Rachmaninoff wrote his well-known piano cycle in 1931, at a time when his great works for piano solo and the piano concertos had already made him very famous. Yet it is by no means the “work of an old man”. The composer’s variations on the theme “La folia” (taken from a sonata by Corelli) are like a series of fireworks on the piano. He once drily said to a friend, “All this mad running about is necessary in order to efface the theme”. Did Rachmaninoff succeed in silencing “la folia” – i.e. the “madness”? Why not see for yourself!
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Sergei V. Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) wrote his Variations op. 42 for piano between 27 May and 19 June 1931 at “Le Pavillon”, a villa in Clairefontaineen-Yvelines near Paris. Although Rachmaninoff’s chosen country of residence since 1918 had been the United States, the celebrated pianist and composer spent the warmer months in the French countryside with his … 続き
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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. |