Compared to its predecessors, the Fourth contains sharper thematic profiles along with a refinement of textures in keyboard and orchestra. These qualities do not lead to greater simplicity but to a different sort of complexity. It was also a continuation of Rachmaninoff’s long-range creative growth. The Third and the recomposed First Concertos were less heavily orchestrated than the Second. In keeping with its general character, the Fourth is lighter still yet more oblique.

The concerto is written in three movements:

1. Allegro vivace (G minor)
2. Largo (C major)
3. Allegro vivace (G major)

Rachmaninoff had already been making a more extensive use of short thematic motifs and strong rhythmic patterns in his Op. 32 Preludes in place of what was called the “unmentionable restlessness” that made his work, especially the concertos, a distressing experience for some musicians. This refinement of musical language, especially in orchestration, went back at least to The Bells and a more astringent tone was already noticeable in songs like “The Raising of Lazarus”, Op. 34 No. 6.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vladmir Ashkenazy: piano

Andre Previn: conductor

London Symphony Orchestra

part 1/3 (I)

part 2/3 (II)

part 3/3 (III)

Nikolai Lugansky: piano

Ivan Shpiller: conductor

State Academy Symphony Orchestra of Russia

part 1/3 (I)

part 2/3 (II)

part 3/3 (III)

Piano Concerto Op. 40 No.4 in G minor sheet music

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

Its first performance was by the composer on 8/20 October 1892[2], at a festival called the Moscow Electrical Exhibition, which Rachmaninoff considered his debut as a pianist. After this première, a review singled the Prelude out of the entire concert, noting that it had “aroused enthusiasm”. From this point on, its popularity would grow.

This work was one of the first Rachmaninoff composed as a “Free Artist”, after he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory on May 29, 1892. He performed this new work for the first time, at one of the concerts of the Moscow Electrical Exhibition on 8/20 October 1892. it was printed the following year as the second of five Morceaux de Fantaisie (Op. 3), all dedicated to Anton Arensky, his harmony teacher at the Conservatory. Because at the time Russia was not party to the 1886 Berne Convention, Russian publishers did not pay royalties, so the only financial return he ever received for this piece was a 40 ruble ($1.64, £0.80) publishing fee.

The prelude is organized into three main parts and a coda. Three opening chords at fortissimo introduce the grim C sharp minor tonality that dominates the piece. The cadential motif repeats throughout. In the third measure, the volume changes to a pianississimo for the exposition of the theme. The second part is propulsive and marked Agitato (agitated), beginning with highly chromatic triplets. This passionately builds to interlocking chordal triplets that descend into a climactic recapitulation of the main theme, this time in four staves to accommodate the volume of notes. Certain chords in the section are marked with quadruple sforzando. The piece closes with a brief seven-measure coda which ends quietly.

The prelude became one of Rachmaninoff’s most famous compositions.
His cousin Alexander Siloti was instrumental in securing the Prelude’s success throughout the Western world. In the autumn of 1898, he made a tour of Western Europe and the United States, with a program that contained the Prelude. Soon after, London publishers brought out several editions with titles such as The Burning of Moscow, The Day of Judgement, and The Moscow Waltz. America followed suit with other titles, such as The Bells of Moscow.[3]It was so popular that it was referred to as “The Prelude” and audiences would demand it as an encore at his performances, shouting “C sharp!” It was recorded by the composer both electrically and on Ampico piano rolls. Amazingly, the composer was but 19 years of age at the time he wrote this piece. The work haunted him until his death despite the enormous quantity of great works he composed after this small prelude! Some say Rachmaninoff came to hate the work. Most however agree he would simply shrug in resignation and play it.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Emil Gilels

By Josef Hofmann

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Prelude Op. 3 in C sharp minor sheet music

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Alexis Weissenberg

Prelude Op. 32 No. 13 in D flat 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 Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Sviatoslav Richter

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vadim Chaimovich

By Valentina Lisitsa

By Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Lillya Zilberstein

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

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 Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Grigory Sokolov

Prelude Op. 23 No. 8 in A flat major 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 Van Cliburn

By Vladimir Sofronitsky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Grigory Sokolov

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

The prelude’s form is similar to that of a traditional three-part rondo, consisting of an opening “A” section with punctuated sixteenth-note chords (marked Alla marcia), a more lyrical and melancholy “B” section with arpeggiated triplets in the left hand (marked Poco meno mosso), a transition into the original tempo, and a recapitulation of the initial march. Despite the bombast of the main march theme, the piece ends with a short arpeggiated run to a high G, marked pianissimo.

Although the g minor prelude is not considered one of the most technically challenging preludes, the speed of the march section and its thick repeated chords require both strong wrists and dynamic control, while the middle section requires a controlled legato in both hands to ensure that the melody is properly projected.
The composer recorded this piece, but because of the piece’s musical “flexibility”, it can be found performed in a variety of different styles, much contrary to the composer’s recordings.

There is a famous video in which Emil Gilels plays this Prelude at a front in World War II, in support for the Soviet military forces fighting the war. The narrator says (in Russian): “Gilels is playing at the front, to remind us what the war is worth fighting for: Immortal music!”

This Prelude is one of the most performed and recorded pieces of the set, displaying the virtuosity and musical genius of Rachmaninoff.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Evgeny Kissin

By Andrei Gavrilov

By Emil Gilels

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Sergei Rachmaninov

Prelude Op. 23 No. 5 in G 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 Grigory Sokolov

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

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

By Emil Gilels

By Valentina Igoshina

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Grigory Sokolov

Prelude Op. 23 No. 2 in B flat 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

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

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 8 in D minor 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

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Valentina Lisitsa

By Murray Perahia

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Sergei Rachmaninov

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 6 in A minor sheet music

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 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

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Alexei Nasedkin

By Eduardo Fernandez

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 2 in A minor sheet music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Alexander Gavrylyuk

By Evgeny Kissin

By Sara Daneshpour

By Evgeny Kissin

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 39 No. 1 in C minor sheet music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Arcadi Volodos

By Hélène Grimaud

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 8 in C sharp minor sheet music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 7 G minor sheet music

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Nikolai Lugansky

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 6 E flat major 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

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

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

By Hélène Grimaud

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Vladimir Horowitz

By Nikolai Lugansky

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

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Abdel Rahman El Bacha

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

By Nikolai Lugansky

Etude – tableaux Op. 33 No. 1 in F minor sheet music

At first the composer titled the work Variations but the title was altered for publication to the current Berceuse.

The music begins and ends in 6/8 time. ‘Berceuse’ literally means “cradle song”

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

By Arturo Michelangeli

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Berceuse Op. 57 in D flat major sheet music

Tarantelle Op. 43 in A flat major sheet music

Prelude Op. posth. in A flat major sheet music

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Rondo Op. 16 in E flat major sheet music

Rondo Op. 5 Rondo à la Mazur in F major sheet music

Rondo Op. 1 C minor sheet music

By Vladimir Ashkenazy

Mazurka Op. 41 No. 1 in C sharp minor sheet music

Etude Op. 10 No. 1 sheet music