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Sergei Rachmaninoff
Trio élégiaque in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 9 (1893, rev. 1917)

Rachmaninoff’s career was beginning to flourish in 1893, when he was a recent graduate of the Moscow Conservatory. His one-act opera Aleko, which had earned him a gold medal upon graduation, was premiered at the Bolshoi Theater to critical acclaim and approval from his friend and mentor, Tchaikovsky. Excitingly, Tchaikovsky also expressed interest in conducting one of Rachmaninoff’s newer works, a symphonic poem titled Utyos (The Rock).

 The older composer’s untimely death in the fall of 1893 had a profound effect on Rachmaninoff, who, sources suggest, launched right into composing the Trio élégiaque, Op. 9, that very same day. The dedication reads, “In memory of a great artist,” just like Tchaikovsky’s dedication to Nikolai Rubinstein at the start of his Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50. The similarities don’t end there; Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque is an expression of personal grief set in a musical hommage with direct parallels to Tchaikovsky’s Op. 50 trio.

The first movement begins with a funereal, descending ostinato (repeated pattern) in the piano that creates a sense of interminable and insurmountable darkness after just a few repetitions. The string melodies seem stifled initially, as though trudging through sorrow, but pick up in intensity before arriving at an Allegro vivace (very fast) section—the first of many outbursts of grief, amplified here by virtuosic piano writing and high tremolos in the strings. The movement ends with an ethereal, flowing accompaniment in the piano and repeated descents from F to E to D in the strings, reinforcing the D-minor gloom.

Program Notes by Jack Slavin.
Slavin is a pianist, music educator, and arts professional based in New York City.

Modeling the piece after Tchaikovsky’s trio, Rachmaninoff chose the theme-and-variations form for his second movement. The main melody evokes the theme from The Rock and (albeit to a lesser extent) Tchaikovsky’s own second-movement theme. Melodic associations aside, the composers’ motivations were likewise similar, as Tchaikovsky had selected a theme that reminded him of Rubinstein. After the grim dirge of the Moderato’s opening, this warm, F-major theme is welcome. The variations present distinct characters, from the witty Allegro scherzando to the somber D-minor Andante.

Rachmaninoff deviated from his mentor’s structure by adding a compact third movement in place of Tchaikovsky’s extended second-movement coda. A virtuoso pianist himself, he included yet another fiery chordal passage in the introduction to this Allegro risoluto. The descending pattern of the first movement returns to close out the trio, echoing the cyclical structure of Tchaikovky’s piece. The fiery outcries of grief, playful variations, and lyrical melodies are all but forgotten as the arresting lament takes over. Rachmaninoff’s musical eulogy for his friend and mentor fades out from a haunting pianissisimo (extremely soft) chord until no sound remains.

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Trio élégiaque in D minor for Piano, Violin, and Cello, Op. 9 (1893, rev. 1917)

Rachmaninoff’s career was beginning to flourish in 1893, when he was a recent graduate of the Moscow Conservatory. His one-act opera Aleko, which had earned him a gold medal upon graduation, was premiered at the Bolshoi Theater to critical acclaim and approval from his friend and mentor, Tchaikovsky. Excitingly, Tchaikovsky also expressed interest in conducting one of Rachmaninoff’s newer works, a symphonic poem titled Utyos (The Rock).

 The older composer’s untimely death in the fall of 1893 had a profound effect on Rachmaninoff, who, sources suggest, launched right into composing the Trio élégiaque, Op. 9, that very same day. The dedication reads, “In memory of a great artist,” just like Tchaikovsky’s dedication to Nikolai Rubinstein at the start of his Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50. The similarities don’t end there; Rachmaninoff’s Trio élégiaque is an expression of personal grief set in a musical hommage with direct parallels to Tchaikovsky’s Op. 50 trio.

The first movement begins with a funereal, descending ostinato (repeated pattern) in the piano that creates a sense of interminable and insurmountable darkness after just a few repetitions. The string melodies seem stifled initially, as though trudging through sorrow, but pick up in intensity before arriving at an Allegro vivace (very fast) section—the first of many outbursts of grief, amplified here by virtuosic piano writing and high tremolos in the strings. The movement ends with an ethereal, flowing accompaniment in the piano and repeated descents from F to E to D in the strings, reinforcing the D-minor gloom.

Program Notes by Jack Slavin.
Slavin is a pianist, music educator, and arts professional based in New York City.

Modeling the piece after Tchaikovsky’s trio, Rachmaninoff chose the theme-and-variations form for his second movement. The main melody evokes the theme from The Rock and (albeit to a lesser extent) Tchaikovsky’s own second-movement theme. Melodic associations aside, the composers’ motivations were likewise similar, as Tchaikovsky had selected a theme that reminded him of Rubinstein. After the grim dirge of the Moderato’s opening, this warm, F-major theme is welcome. The variations present distinct characters, from the witty Allegro scherzando to the somber D-minor Andante.

Rachmaninoff deviated from his mentor’s structure by adding a compact third movement in place of Tchaikovsky’s extended second-movement coda. A virtuoso pianist himself, he included yet another fiery chordal passage in the introduction to this Allegro risoluto. The descending pattern of the first movement returns to close out the trio, echoing the cyclical structure of Tchaikovky’s piece. The fiery outcries of grief, playful variations, and lyrical melodies are all but forgotten as the arresting lament takes over. Rachmaninoff’s musical eulogy for his friend and mentor fades out from a haunting pianissisimo (extremely soft) chord until no sound remains.