Composed 2 years later, when Rachmaninoff was only 20 years old, his unique style was already evident in this tribute. In October of 1893, while away conducting his opera, Rachmaninoff received the news that his beloved mentor, Tchaikovsky, had died of a sudden illness at the age of 53. Greatly saddened by this news, as the two had been in negotiations for Tchaikovsky to premiere the newly composed symphonic poem The Rock, Rachmaninoff turned to the format he had previously used to allude to his adviser’s work. 

Modeling his Trio élégiaque No. 2 on the three-movement structure of Tchaikovsky’s Trio, Rachmaninoff opens the first movement with a moving and emotional Moderato section which returns close to the end of the finale. He additionally utilizes a theme and variations in the second movement which samples from a particularly somber moment of The Rock, the work which Tchaikovsky had expressed interest in premiering. In the closing movement, the piano states the very Tchaikovskian theme during a long opening solo. It is rough and punctuated by violent outbursts of emotion before returning to the theme from the Moderato.

It is interesting to note, that unlike many other composers who take a great deal of time to come into their own voice, Rachmaninoff’s personal style of composition is clearly present throughout both of these works despite being written when he was only 18 and 20 respectively.