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Welcome to the SERGE RACHMANINOV
COMPOSITION NOTES Page of
aMUSIClassical Directory
Our Classical Music website
for good music lovers.
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Brief synopsis' of the most popular classical music by
Sergei Rachmaninoff...
Russian-American pianist, conductor and composer
Semyonovo, 1 APR 1873 ~ Beverly Hills, CA 28 MAR 1943
Operas, Symphonies, 4 Piano Concertos
Orchestral, Vocal and Choral works
Rachmaninoff Aleko Opera
Rachmaninoff Isle of the Dead
(1909) Inspired by Arnold Bocklin's painting 'Isle of the Dead'. It
shows
a white figure standing in a boat ferrying the soul of the departed
into another world or eternity.
Rachmaninoff Morceaux de
salon
Seven pieces written from 1893 and 1894, the formative years of his career
as a composer. Nice character pieces influenced by Tchaikovsky, Borodin and
Schumann.
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody in Blue ~ LaSalle Univ Site
Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganini
His last major work for piano and orchestra, composed in 1934. It takes as
its theme the last of 24 caprices by the Italian violinist/composer
Niccolo Paganini. Rachmaninoff uses it for a set of 24 colorful
variations. In some of the variations, he combines Paganini's lighthearted
theme with the ominous Dies Irae (Day of Wrath) motif of the Catholic,
Mass For the dead--a theme Rachmaninoff also used in his third symphony,
his Symphonic Dances and his tone poem 'Isle of the Dead'. For the 18th
variation, Rachmaninoff inverts the original Paganini theme from the
caprices, Op 10 and develops
it into the lush melody for which the work is best known.
It was FP on November 7th of that year in Baltimore, Md. with Leopold
Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Rachmaninoff 'Piano Concerto No 1'
Started this composition in 1890 when he was 17 years old. He revised the
work in 1917.
Rachmaninoff PC No. 2 in c, Op
18
This concerto was written after the Symphony in d minor, Rachmaninoff's
first sym which was termed by his critics as a dismal failure. A period of
depression led to his psyciatric care by Dr. Nikolai Dahl, who championed
the composer's second piano concerto. The work was dedicated to Dr. Dahl
who loved music and was an amateur cellist.
Scored in 1900 and FP in October of 1901. It has been featured in
numerous movies and TV shows. Some of the themes have been turned into
popular songs. Many consider it his masterpiece.
Rachmaninoff PC No 3 in D, Op 30
FP on November 28, 1909. The third is generally acknowledged as the best
of the four concertos by Rachmaninoff. The composer regarded it as his
favorite. He said the opening theme just wrote itself. It was dedicated to
pianist Josef Hoffman who never played the work.
Rachmaninoff PC No 4 op 40
His first work written in the United States...following the 1917 Russian
revolution. The melody goes back to 1911.
Rachmaninoff Symphonic
Dances
Written at Huntington Long Island in the fall of 1940, the
work is dedicated to Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. They
FP the work on January 3rd 1941.
Rachmaninoff Sym No 1
in d, Op 13.
He was 21 years old when he began the work in January of 1895. Three
years earlier he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory and established himself as
a gifted pianist and promising composer. The FP of the First Symphony was in St.
Petersburg with A Glazunov conducting in March 1897... to less than enthusiastic
appreciation.
Rachmaninoff Sym No 2 in
e
The second symphony of Rachmaninoff was composed in Dresden October 1906
through April 1907. It is dedicated to his teacher Taniev
. It was an instant
success at its'
premiere in St. Petersburg on January 26, 1908. It was conducted by the
composer. Even
upon first hearing critics said its' appeal and melodious charm gives
listeners a feeling they had always known it. Many call it his greatest
orchestral score.
Rachmaninoff Sym No 3 in a, Op 44
He started the first part of his 3rd Sym in Switzerland in 1935 which was
interrupted by a long U.S. concert tour (his main source of income). This
sym was finished in the summer of 1936 and FP in November of 1937 by the
Philadelphia Orchestra under Leopold Stokowski, with the composer in
attendence.
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