Possibly the most famous late Romantic piano work and now finally also available in Henle Urtext! First published in 1892 as part of the piano cycle “Morceaux de Fantaisie” op. 3, the work also soon became well known abroad, in particular due to the concert tours given by the pianist Alexander Siloti, Rachmaninoff’s cousin. And even Rachmaninoff himself was soon no longer able to perform any concerts in America, without someone in the audience crying out “C sharp minor!” at the end … The thundering chords of the final part are legendary and at the same time not as unplayable as one might have been led to believe.
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Preface
Sergei V. Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) composed his Prelude in ck minor op. 3 no. 2 shortly after finishing his studies at the Moscow Conservatory in May 1892, when the immensely talented young man earned top marks and the title “free artist”. Rachmaninoff first played the Prelude in a concert on 26 September 1892 at the Electrical Exhibition in Moscow, in which he … more
Critical Commentary
About the composer
Sergej Rachmaninow
Composer and pianist who continued and expanded the late-Romantic tradition; he prepared the way for Prokofiev and Shostakovich. His oeuvre comprises orchestral works, piano pieces, choral works, several operas, and numerous songs.
| 1873 | Born in Semyonovo on April 1. From 1880 receives professional instruction in music. |
| 1885–92 | Studies music at the Moscow Conservatory. |
| 1890–92 | Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1, with the diminished fourth in the main theme typical of his style. |
| 1892 | Successful performance of his one-act opera “Aleko” (a graduation work). Prelude in C-sharp minor for piano. |
| 1897 | Unsuccessful premiere of the Symphony No. 1, Op. 13 (with abrupt contrasts). First experiences as an opera conductor at Moscow’s Mamontov Theater. He becomes acquainted with Fyodor Shalyapin, later his friend. |
| 1900/01 | Composition of the Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, in a modified style (broad melodic arcs, transparent compositional style). |
| 1904–06 | Appointed conductor at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. |
| 1906 | Premieres of the operas “The Miserly Knight,” Op. 24, and “Francesca da Rimini,” Op. 25. |
| 1907 | Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27, with whimsical figuration in the woodwinds; Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28. |
| 1909 | Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30; symphonic poem “The Isle of the Dead,” Op. 29 |
| from 1910 | More complex compositional technique (enhanced polyphony, ambiguous harmonies, fast rhythmic alterations) in Thirteen Preludes for piano, Op. 32; “Études-tableaux,” Op. 33 (1911); Fourteen Songs, Op. 34 (1910–16). |
| 1917 | Rachmaninoff leaves Russia and lives in Stockholm, Copenhagen, the United States (career as pianist), and Switzerland. |
| 1926/41 | Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40. In 1935/36, Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Op. 44. |
| from 1939 | He emigrates permanently to the United States. |
| 1943 | Death in Beverly Hills on March 28. |
About the authors
Dominik Rahmer (Editor)
Dr. Dominik Rahmer, born in 1971 in Mainz, studied musicology, philosophy and maths in Bonn. He did his Magister Artium in 1999 and his doctorate in 2006 with a thesis on the music criticism of Paul Dukas.
From 2001 to 2011 he was employed at Boosey & Hawkes/Bote & Bock in Berlin, where he also worked on the Critical Edition of the Works of Jacques Offenbach (OEK). Since 2011 he has been an editor at G. Henle Publishers in Munich, with a particular focus on French and Russian music and works for wind instruments.
