Rachmaninoff: Moments Musicaux, Op.16 (Ekaterina Litvintseva, piano) Sheet Music.

Ekaterina Litvintseva, piano

00:00 – No.1, Andantino, Bb min 06:55 – No.2, Allegro, Eb min 10:05 – No.3, Andante cantabile, B min 17:26 – No.4, Presto, E min 20:37 – No.5, Adagio sostenuto, Db maj 24:32 – No.6, Maestoso, C maj

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Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff was born in Russia to a musical family and started learning the piano from a young age. He started composing as a teenager, studied initially at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and then graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892. Most of his compositions were composed and performed in Russia where he was influenced by Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky and Mussorgsky. Some of Rachmaninoff’s early works received critical acclaim. However, the premier of his First Symphony was something of a disaster, resulting in poor reviews from music critics. The composer took it badly and suffered from depression, and it was several years before he composed his 2nd symphony, which was better received. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 during which his family estate at Ivanovka was vandalised he left the country with his family initially for Scandinavia, but with war spreading across much of Europe he then moved to the United States (where he had already gained some popularity after touring the country). In the US he was primarily based in New York City and refocussed his career as a pianist and conductor, earning a living as a recording artist and touring celebrity.

He met many other musicians and became friends with Vladimir Horowitz, another Russian pianist who settled in the US. Because of his performing career his output as a composer slowed considerably during this period, but he still managed to compose some of his best work (helped by a brief relocation to Switzerland) including his 3rd Symphony and his “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini”. Back in the US during WWII and in declining health, he moved to the warmer climate of California in 1942 but died the following year shortly after becoming an American citizen.

Although he lived well into the 20th century, in terms of compositional style, Rachmaninoff is best described as a Late Romantic composer. His music often sounds Russian and the influence of Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev is clear. The Romanticism of his sound is also clear in some lushly scored melodies of his Symphonies and Concertos. His Piano Concerto No.2 composed in 1901 became especially popular, and it was used in the film “Brief Encounter” in 1945 (expertly played by Australian pianist Eileen Joyce), and later it formed the basis of the song “All by Myself” by Eric Carmen (who also borrowed Rachmaninoff’s music in the song “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again”).

These romantic and nostalgic qualities undoubtedly helped to secure his popularity among listeners, although the downside is that his popularity (and traditional style) was initially looked down upon in the world of classical music.

However, Rachmaninoff’s reputation as a composer is now very much intact with his mastery of counterpoint particularly evident, and even his First Symphony is now better regarded. Despite his “late romantic” label, there are aspects of Rachmaninoff’s music which push into the Modern era, such as his complex harmonies and chromaticism, and the bold way in which he adapted established forms.

A few years before “Brief Encounter” Rachmaninoff was asked by the makers of the film “Dangerous Moonlight” to write a concerto-like piece. When the composer declined, the job fell to Richard Addinsell who then wrote the “Warsaw Concerto”. However, Rachmaninoff’s music plays a significant role in other films. The famous 18th Variation from his “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” plays a key role in the film “Somewhere In Time”, and Bill Murray’s character in “Groundhog Day” uses his endless time to also learn this 18th Paganini Variation to impress his love interest.

In the film “Shine” (based on true events), the pianist David Helfgott enters a Piano Competition and chooses to play the difficult 3rd Piano Concerto. In addition to his legacy as a composer, Rachmaninov left a number of paper rolls and recordings which (despite their being from an early period of recording technology) demonstrate his talents as a pianist.

Rachmaninoff’s music:

Rachmaninoff composed a number of purely orchestral works, including a total of 3 symphonies. Anyway, he is best known for his piano works, both those for solo piano and also those for piano and orchestra, such as his Piano Concertos and his famous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. His piano music is regarded as difficult to play (with one of the difficulties arising from his legendary big hands) but is now very much part of the concert repertoire.

• 3 Symphonies
• Symphonic Poems – including “Caprice Bohémien”, “The Rock” and “Isle of the Dead”
• Choral Symphony: The Bells – which quotes the Dies Irae
• Symphonic Dances
• 4 Piano Concertos
• Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – this is structured as a set of Variations for piano and orchestra (other composers such as Brahms have also composed variations on Paganini’s famous theme)
• Variations on a Theme of Chopin
• Variations on a Theme of Corelli
• Piano: Morceaux de Fantaisie Op.3 – a piano suite which includes his first and most famous Prelude, the Prelude in C-sharp Minor (Op.3 No.2)
• Piano: 23 further Preludes – a group of 10 preludes Op.23 and a group of 13 preludes Op.32 (here is the Prelude in G Minor Op.23 No.5)
• Piano: Morceau de Fantaisie in G minor – subtitled “Delmo”
• 2 Piano Sonatas
• Piano: 2 sets of “Études-Tableaux” Op.33 & Op.39
• Piano: Morceaux de Salon
• Piano: 6 Moments Musicaux
• Various other pieces for Piano Solo or Piano Duet
• Piano Transcriptions of various Orchestral Works by other composers
• Some Chamber Music – with the exception of a String Quartet, these are mostly for strings and piano
• Many Songs – including the wordless “Vocalise”
• Some Operas – including “Aleko” (which won an award as his graduation piece from the Moscow Conservatory), “The Miserly Knight” and “Francesca da Rimini”
• Other Choral Works
• Religious works for the Russian Orthodox Church such as “Liturgy of St John Chrysostom” and “All Night Vigil”

Rachmaninoff Recommendations:

Here are some recommended recordings of Rachmaninoff’s music:

• Piano Concertos 1 to 4 (Double CD) played by Vladimir Ashkenazy, with Andre Previn conducting the London Syphony Orchestra – good value by excellent interpreters at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
• Symphonies 1 to 3, Symphonic Dances, The Bells, The Isle of the Dead (Triple CD) with Vladimir Ashkenazy conducting the Concertgebouw Orchestra – more great value with Ashkenazy this time as conductor Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
• 24 Preludes, Piano Sonata No.2 (Double CD) pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy – Ashkenazy playing solo piano works Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
• Piano Concerto No.2, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, pianist Lang Lang, conductor Valery Gergiev – a different interpreter Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
• Piano Concertos 1-4, Symphonies 1-3, Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, and several other Piano and Orchestral works (7 CD Box Set) pianist Nikolai Lugansky, with Andre Previn conducting the London Syphony Orchestra – again great value by excellent interpreters at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
• Études-Tableaux (complete) Op.33 & Op.39, pianist Nikolai Lugansky – (not included in above Box Set) at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

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