Rachmaninoff piano concerto no 2 adagio sostenuto

After marrying his first cousin Natalia Satina, the newly-wed Rachmaninoff received an invitation to play his concerto with the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Vasily Safonov in December. Although the engagement guaranteed him a hefty fee, he was anxious that accepting it would show ingratitude towards Siloti. After he fulfilled his London concert engagement at the Queen's Hall under Serge Koussevitzky[ 64 ] a flattering review by The Times emerged: "The direct expression of the work, the extraordinary precision and exactitude of Rachmaninoff's playing, and even the strict economy of movement of arms and hands which he exercises, all contributed to the impression of completeness of performance.

His debut with an American orchestra occurred on 8 Novemberperforming the concerto at the Philadelphia Academy of Music with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Max Fiedler 's baton, including repeat performances in Baltimore and New York City. The first movement is labored and has little marked character. It might have been written by any German, technically well-trained, who was acquainted with the music of Tchaikovsky".

Following the October RevolutionRachmaninoff and his family escaped Russia, never to return, seeing the US as a haven for remedying his financial situation; they arrived there one day before Armistice Dayfollowing their temporary stay in Scandinavia. Saunders opined that the work is of a "songful quality, imbued with haunting melodies all tinged with sombre pathos and expressed with the graceful refinement characteristic of the composer".

No other concerto by Rachmaninoff was as popular with audiences and pianists alike as his Second Concerto; [ 80 ] the musicologist Glen Carruthers attributes this popularity with "memorable melodies [which] appear in each movement". It sounds as if it wrote itself, so naturally does the music flow". Its emergence — in each year so far of the new century — as the British classical listening public's favourite tune indicates Rachmaninov's position as perhaps the most popular mainstream composer of the last 70 years.

The concerto has also inspired numerous songs, [ 88 ] [ note 9 ] and is frequently used in figure skating programmes. The concerto is scored for piano and orchestra : [ 92 ]. The piece is written in three-movement concerto form: [ 93 ]. The opening movement begins with a series of chromatic bell-like tollings on the piano that build tension, eventually climaxing in the introduction of the main theme by the violins, violas, and first clarinet.

In this first section, while the melody is stated by the orchestra, the piano takes on the role of accompaniment, [ 95 ] consisting of rapid oscillating arpeggios between both hands which contribute to the fullness and texture of the section's sound. The theme soon goes into a slightly lower register, where it is carried on by the cello section, and then is joined by the violins and violas, soaring to a climactic C note.

The second theme is first stated by the solo piano, with light accompaniment coming from the upper wind instruments. A transition which follows the chromatic scale eventually leads to the final reinstatement of the second theme, this time with the full orchestra at a piano dynamic. The agitated and unstable development borrows motifs from both themes, changing keys very often and giving the melody to different instruments while a new musical idea is slowly formed.

The sound here, while focused on a particular tonality, has ideas of chromaticism.

Rachmaninoff piano concerto no 2 adagio sostenuto: 2. Adagio sostenuto. Duration:

Two sequences of pianistic figurations lead to a placid, orchestral reinstatement of the first theme in the dominant 7th key of G. A triplet arpeggio section leads into the accelerando section, with the accompanying piano playing chords in both hands, and the string section providing the melody reminiscent of the second theme. The piece reaches a climax with the piano playing dissonant fortississimo fff chords, and with the horns and trumpets providing the syncopated melody.

While the orchestra restates the first theme, the piano, that on the other occasion had an accompaniment role, now plays the march-like theme that had been halfly presented in the development, thus making a considerable readjustment in the exposition, as in the main theme, the arpeggios in the piano serve as an accompaniment. Then the second theme is heard played with a horn solo.

The entrance of the piano reverts the key back into C minor, with triplet passages played over a mysterious theme played by the orchestra. Briefly, the piece transitions to a C major glissando in the piano, and is placid until drawn into the coda based on the first subject, marked Meno mossoin which the movement ends in a C minor fortissimowith the same authentic cadence as those that followed the first statement of the first theme in the exposition.

The second movement opens with a series of slow chords in the strings which modulate from the C minor of the previous movement to the E major of this movement. At the beginning of the A section, the piano enters, playing a simple arpeggiated figure. The motif is passed between the piano and then the strings. Then the B section is heard. It builds up to a short climax centered on the piano, which leads to a cadenza for the piano.

The original theme is repeated with various inversions of chords and lower arpeggios on the piano. The orchestra mainly plays very legato and sweet, however the flutes play staccato chords for most of the ending. After a climactic phrase with piano and strings together, the music starts to die away losing more instruments and focusing more on the piano over time, slowly descending to a finish with just the soloist in E major.

The last movement opens with a short orchestral introduction that modulates from E major the key of the previous movement to C minor, before a piano solo leads to the statement of the agitated first theme. This theme maintains the motif of the first movement's second theme.

Rachmaninoff piano concerto no 2 adagio sostenuto: This upload includes the piano part

After that an extended and energetic development section is heard. The development is based on the first theme of the exposition. It maintains a very improvisational quality, as instruments take turns playing the stormy motifs. In the recapitulation, the first theme is truncated to only 8 bars on the tutti, because it was widely used in the development section.

However, after the ominous closing section ends it then builds up into a triumphant climax in C major from the beginning of the coda. The movement ends very triumphantly in the tonic major with the same four-note rhythm ending the Third Concerto in D minor. InGutheil published the concerto along with the composer's two piano arrangement. Two songs recorded by Frank Sinatra have roots in the concerto: "I Think of You", from the second theme of the first movement, and " Full Moon and Empty Arms ", from the second theme of the third movement.

Contents move to sidebar hide. Adagio sostenuto. Allegro scherzando. Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikidata item. Concerto for piano and orchestra by Sergei Rachmaninoff. For his second symphony, see Symphony No. History [ edit ]. Background [ edit ]. Composition and premiere [ edit ].

Subsequent performances [ edit ]. Early reception [ edit ].

Rachmaninoff piano concerto no 2 adagio sostenuto: Krystian Zimerman.

Modern reception and legacy [ edit ]. Instrumentation [ edit ]. Structure [ edit ]. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Piano Concerto No. Problems playing these files?

See media help. Moderato [ edit ]. Adagio sostenuto [ edit ]. Allegro scherzando [ edit ]. Recordings [ edit ]. Transcriptions and derivative works [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. Rachmaninoff's Recollections, Told to Oskar von Riesemann. New York: Macmillan. ISBN Despite that, the suite received the opus number 17, reversing the order. References [ edit ].

Immediate Media Company Ltd. Archived from the original on 3 December Retrieved 4 March CSO Archives. Archived from the original on 17 May Archived from the original on 17 January Archived from the original on 26 February Classics Today. Archived from the original on 1 May Archived from the original on 11 February The Guardian. Archived from the original on 19 September Verbier Festival.

Sony Classical. Retrieved 22 August Departure review — peerless playing". Archived from the original on 21 January Retrieved 10 April Deutsche Grammophon. Sources [ edit ]. Books and journals [ edit ]. Bertensson, Sergei; Leyda, Jay Sergei Rachmaninoff — A Lifetime in Music.

Rachmaninoff piano concerto no 2 adagio sostenuto: Rachmaninoff piano concerto no

Biancolli, Amy Portland: Amadeus Press. Bullock, Philip Ross Rachmaninoff and His World. University of Chicago Press. Carruthers, Glen The Musical Times. JSTOR Cunningham, Robert E. Pub lisher. Moscow: Muzykan. Mineola: Dover Publications Moscow: A. Gutheiln. Plate A. New York: E. Kalmusn. These files are part of the Orchestra Parts Project.

Editor Edward. Edward, Editor Matthias W. Arranger Taishi Tsuchida. Arranger Composer. Pavel Lamm — Moscow: Muzyka— This file is part of the Sibley Mirroring Project. Arranger Girolamo De Simone b. Arranger Teo Vincent IV. Arranger Fritz Kreisler — Kenta Hozumi. Kreisler's arr. Transposed to C major Several errors: Bar 15, l. Arranger Roger Ellman.

Arranger Percy Grainger — Arranger Behzad Mirkhani. Rach 2 ; Piano Concerto No. Rachmaninoff, Sergei. Allegro scherzando C minor - C major. Wikipedia article. Piano Concerto No.