Rachmaninoff’s childhood was difficult.  He came from a military family; his maternal grandfather was an army general, and his father was a retired officer.  His mother’s family was wealthy and included multiple estates in her dowry.  Unfortunately, his father was not good with money, and within a short time, he lost the family fortune and deserted the family.  Even though the young Sergei showed musical talent on the piano, his father’s desire for him was to follow the family tradition and serve in the military.  When his maternal grandmother took Sergei and his siblings into her household, she recognized his talent and set him on a different course.  At the age of ten, he began studies at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in music, but he did not do well.  A cousin who had studied with Liszt recommended moving the boy to the Moscow Conservatory, and it was there that he flourished in both piano and composition.

After graduating, Rachmaninoff made his living as a concert pianist, composing in his spare time and premiering his own works on his programs.  His own compositions were mostly for piano, but he was encouraged by his conservatory friend, Alexander Scriabin, to explore other larger forms.  Eventually he turned to symphonic works, and his first symphony was premiered in 1897.  He was devastated by the crushing criticism of the work, entering into a depression.  His depression was debilitating and he did not compose during the next three years.  He hired a psychologist who was also an amateur musician.  Nikolai Dahl helped Rachmaninoff battle his depression and improve his diet and sleep and encouraged composition for self-expression.  His first work to come out of this period was the Piano Concerto #2, dedicated to Dahl.  It was a success which relaunched his concertizing career.  He toured all of Russia and Europe.

Following the October Revolution of 1917, Rachmaninoff no longer felt safe in Russia.  He and his family fled with manuscripts of his works in a trunk.  In December they took a train to the Finnish border and then crossed over to Finland in an open sleigh.

The second piano concerto received its premiere in Moscow in November, 1901 to great acclaim with Rachmaninoff as the soloist.  The first movement begins with rather ominous sounding chords in the piano which resolve into the very Russian-sounding and calmer first theme heard in the strings.  The more sweeping second theme is introduced by the piano.  Rachmaninoff’s piano works are nortorious for their difficulty, primarily because Rachmaninoff wrote to his own strengths.  He was a tall lanky man with incrediblely large hands that could reach large chords that many pianists struggle to reach. 

The second movement contains the most recognizable Rachmaninoff melody.  After a lengthy introduction the flute and clarinet introduce this lush and simplicticaly beautiful melody.  You may recognize this melody from a 1975 popular song by Eric Carmen titled “All By Myself.”  Carmen thought the melody was in the public domain and used the melody without permission.  The Rachmaninoff estate sued and won a settlement out of court.  The entire movement is graced with pure beauty and solemnity.

The finale begins with a spritely march and is the most dramatic of the three movements.  The melodies are primarily in the orchestra with the piano adding virtuosic accompaniment.  A particularily flowing melody is heard in the violas.  The rhapsodic evolution of the movement leads into the full force climactic conclusion. 

Program Notes by Kevin Lodge