Difficult Piano Music

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was born today in 1873 in Russia. He was born one year before Schoenberg and two years before Ravel, and unlike his colleagues, stayed very much in the Romantic period, though some of his later stuff sounds pretty modern. He was a truly amazing pianist (we have recordings of him!), one of the best and most technically sound of the 20th century. Like Chopin, he is another composer for pianists, although unlike Chopin, he wrote 3 symphonies, and a few other works that did not feature the piano. He had very big hands, supposedly spanning an interval of a 13th (C to A)!

The other day, our little family was eating dinner at the dinner-table, and my precious little 21-month-old daughter was learning to say some new words, so I decided to give her a couple of tough ones:

Daddy: Rachel, can you say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious?
Rachel: (quizzical look)
Daddy: Rachel, can you antidisestablishmentarianism?
Rachel: (quizzical look with an impish smile)
Daddy: Rachel, can you Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff?
Rachel: (Rachel looks away toward her box of composer statuettes) 'off! 'off! 'off!
(Translation: hey, where's my Rachmaninoff figurine?! I want it right now!)

My wife and I both got a hearty laugh out of this one! Anyway...

I'd like to start with what I think is Rachmaninoff's best music - his piano concertos. Two of them have become standard repertoire, due to not only their beautiful melodies and lush chords, but also their impressive technical challenges to the pianist.

Piano Concerto No. 1, 1st Movement, played by the composer himself. This was his first published composition, written when the composer was only 19 years old. Even at such a young age, this composition is full of fire, strength, and maturity, with some really great melodies and amazing virtuosity.

Piano Concerto No. 2, 1st Movement, 2nd Movement, 3rd Movement. Perhaps overall his most well-loved concerto. It begins with large chords in the piano, getting louder and louder until the orchestra bursts in with the first theme. It is chock full of beautiful melodies and counter-melodies, as well as some amazing virtuosity. The 2nd movement is especially beautiful and tender. It sounds to me like he was influenced by Chopin's 1st Concerto, 2nd movement, one of the most magical pieces ever written. Rachmaninov's movement comes very close to rivaling it.

Piano Concerto No. 3, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5. This is probably the most technically difficult piano concerto ever written. It is not perhaps as immediately accessible as the 2nd concerto, but it has many very beautiful melodies, and has strength, force, and fire that exceeds its predecessor.

For some of the most powerful, commanding piano-playing you'll ever hear, listen to the extremely difficult cadenza in the first movement (he plays the difficult version here), part 2 from about 2:30 to 4:30. All three movements have great beauty and amazing virtuosity, but probably the most breathtaking energy is found in the 3rd movement (Parts 4 and 5).

Piano Concerto No. 4, 1st Movement. Probably his least popular concerto, it is still full of that beautiful nostalgia and virtuosic chromaticism that characterizes his music.

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 - I include this with his piano concertos, because it is for piano and orchestra and of similar length and difficulty. It's beauty and creativity rivals at least concertos 1 and 4, if not 2 and 3. The magical 18th variation is quite well-known and one of his most well-loved themes (Part 2, 5:25 to 8:00).

Rachmaninoff wrote a few chamber works as well, including his sonata for Cello and piano. Here is the Cello Sonata, 2nd movement, a very powerful piece with high energy and a lovely relaxing, lyrical middle section. I want to play this piece with a cellist someday!

He also wrote a numerous amount of solo piano pieces, most of them dazzling and difficult to play. Here are some of his best:

Preludes:

Op. 3, No. 2 in C# minor, probably his most popular composition of all, although Rachmaninoff himself grew to dislike it because he was asked to play it so often. This version with the composer himself at the piano is quite stunning.

Op. 23, No. 4 in D Major, one of my favorites. It is quite simple in form and melody, one of his least virtuosic pieces, but still quite difficult to play well.

Op. 23, No. 5 in G minor, another one of his most popular pieces. The middle section has some beautiful inner melodies that are brought out nicely in this recording.

Op. 32, No. 12 in G# minor, another popular piece. Full of fire, passion, and nostalgia.

Op. 32, No. 10 in B minor, another one of my favorites. It is very sad, wistful, and nostalgic, but full of fire and passion. An anecdote tells of how this was supposed to have been a picture of Rachmaninoff's longing to come home to Russia after having been exiled to other countries during the communist take-over.

Etudes-Tableaux:

Op. 39, No. 3 in F# minor, a very difficult piece - watch the flying fingers!

Op. 33, No. 5, an insanely difficult piece! This time watch the notes.

I'll end on a couple of his more light-hearted pieces, all performed by the composer:

Lilacs, a beautiful little piece with lots of flowery passages

Humoresque

Polka de V.R. (a polka written by Vasili Rachmaninoff, Sergei's father, arranged and played here by the son) - a delightful little piece, and a great way to end this post.