From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: СергеÌй ВаÑиÌльевич РахмаÌнинов;[1] Russian pronunciation: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej rÉxˈmanʲɪnÉ™f]; 1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943),[2] was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor.[3] Rachmaninoff is widely considered as one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music.[4]
Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a personal style notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colors.[5] The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Rachmaninoff 2" and "Rach 2" redirect here. For his second symphony, see Symphony No. 2 (Rachmaninoff).
The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between the autumn of 1900 and April 1901.[1] The second and third movements were first performed with the composer as soloist on 2 December 1900.[2] The complete work was premiered, again with the composer as soloist, on 9 November 1901,[2] with his cousin Alexander Siloti conducting.
This piece is one of Rachmaninoff's most enduringly popular pieces,[3] and established his fame as a concerto composer.[4]
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._2_(Rachmaninoff)
Ping
I've always loved Rachmaninoff, but I never really appreciated the incredible beauty of his harmony until I actually played some of his music (not like this--nothing like this--but enough to understand).
Rachmaninoff builds harmonic tension like no one I know except J. S Bach. The harmonic tension makes you crave some kind of resolution, and he keeps it going on and on and on, making you long for the ultimate harmonic resolution. It's very sensual.
I love listening to it as I post.
Thanks, Whis!
Very nice indeed. Sort of reminds me of “Prelude in C Minor” by Frederic Chopin. Good stuff.
But the strings overpower her. At times you can barely hear the piano.
I don't know if that is the fault of those recording it or a lack of crispness on her part.
My favorite rendition of this piece is Horowitz (click here to hear it).
My all time favorite piece is Horowitz/Mehta Rachmaninoff No. 3.
Now, however, the new thing is to have all women doing all the performing. Men still do most of the performing but now it's women/women/women doing all the performing that we hear and see. Otherwise, it's not played.
It's the same with announcing, commercials...all of it.
Men's voices have always been used before because their vocal range SOUNDS BEST over the air. Low-toned women sound good too. Bea Arthur would have sounded great.
It's a phase, a craze and it will pass I know. I just get annoyed because some of the women used on the air sound screechy and 11 years old. But, then MY hubby developed his own meachanical engineer-mind mute switch for me EONS ago. Now, EVERY remote has the ole mute-button.
My favorite piece. There is a reason this music has been used in movie soundtracks. Also, Eric Carmen used the melody from the 2nd movement as the basis for his best song
“On My Own”. He was trained as a classical pianist and loved Rachmaninoff. He got into some trouble because he thought the music was no longer under copyright protection but reached an agreement with the Rachmaninoff estate to pay royalties. My favorite version is the Cecile Licad/Claudio Abbabo version:
I enjoy a slower pace on the 2nd movement to heighten the romance and melancholy.
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IMHO, one of the two finest pieces of music not written by Bach (the other is Tchaikovsky's 1st Piano Concerto), and superbly done
Another poster said the orchestra overpowered the piano; just a little, maybe, in the first movement, but that's how the piece is written...
I liked the tempo. Often, it's slowed down for lesser pianists.