Piano Concerto No. 2
RACHMANINOFF 1873-1943
Sergei Rachmaninoff was not only a highly competent composer and the last great representative of the Russian Romantic tradition, but also one of the outstanding pianists of his age. His highly personal compositional style made use of the best element from the music of Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky, fused with a strong sense of lyricism. Unlike most of his immediate predecessors in Russia, he did not view composition as a dilettante past-time. His studies at the Moscow Conservatory therefore encompassed both piano performance and composition. He graduated with highest honors in both subjects.
After leaving the conservatory in 1892, Rachmaninoff immediately signed a contract with a publisher and composed what would become his most popular solo work (and later his most tiresome encore), the Prelude in C-sharp minor. Spurred on by this success and the encouragement of Tchaikovsky, he devoted the next three years to the composition of numerous small works for piano, voice, and chorus. In 1895, he finally began his first full-scale work, the Symphony No. 1 in D minor. The first performance on March 27, 1897, was a complete disaster. Cesar Cui called the work, “A program symphony on the Seven Plagues of Egypt.” Other critics were not so harsh, suggesting the problem was Glazunov being drunk while conducting! Whatever the reason for the failure, the experience left Rachmaninoff in the depths of depression.
For the next three years Rachmaninoff felt incapable of serious composition and, so, embarked on a third career, that of a conductor. Finally, in an attempt to regain his confidence, he sought help from a doctor who specialized in hypnosis. The treatment apparently worked, for he immediately began to sketch Piano Concerto No. 2, completing and performing the final two movements in December 1900. The unqualified success of the premiere encouraged him to complete the first movement. The first performance of the complete work took place on November 9, 1901. At that time it was certainly Rachmaninoff’s most well-crafted work, more subtle and concise than any of its predecessors. Its immediate success has never waned; today it remains one of the most popular concertos of all time.
Concert Performance
Orchestration
2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, solo piano, and strings