Rachmaninoff’s Most Famous Pieces

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff is one of the most famous Russian pianists and conductors. He lived from April 1, 1873, to March 28, 1943. His works are defined by sweeping melodies, virtuoso pianism, and opulent orchestration. Rachmaninov’s skill was influenced by his music education, which began with his mother, preparing him primarily for the role of a professional classical pianist.

However, his display of extraordinary talent as a young composer, as evidenced by the C Sharp Minor Prelude and the one-act opera Aleko, which he wrote while still in his youth, proved he had a future brighter than that of an average professional pianist.

His style and level of skill are said to have been influenced by composers like Rimsky-Korsakov and astounded his mentor, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the best composers of the time. As a result, the majority of his works are in a later Romantic genre similar to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. At the same time, a few of his works have clear traces of Francois Chopin and Franz Liszt.

During his career Rachmaninoff composed 45 pieces, including 39 opus-numbered pieces, which he wrote while in Russia. He wrote the remaining six during his stay in the United States. His pieces are considered some of the best examples of the Romantic composing style to come out of Russia.

One example is Fantasy Pieces, Opus 3 – No. 2 Prelude in C sharp minor. Rachmaninoff wrote this piece while on a summer vacation at his aunt’s house in Ivanovka. He was inspired to create several of his most well-known works in this house, including his Prelude No. 2 in C sharp minor.

This composition, one of Rachmaninoff’s first, was written when he was 19. The song was derived from or taken from the composer’s 1892 collection of five solo piano compositions, Five Fantasy Pieces, Opus 3.

Much has been written regarding this piece’s complexity. For example, pianists who have attempted to perform this piece claim that while its slow tempo may make it appear simple, the chordal theme calls for endurance, solid technique, and the correct hand posture to strike all the notes in the chords simultaneously.

Another standout composition is 14 Romances, Opus 34 – No. 14 Vocalise, which is the last of his 14 Romances, Opus 34. It was written in 1912 and released in 1915 when the World War I was at its worst and his friend, the composer Alexander Scriabin, had just passed away.

This piece contains no words, so it may be sung using only a single vowel sound. It was initially composed for a soprano or tenor vocal with a piano background.

This composition expresses enormous delight and profound despair in a very evocative way. Critics and music experts identify it as solemn, almost religious music.

Another of his great pieces is Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini, Opus 43, which was composed in 1934. The debut of this piece took place in Maryland in the same year, with Rachmaninoff performing the solo piano part. This piece was inspired by a series of well-known versions of Niccol Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 for solo violin.

After completing four piano concerti, Rachmaninoff started a new symphonic orchestra composition in 1934 that had 24 variants on the well-known violin tune of Niccolo Paganini. The endeavor was challenging because the topic had previously been exploited by several other musicians, most prominently Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms. Although Rachmaninoff’s composition only has one movement instead of the customary three, it nonetheless adheres to the standard concerto pace structure, starting and finishing quickly with a slower middle part.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2y3TWVv
via IFTTT