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III. Adagio
5 mm. before reh. 53 - 3 mm. after reh. 54 |
Skills & Techniques: Dynamic Contrast, Slurred Flexibility, Soft Playing, Transposition
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Horn 1 (E)
Horn 3 (E)
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Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1985)
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London Symphony Orchestra (2011)
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Composer & Composition Information
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
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Sergei Rachmaninoff, one of the greatest pianists of all time and one of the most outstanding melodists amongst composers, was born at Oneg, near Novgorod, on 20 March 1873 (1 April New Style), into a musical family: his grandfather had been a pupil of John Field and his father, too, played the piano. When Sergei was nine, financial difficulties forced the sale of the family estate and they moved to St Petersburg, where he took piano lessons at the Conservatoire. Rachmaninoff’s cousin, the pianist and conductor Alexander Siloti, had studied in Moscow with the strict Nikolai Zverev, and suggested that Rachmaninoff go to Zverev as well, and so in 1885, he made the journey to Moscow, staying with Zverev for three years. In 1888 Rachmaninoff began to study piano with Siloti himself and composition with Sergei Taneyev and Anton Arensky; he also received advice from Tchaikovsky, who was a friend of Siloti and his former teacher.
Even before his graduation as a pianist in 1891, Rachmaninoff had composed what was to become his best-known work, the Prelude in C sharp minor. His graduation as a composer came in 1892: he was awarded a gold medal for his Pushkin opera Aleko. The premiere of his First Symphony, in Moscow in 1897, was a disaster (word was that the conductor, Alexander Glazunov, was drunk), and Rachmaninoff destroyed the score (fortunately, a set of parts survived, which allowed the reconstruction of the score after Rachmaninoff’s death). The text & image are reprinted from Boosey & Hawkes where more information about the composer can be found. |
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Symphony No. 5, Op. 50, FS 97
Rachmaninoff composed his Second Symphony from 1906 to 1907, a decade after the First Symphony, whose failure with critics and the public resulted in one of the most storied nervous breakdowns in musical history. But Rachmaninoff was creatively active again within a couple of years and in 1901 achieved what would remain his greatest popular success―the C-minor Piano Concerto, Op. 18.
The acclaim that came in the wake of the concerto was so great that by 1905 Rachmaninoff was in constant demand as a performer of his own works in Russia and throughout Europe and had achieved celebrity status at home and abroad. The tall, gaunt Rachmaninoff was recognized and often mobbed by fans on the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Even for as sociable a man as he was at the time, it all became too much. He found it impossible to compose. So, early in 1906 he, his wife, and their young daughter moved to quiet, dignified Dresden, a city Rachmaninoff had loved since his first visit there in 1891.
The text is written by & reprinted from Herbert Glass (Los Angeles Philharmonic) where more information about the composition can be found.
The acclaim that came in the wake of the concerto was so great that by 1905 Rachmaninoff was in constant demand as a performer of his own works in Russia and throughout Europe and had achieved celebrity status at home and abroad. The tall, gaunt Rachmaninoff was recognized and often mobbed by fans on the streets of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Even for as sociable a man as he was at the time, it all became too much. He found it impossible to compose. So, early in 1906 he, his wife, and their young daughter moved to quiet, dignified Dresden, a city Rachmaninoff had loved since his first visit there in 1891.
The text is written by & reprinted from Herbert Glass (Los Angeles Philharmonic) where more information about the composition can be found.
Notable Performances/Recordings:
Philadelphia Orchestra (2023)
Detroit Symphony Orchestra (2023)
Singapore Symphony Orchestra (2021)
London Symphony Orchestra (2011)
Philadelphia Orchestra (2023)
Detroit Symphony Orchestra (2023)
Singapore Symphony Orchestra (2021)
London Symphony Orchestra (2011)