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The Suite bergamasque (IPA: /’bɛʀgamask/) is one of the most famous piano suites by Claude Debussy. It was likely named after Paul Verlaine’s poem “Clair de lune”, which possibly alludes to a bergamask. It is also commonly believed that the Suite Bergamasque is derived from Fêtes Gallantes, a poem by Paul Verlaine. Debussy wrote the suite in 1888 at age 26, but it was not published until 1903.
Clair de lune
The third movement of Suite bergamasque is its most famous; titled “Clair de lune”, meaning moonlight. It was written with Paul Verlaine’s poem of the same name in mind. It is mostly played pianissimo and is in D-flat major.

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) wrote his Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13 at Ivanovka, an estate near Tambov, Russia, between January and October 1895. Despite its poor initial reception the symphony is currently seen as a dynamic representation of the Russian symphonic tradition, with British composer Robert Simpson calling it “a powerful work in its own right, stemming from Borodin and Tchaikovsky, but convinced, individual, finely constructed, and achieving a genuinely tragic and heroic expression that stands far above the pathos of his later music.”

By Martha Argerich and Brigitte Meyer

Suite no. 2 Op. 17 IV. Tarentelle (Presto, in c minor) sheet music

By Martha Argerich and Brigitte Meyer

Suite no. 2 Op. 17 III. Romance (Andantino, in A flat major) sheet music

By Martha Argerich and Brigitte Meyer

Suite no. 2 Op. 17 II. Valse (Presto, in G major) sheetmusic

This work was composed in Italy in the first months of 1901, and like the famous second piano concerto Op.18, it confirms the comeback of the creativity of the composer after four years of silence since the flop of his first symphony. The Suite was first performed on November 24, 1901 by the composer and Alexander Siloti.

By Arcadi Volodos

The Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, is an orchestral suite in three movements. Completed in 1940, it is Sergei Rachmaninoff’s last composition. The work summarizes Rachmaninoff’s compositional output in more ways than one.
The work is fully representative of the composer’s late style with its curious, shifting harmonies, the almost Prokofiev-like grotesquerie of the outer movements and [...]

By Martha Argerich and Lilya Zilberstein

Suite No. 1 Op. 5 Pâques in G minor sheet music

By Martha Argerich and Lilya Zilberstein

Suite No. 1 Op. 5 Les Larmes in G minor sheet music

By Martha Argerich and Lilya Zilberstein

Suite No. 1 Op. 5 La nuit… l’amour in D major

By Martha Argerich and Lilya Zilberstein

Suite No. 1 Op. 5 Barcarolle in G minor sheet music

By Miguel N’Dong and Flora Gomez

Slava Op. 11 sheet music

By Miguel N’Dong and Flora Gomez

Romance Op. 11 sheet music

By Miguel N’Dong and Flora Gomez

Valse Op.11 sheet music

By Miguel N’Dong and Flora Gomez

Thème Russian Op. 11 sheet music

By Miguel N’Dong and Flora Gomez

Scherzo Op. 11 sheet music

By Miguel N’Dong and Flora Gomez

Barcarolle Op. 11 sheet music

Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 19, a sonata for cello and piano, was composed in 1901 and published a year later. As typical of sonatas in the Romantic period, it has four movements. Rachmaninoff disliked calling it a cello sonata because he thought the two instruments were equal. Because of this, it is often referred to as Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano. Most of the themes are introduced by the cello, while they are embellished and expanded in the piano’s part. He dedicated it to Anatoliy Brandukov, who gave the first performance. It is hailed as one of the most important cello sonatas of the 20th century.

Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36, is a piano sonata in B-flat minor composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff in 1913. It was revised 1931, with the note, “The new version, revised and reduced by author.” It has three movements:
1. Allegro agitato
2. Non allegro
3. Allegro molto
A typical performance lasts approximately 25 minutes.

Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 28, is a piano sonata in D minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff, completed in 1908. It is the first of three “Dresden pieces”, along with Symphony No. 2 and part of an opera, which were composed in the quiet city of Dresden, Germany. It was originally themed after Goethe’s tragic play, Faust, and although Rachmaninoff abandoned the idea soon after beginning composition, traces of this influence can still be found. After numerous revisions and susbstantial cuts made at the advice of his colleagues, he completed it on April 11, 1908. Konstantin Igumnov gave the premiere in Moscow on October 17, 1908. It received a lukewarm response there, and remains one of the more underperformed of Rachmaninoff’s works.

The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Russian: Рапсодия на тему Паганини, Rapsodiya na temu Paganini) in A minor, opus 43, is a concertante work (20 to 25 minutes in length), written by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It is written for solo piano and symphony orchestra, closely resembling a piano concerto. The work was written at Villa Senar, according to the score, from July 3 to August 18, 1934. Rachmaninoff himself, a noted interpreter of his own works, played the solo piano part at the piece’s premiere at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 7, 1934 with the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Leopold Stokowski.

Sergei Rachmaninoff completed his Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, Op. 40 in 1926 and the work currently exists in three versions. Following its unsuccessful premiere he made cuts and other amendments before publishing it in 1928. With continued lack of success, he withdrew the work, eventually revising and republishing it in 1941. The original manuscript version was released in 2000 by the Rachmaninoff Estate to be published and recorded. The work is dedicated to Nikolai Medtner, who in turn dedicated his Second Piano Concerto to Rachmaninoff.

The Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30 by Sergei Rachmaninoff (colloquially known as “Rach 3″) is famous for its technical and musical demands on the performer. It has the reputation of being one of the most difficult concertos in the standard piano repertoire.

Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 18, is a work in C minor for piano accompanied by orchestra, composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901. The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900. The complete work was premiered, again with the composer [...]

Sergei Rachmaninoff composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1, in 1892, when he was 19 years old. He dedicated the work to Alexander Siloti. He revised the work thoroughly in 1917.

This set ends with Serenade (Серенада, Serenada).

The fourth piece, called Polichinelle (Полишинель, Polishinyelʹ) is a unique fantaisie played Allegro vivace.

Melody (Мелодия, Melodiya) is a short piece played Adagio sostenuto.

Prelude in C sharp minor (Russian: Прелюдия), Op. 3, no. 2, is one of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s most famous compositions. It is a ternary (ABA) prelude in C sharp minor, 62 measures long, and part of a set of five pieces entitled Morceaux de Fantaisie.

Elegy (Элегия, Elegiya) is a musical elegy at moderato tempo.

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Alexis Weissenberg

Prelude Op. 32 No. 13 in D flat major sheet music

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Valentina Lisitsa

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

Prelude Op. 32 No. 12 in G sharp minor sheet music

By Emil Gilels

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 11 in B major sheet music

By Valentina Lisitsa

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 10 in B minor sheet music

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 9 in A major sheet music

By David Fung

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 8 in A minor sheet music

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 7 in F major sheet music

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 6 in F minor sheet music

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Valentina Lisitsa

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 5 in G major sheet music

By Dmitri Levkovich

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 4 in E minor sheet music

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 3 in E major sheet music

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 2 in B flat minor sheet music

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 32 No. 1 in C major sheet music

By Emil Gilels

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Grigory Sokolov

By Evgeny Kissin

Prelude Op. 23 No. 10 in G flat major sheet music

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 9 in E flat minor sheet music

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Grigory Sokolov

Prelude Op. 23 No. 8 in A flat major sheet music

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 7 in C minor sheet music

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Van Cliburn

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Grigory Sokolov

Prelude Op. 23 No. 6 in E flat major sheet music

The Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 No. 5 is a composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff completed 1901. It was included in his Opus 23 set of ten preludes despite having been written two years earlier than the other nine. It is an epitome of Rachmaninoff’s Russian nationalism, rife with full chords and evocative melodies.The Prelude in G minor, Op. 23 No. 5 is a composition by Sergei Rachmaninoff completed 1901. It was included in his Opus 23 set of ten preludes despite having been written two years earlier than the other nine. It is an epitome of Rachmaninoff’s Russian nationalism, rife with full chords and evocative melodies.

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Grigory Sokolov

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 4 in D major sheet music

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 3 in D minor sheet music

By Evgeny Kissin

By Emil Gilels

By Valentina Igoshina

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Grigory Sokolov

Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 in B flat major sheet music

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 23 No. 1 in F sharp minor sheet music

The last piece in the set, number six, is a quintessential nineteenth-century work, and has been described as an “apotheosis or completion of struggle.” The piece was once summarized as:

The final piece or movement of a cycle that is virtuosic and brilliant, employing the entire range of dynamics and sonorities available to the piano, bringing a set of pieces to a glorious conclusion.
—Robin Hancock, Boston University, 1992

Following the torrential gauntlets of number four is the fifth piece, likened in a Ph.D thesis to a passage in the Bible (1 Kings 19:12, read text), which says, “And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” This is in direct reference to the position of the work between two pieces with “incredible pyrotechnics,” as the figurative calm before and after the storm. The piece is similar to the form of a barcarolle, a folk song with a rhythmic tuplet accompaniment. Playing it takes approximately five minutes, and it is 53 measures long, the shortest in terms of measures. It is an adagio sostenuto (sustained at ease) at 54 quarter notes per minute, with a simple melody presented in ternary form.

The fourth piece is similar to the second in the quality of its performance. The fourth piece reveals resemblance to Chopin’s Revolutionary étude in the taxing left hand figure place throughout. Further it looks, sounds, and feels as if it were an improvisation on Chopin’s Prelude in G major (Op. 28, No. 3). The piece is 67 measures long, with a duration of about three minutes, and has the fastest tempo of the set, Presto (quick) at 104 quarter notes per minute, and is the shortest work in terms of playing time.

Again, the next piece drastically differs from the previous: the continual gauntlets of number two is relieved by the third piece in the set, an “introspective rêverie [daydream].” Drawing on the previous illustration of a “generic hybrid,” this piece is described as a mixture between the song without words and funeral march genres, to create what is called the “most Russian” piece of the set, containing both sonorous bass and a solid melody, characteristics of Russian music.

The second piece, referred to as a “glittering showpiece”, is positioned in contrast to the lyrical and “atmospheric” melody of the first piece. The piece is in the quick tempo allegretto (quickly), at 92 quarter notes per minute. It is 131 measures long, the most of all six pieces, but the second shortest in terms of playing time, usually no longer than three and a half minutes (the shortest is number four). This piece represents a typical nineteenth-century étude, similar in style to Frédéric Chopin’s Études (Opp. 10, 12), with a melody interspersed between rapid sextuplet figures. It is in strict ternary form with a coda: identical beginning and ending sections beginning on measures 1 and 85, and a contrasting middle section starting on measure 45. The second section radically changes dynamics, constantly changing from piano to fortissimo and even sforzando. It is, throughout, a relentless torrent of descending half steps and a cascading left hand figure reminiscent of Chopin’s Revolutionary Étude (Op. 10, No. 12, 1831). Ending the piece is a slow coda in Adagio (at ease) which closes with a perfect authentic cadence in E-flat major.

The first piece has an andantino (moderate) tempo, is 113 measures long, and is marked at 72 quarter notes per minute. It is divided into three distinct sections. The first presents a theme in common time (4/4) with a typical nocturne figure for the left hand. A mid-piece pause at roughly the same area in Schubert’s first Moments Musicaux further emphasizes the influence of Schubert. The second part is marked con moto (with motion), at 76 quarter notes per minute, and is a variation of the first theme in the unusual configuration of seven quarter notes per measure (7/4). This part ends in a cadenza. The third section presents the last variation of the theme, again in common time, but in the fastest tempo yet, Andantino con moto, at 84 quarter notes per minute. The piece ends in a coda that returns to the first tempo, and repeats portions of the previous three parts. It ends with a perfect authentic cadence into B-flat minor.

By John Ogdon

Nocturne No. 3 in C minor sheet music

By John Ogdon

Nocturne No. 2 in F major sheet music

The first nocturne in F sharp minor, was written 14-21 November 1887, and has three parts: a beginning and an end in andante cantabile and a central section in allegro. The slower andantes are gentle sections, influenced by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, while the allegro is unnatural and stiff and unusually fast for a nocturne.

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Pavel Raikerus

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 9 in D major sheet music

This piece is a lyrical and musical study of double notes. It requires precise pedaling, flexible and independent figures, and agility. The piece has very long, defined legato melodic lines that are contrasted by a staccato middle section.

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Vladimir Kuznetsov Venue

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 7 in C minor sheet music

This aggressive and daunting piece opens with threatening chromatic octave runs low on the keyboard, answered by quick, chattering treble figures that eventually transform themselves into a march. The music grows hectic and, having reached presto, sounds nearly out of control. The effect of the piece is seemingly mysterious yet fully unified. Referred to as “Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf”, the piece ends with the chromatic runs sounding as though the wolf swallowed Red Riding Hood whole.

By Evgeny Kissin

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Alexei Sultanov

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 5 in E-flat minor sheet music

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 4 in B minor sheet music

By Andrei Gavrilov

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 3 in F sharp minor sheet music

Also known as “The Sea and the Seagulls”. Though technically simple, the work contains many musical textures that make it a difficult study in touch. This melancholy piece requires much restraint from the performer to project the sedate mood of this etude. A sensitive performance is required to keep the performance from being monotonous. The technical workings of the etude is the 2 over 3 timing, the crossing hands, and large span of the arpeggiated figures for the left hand. The ending is tragic and poetic.

This agitated, passionate étude exploits some of the piano’s resources almost unrelentingly, demanding a tireless right hand, an often daringly syncopated left hand and considerable dexterity to illuminate inner voices. Technically, the music is in an almost continual climax. It bares a resemblance to Chopin’s Prelude in E flat minor.

A big, loud piece with prevalent patterns of leaps in the left hand, creating a huge roar. The piece has grand dissonances but also contains a gorgeous romantic interlude. There are two references to the Prélude in C-sharp minor; could this piece be a venting of his anger and frustration at the public’s fascination with and demand for him to play that early prélude?

A melancholy piece whose sixteenth note accompaniment interweaves between hands. The main difficulty of the piece is facilitating smooth alterations with the hands without affecting the fluency of the melody.

Nicknamed “Scene at the Fair” as confessed by Rachmaninoff himself to Respighi, the piece conjures a playful and vibrant atmosphere, with its blaring fanfare opening thirds and wild alternating chords. The middle section poses a great pianistic problem with huge leaps of the hand that lead to chordal actions, which at points are 10th chords, rendering playing the figures at the correct tempo much more difficult. The piece requires strength, precision,endurance, rhythmic control, and dynamic and tonal balance.

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 5 E flat minor sheet music

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 4 D minor sheet music

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 3 in C minor sheet music

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Hélène Grimaud

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 2 C major sheet music

This piece is a study on alternating hands and syncopations. The piece shifts unsteadily throughout in time signature from 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 3/2. Some find parallels between this piece and Chopin’s Etude Op. 25 No. 4, jestingly saying that Rachmaninoff played it while writing this etude

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 19 Reverie (Dumka) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 18 Enchantment (Czary) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 17 Leaves are Falling, Hymn from the Tomb (Śpiew z mogiłki) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 16 Lithuanian Song (Piosnka litewska) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 15 The Bridegroom (Narzeczony) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 14 The Ring (Pierścień) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 13 I Want What I Have Not (Nie ma czego trzeba) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 12 My Darling (Moja pieszczotka) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 11 The Double-End (Dwojaki koniec) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 10 The Warrior (Wojak) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 9 Melody (Melodia) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 8 Handsome Lad (Śliczny chłopiec) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 7 The Messenger (Poseł) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 6 Out of My Sight (Precz z moich oczu) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 5 What She Likes (Gdzie lubi) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: contralto
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 4 Merrymaking (Hulanka) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: vocal
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 3 The Sad River (Smutna Rzeka) sheet music

Ewa Podleś: contralto
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 2 Spring sheet music

Ewa Podleś: contralto
Garrick Ohlson: piano

Song Op. posth. 73 No. 1 The Wish (Życzenie) sheet music

Frédéric Chopin wrote his Cello Sonata in G minor, Op. 65 in 1846. It is one of only nine works of Chopin published during his lifetime that were written for instruments other than piano (although the piano still appears in every work he wrote). Chopin composed four sonatas, the others being all piano sonatas. The cello sonata was the last of Chopin’s works to be published in his lifetime.