This was actually Rachmaninoff’s second attempt at a piano concerto. In 1889 be had begun but abandoned a concerto in C minor (the same key, incidentally, in which he would later write his Second Piano Concerto). He wrote Natalya Skalon on 26 March 1891, “I am now composing a piano concerto. Two movements are already written; the last movement is not written, but is composed; I shall probably finish the whole concerto by the summer, and then in the summer orchestrate it” He finished composing and scoring the piece on July 6 and was satisfied with what he had written. The first movement was premiered on 17 March 1892 at the Moscow Conservatoire, with the composer as soloist and Vasily Safonov conducting. This may have been the only time the composer played the concerto in its original form, although Siloti, to whom it is dedicated, programmed it to play himself on several occasions.

Composition students were usually advised to base their efforts on a specific model for their first exercises in new forms. In Rachmaninoff’s case this was the Grieg Piano Concerto, which was a favorite work of his and one which he had been familiar from Siloti practicing it at the Rachmaninoff household during the spring and summer of 1890 for future concerts. Rachmaninoff adapted the entire musical structure of the outer movements to the Grieg concerto, literally building his music into it. With all his other concertos, Rachmaninoff would prove more enterprising.

From the earliest part of this career, Rachmaninoff used his own skills as a performer to explore the expressive possibilities of his instrument. Even in his earliest works, which would include this concerto in its original form, he revealed a sure grasp of idiomatic keyboard writing and a superb gift for melody. However, the textures of these early works are usually opaque and chordal, lacking the variety he would later develop. His orchestration can often be colorless and heavy, the musical language on the whole often reminiscent of other Russian composers, especially Tchaikovsky. Rachmaninoff did not actually start developing an individual compositional voice until, ironically, the First Symphony.

Regardless of the concerto’s weaknesses in its lack of musical invention and its overly simple dramatic contrasts, the work demonstrates a potential for larger and more complex undertakings-something which could be considered remarkable for a 17- or 18-year-old composer. The harmony may be conservative and the development of the first movement overly reliant on repetitions that do not have much structural point. Nevertheless, he would do better soon in other works and even does so here when he does not lean so heavily on other composers as compositional models.

The public was already familiar with the Second and Third Concertos before Rachmaninoff revised the First in 1917. The First is very different work than those works. Rachmaninoff’s melodies are still there, if less memorably than in the other two concertos, but combined here with a youthful vivacity and impetuosity. Also, the differences between the 1890-1891 original and the 1917 revision reveal a tremendous amount about the composer’s development in the intervening years. There is a considerable thinning of texture in the orchestral and piano parts and much material that made the original version diffuse and episodic is removed.

The work is in three movements:

* Vivace (F sharp minor)

This contrast with the later works can be heard from the opening bars, where a brass fanfare precedes a flourish a double octaves and chords on the piano-a musical gesture similar to the Schumann and Grieg piano concertos. This flourish occurs later in the movement, as well, an important factor in the symmetry of the movement. The main theme (like the other themes in this work common to both versions) is short by Rachmaninoff’s standards but already shows the sequential devices and arch-like design inherent in his later works.

* Andante cantabile (D major)

This reflective nocturne is only 74 bars long. The texture is less cumbersome in the revised version; the harmonies remain the same but are enlivened by occasional chromatic notes.

* Allegro scherzando (F sharp minor → F sharp major) [1917 version: Allegro vivace]

Rachmaninoff replaced an initially drab opening with a fortissimo passage alternating between time signatures of 9/8 and 12/8. A maestoso reemergence of the concerto’s main theme was eliminated. In the original version he had attempted to use this theme in an upward sequential treatment similar to what he would do later in the Second and Third Concertos. The problem here was that the theme did not lend itself so easily to this treatment, thus sounding contrived. It also came too late in the movement to have the right expansive effort prevalent in the other concertos.

Of all the revisions Rachmaninoff made to various works, this one was perhaps the most successful. Using an acquired knowledge of harmony, orchestration, piano technique and musical form, he transformed an early, immature composition into a concise, spirited work. Nevertheless, he was perturbed that the revised work did not become popular with the public. He said to Albert Swan, “I have rewritten my First Concerto; it is really good now. All the youthful freshness is there, and yet it plays itself so much more easily. And nobody pays any attention. When I tell them in America that I will play the First Concerto, they do not protest, but I can see by their faces that they would prefer the Second or Third.”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Leif Ove Andsnes

Part 1/3

By Leif Ove Andsnes

Part 2/3

By Leif Ove Andsnes

Part 3/3

piano:Vladimir Ashkenazy

condutcor:Andre Previn

orchestra:London Symphony Orchestra

Part 1/4 Tempo 1

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Part 2/4 Tempo 2

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Part 3/4 Tempo 2

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Part 4/4 Tempo 3

By Lillya Zilberstein

Part 1/4

By Lillya Zilberstein

Part 2/4

By Lillya Zilberstein

Part 3/4

By Lillya Zilberstein

Part 4/4

By Sviatoslav Richter

Part 1/4

By Sviatoslav Richter

Part 2/4

By Sviatoslav Richter

Part 3/4

By Sviatoslav Richter

Part 4/4

Piano Concerto Op. 1 No. 1 in F sharp minor sheet music

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Sergei Rachmaninov

Polichinelle op. 3 in F sharp minor sheet music

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Jorge Bolet

Melody Op. 3 in E major sheet music

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 Lillya Zilberstein

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

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 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 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

This “stormy, agitated” work contains a “vehemently triple-dotted main theme and only some brief mid-section hazy sunshine [that lightens] the storm before fortississimo thunders return and finally dominate.” Despite the dark imagery presented to describe the piece, the work is in C major, and the end result is more light-hearted than dark, but not as triumphal as the Maestoso would make it sound.

Like the second and fourth pieces, number six is written in the form of an étude, with a repetitive but technically challenging chordal melody that is doubled in both hands. In all, the work has three distinct elements played simultaneously: the main melody, the continuous thirty-second note broken chord figures, and a descending eighth note motif. Dynamics play a large part in this piece: the fortissimo marked at the beginning is maintained all throughout the first section, with only brief respites to mezzo forte. The middle section is wholly softer, and contains two areas with significant mounting tension, creating the aforementioned “apotheosis effect” with dramatic “false starts.”[8] Here, Rachmaninoff manipulates the theme contrapuntally to develop a canonic effect. This “triple counterpoint. . . is titanic both in size and impact, and in potential for disaster,” referring to the tension, waiting for the final climax, in this “continuing explosion.” Immediately before the coda, the thick texture and canon suddenly disappear and the piece becomes piano. Upon entering the coda, the work resumes the forte theme and amalgamates to a majestic ending played fortississimo.

Maestoso is one of the most difficult pieces in the set. Stamina and strength are required to sustain a full resonant sound, while the continuous thirty-second figure can be tiring for the pianist. Consistent tempo is a problem for this piece, due to the melody being interspersed with two other elements. Additionally, the dynamics, mostly “loud” and “very loud,” indicate that an accurate vision of relative volume is necessary. Maintaining this accuracy while managing every other element of the piece and successfully presenting a musically solid performance continues to be the ultimate challenge of all.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Ivo Pogorelić

Moment Musicaux Op. 16 No. 6 in C major sheet music

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

By Vladimir Kuznetsov Venue

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Nikolai Lugansky

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

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

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

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

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

The Grande Polonaise brillante is a work for piano and orchestra, although the piano part is often played on its own. This is usually considered to be Chopin’s most difficult piece for piano. The Andante spianato (spianato means “even, or smooth”) for solo piano was composed as an introduction to the Polonaise after Chopin received a long-awaited invitation to perform in one of Habaneck’s Conservatoire Concerts in Paris. The combined work was premiered by the composer there on April 26, 1835.

Chopin’s first work, written at age seven, had been a polonaise. The Grande Polonaise brillante of 1830-31 was to be the last such he would compose for several years. It preoccupied Chopin in his final months at Warsaw. It was finished at Vienna in 1831.

Andante spianato in G major

The quiet rippling effects of this introductory section are borne in a gentle 6/8, rounded with a chordal trio in C major, and a more processional 3/4. The very serene middle section is not a trio, but only a contrasting episode to complement the overall texture of the movement. Not being a trio, it is not in C major but remains in G major.

Grande Polonaise brillante in E-flat major

The Polonaise opens in fanfare. It moves into the ebullient and fearless dance form of which he was such a master. Chopin’s unexpected and brief excursions, the many electric shocks of surprise and alarm, and the sheer poetic gusto with which he approached these materials was astonishing and, for years, unequalled. In 1836 it was arranged as a piano quartet and, two years later, the solo piano work known today.

Consequently the polonaise has been regarded as one of the most famous and brilliant polonaise pieces.

By Nadejda Vlaeva

By Claire Huangci

By Evgeny Kissin Part 1/2

By Evgeny Kissin Part 2/2

By Yuindi Li

By Lang Lang

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Krystian Zimerman

Grande Polonaise brillante Op. 22 sheet music

This work was slow to gain favour with musicians, due to its harmonic complexity and intricate form. Arthur Hedley was one of the first critics to speak in its favour, writing in 1947 that it ‘works on the hearer’s imagination with a power of suggestion equalled only by the F minor Fantasy or the fourth Ballade’, although Arthur Rubinstein, Claudio Arrau and Vladimir Horowitz had been including it in their programmes some decades earlier.

It is intimately indebted to the polonaise for its metre, much of its rhythm, and some of its melodic character, but the fantaisie is the operative formal paradigm (Samson, 1988). Parallels with the Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49 include the work’s overall tonality, A flat, the key of its slower middle section, B major, and the motive of the descending fourth.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Colleen Lee part 1/2

By Colleen Lee part 2/2

By Sviatoslav Richter part 1/2

By Sviatoslav Richter part 2/2

Polonaise Op. 61 A-flat major sheet music

The scherzo was published in 1843. Unlike the preceding three scherzi (Op. 20, Op. 31, Op. 39), the E-major is generally calmer in temperament. It is in sonata rondo form.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Mikhail Pletnyov

By Yuindi Li

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Daniil Trifonov

Scherzo Op. 54 No. 4 E major sheet music

This piece begins with an introduction similar to Chopin’s second scherzo. It then progresses into the fierce main theme. This is particularly difficult, due to the unusual technique needed to accurately and quickly execute the running octave patterns. The scherzo then moves into a transition section that leads back to the main theme. The following,Singing style (Cantabile), section is in D-flat major. The main theme and its sequences begin with strong chords that hold the melody followed by a downward flutter of notes. There follows a brief section consisting of a series of arpeggios. The elements of this lyrical section repeat themselves a few times and the piece then moves back into the main theme.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Mikhail Pletnyov

By Yuindi Li

Sviatoslav Richter

By Alexei Sultanov

Scherzo Op. 39 No. 3 C sharp minor sheet music

The scherzo is in sonata form. The beginning is marked Presto and opens in B flat minor. However, most of the work is written in D flat major and A major. The opening to the piece consists of two arpeggiated pianissimo chords, and after a moments pause,goes into a set of fortissimo chords,an unmistakable use of contrast, then returning to the quiet arpeggiated chords.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Mikhail Pletnyov

By Yuindi Li

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Evgeny Kissin

Scherzo Op. 31 No. 2 B flat minor sheet music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Mikhail Pletnyov

By Yuindi Li

By Sviatoslav Richter

Scherzo Op. 20 No. 1 in B minor sheet music