main motif of the first movement) is played by the solo clarinet. The movement has two other themes that Rachmaninoff states and then weaves them contrapuntally with the initial theme.

IV. Allegro vivace - The last movement begins brilliantly in E major. The initial theme is interrupted by a secondary theme, after which the initial theme returns. It soon makes way for a broad theme that the orchestra sings at length. A brief reference is made to material from the third movement which leads to the development of themes, a repeat of the themes, and a rousing ending to the work.

Rachmaninoff refers to differing themes within and without movements, all of which are related to the very first motif heard in the low strings in the slow introduction. This gives a structural and aural continuity to the entire work which helps it to be liked and appreciated by experienced concert listeners as well as casual listeners. It's one of the best examples I know of music that just 'sounds' right to many ears. The work of a master musician and composer, one of Rachmaninoff's finest compositions.

Rachmaninoff - Five Preludes For Piano

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943)  was one of the greatest piano virtuosos of the 20th century.  He had a phenomenal memory, learned new pieces exceedingly fast, and had technique to spare. As if that wasn't enough, he was also a top-notch conductor and composer.

A lot of his output was music for the piano. Among some of his best compositions are the preludes for solo piano. His first prelude was in a set of five pieces called Morceaux de Fantaisie (French for Fantasy Pieces) composed when he was fresh out of the Conservatory at age nineteen.

The Prelude in C-sharp Minor, the second piece in this Opus 3 set, is the infamous prelude that was so immensely popular that Rachmaninoff had to play it at almost every concert he gave. He came to detest the piece, not least of all because when it was published copyright laws at the time didn't provide the composer with any royalties. The fact that this piece grew to be so popular and was played so many times without the payment of any royalties always stuck in Rachmaninoff's craw. He composed another set of ten preludes, Opus 23, in 1903 and another set of thirteen, Opus 32 in 1910 to complete the set of twenty four.

Rachmaninoff's preludes are fascinating pieces, each one a masterwork. They are full of technical difficulties, fistfuls of notes, large chords for both hands sometimes written over 4 music staves. But they are more than tests of a pianist's technique and endurance. They are also a test of the pianist's musicality.

As with all sets of pieces like this, people always have their favorites. I have chosen the five preludes out of the set that I like the best. But they are surely all worth listening to. The ones in the video are:

Prelude in B-flat Major - Maestoso - Opus 23, No.2
Prelude in D minor - Tempo di Menuett - Opus 23, No.3
Prelude in G Minor - Alla Marcia - Opus 23, No.5
Prelude in B Minor - Lento - Opus 32, No.10
Prelude in G-sharp Minor - Allegro - Opus 32, No.12: