Why Listen to Rachmaninoff?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 เม.ย. 2024
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A dive into the life and music of one of the great late-Romantic pianist composers, Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Script by Ricardo Santos
Narrated by Oscar Osicki
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Music included (Listening List):
Piano Concerto no. 2 - First Movement
Lilacs Op. 21 no. 5
Six moments musicaux - no. 5
Grieg's Piano Concerto - First Movement
Piano Concerto no. 1 - First Movement
Tchaikovsky's String Quartet no. 1 - Scherzo
Six moments musicaux - no. 1
Prelude in C-sharp minor
Isle of the Dead Op. 29
Piano Concerto no. 2 - Second Movement
Symphony no. 1 - First Movement
Piano Concerto no. 2 - Third Movement
Nocturne no. 2 in F Major
All-Night Vigil Op. 37 - 2. Blagoslovi, dushe moya, Gospoda
Symphony no. 2 - Adagio
Symphonic Dances - Finale
Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini - 18th Variation
0:00 - Introduction
2:00 - Early Life
4:11 - Prelude in C# Minor
5:23 - Death as a Motif
6:23 - Piano Concertos
7:50 - The 2nd Piano Concerto
10:13 - Best Known Works
10:45 - WW1 and the All-Night Vigil
12:12 - Late Work: The Symphonic Dances
12:55 - Finale
![Sergei Rachmaninoff life and death - Mini documentary [4K]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/85Ye1zOqqMQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Check out the "Rachmaninoff Essentials" playlist on Apple Music Classical! First month is free for new users on this link:
apple.co/InsideTheScore
You used Rousseau’s cover of Prelude in C sharp minor 😛
I need the Apple Music Classical for android.
Oh christ i hope this doesnt mean that apple will try to tie up classical music as well.
I really dislike the advertisement woven into the video... Automatic thumbs down.
Thanks!
“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music” - Sergei Rachmaninoff
Powerful
“Thou who doesn’t know music theory gets no bitches” - Frédéric Chopin
This is gonna be my senior quote
So true
Not only is Rachmaninoff one of the last sons of Romanticism, but he was also among the best pianists ever. He was skilled as a symphonist also. His 3rd Piano Concerto and Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini are personal, ultimate, favourites of mine.
Let's not forget some of the wonderfully scored, moody tone poems, i.e "The Isle of the Dead", "The Rock", "Prince Rostislov".
His 3rd Piano Concerto is my favorite. It's superior to his 2nd, in my opinion. I catch myself humming to that main theme melody all the time.
@@AudunWangen I know. It's like an ear worm. You can't get it out of your head.
Rachmaninov is like that.
Classical music in the late Romantic tradition is being composed to this day. It's probably the most common style among composers and you can find a large volume of often really good homebrew compositions in the style on TH-cam, including symphonies scored for large orchestra and recorded with Noteperformer.
The problem isn't that Romanticism died, but the music press and also the tastes among the academics don't longer consider it fashionnable, so it's ignored, but the listeners crave for this stuff and don't give a damn about serialism and atonality. The influence of postmodernism and avantgardism in academia has done a great disservice to musical culture, promoting degenerate art like the 'music' of Karlheinz Stockhausen, or experiments like letting a dog press notes on a keyboard as part of a musical performance - something which the national news in the Netherlands picked up on a few years ago, and which was treated by the press as a genuinely interesting experiment. These people are creating a mockery of musical aesthetics and they're the ones we pay tax money to in order to educate young composers.
Due to this terrible development in academia many people are just doing it the old-fashioned way and paying for private tuition and learning to compose outside of the conservatoire.
Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini is also my favourite piece from Rachmaninoff
The first time I heard the No. 2 Piano Concerto, I cried.
To this day I cannot hear it and not get emotional.
And I cry every single time I listen to it
Me too!
Rach 2 lifted me from a very dark place many years ago and continues to lift me to this day.
It was the second piano concerto that brought me into classical music. My father had brought random classical records into the house so there was some Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Grieg and the Rachmanninov 2nd.
I still remember the moment when I was out walking when a phrase from the concerto just played itself
into my mind and straight away I had to come home to hear this work.
The rest is history. It opened the world of classical music to me.
Wish chooses too.
Snap!
😃😍🤩PC2!
There's something about Rachmaninoffs music that touches the deepest parts of my heart and soul.
The 2nd piano concerto is what I believe to be the most absolutely perfect piece of music ever written.
The pacing is amazing, and climaxes i each movement rousing with the climax of the piece in the last movement playing a trick with keys and numbers (you hear the second theme exactly 3 times, twice in the "wrong" key and only the last time in the "correct" key, which a humongous set-up that absolutely pays off) in order to make it the entire piece's climax, especially considering it was a chunk of this melody that inspired the romantic melody of the 1st movement (the 2nd and 3rd movements were written first).
Every note sounds like it should be there; no note excessive, no note out of place. The 2nd movement was so good it was turned into a pop piece whose popularity still endures (Celine Dion's "All By Myself"). The orchestration of that movement plays a funny trick too: listen to it and you'll hear a flute morph into a clarinet using only a symphony orchestra; no electronic music existed yet.
My "desert island disc" would absolutely include the 2nd piano concerto, which I have listened to endlessly and still continue to be enthralled by.
“All by myself “ is authored by Eric Carmen.., although it was popularized by great Celine Dion.
Carmen utilized phenomenal “modal mixture, common tone, enharmonic, double chromatic, mediant modulation”, that made this composition one of the most stunning and impactful pieces of pop music ever.
Please search youtube for: Adam Neely: The most elegant key change in all of pop music”
What a beautiful, insightful, and thoughtful tribute to one of the greatest composers of all time. Thank you for your wonderful comment! Rachmaninov's 2nd piano concerto Moves me to tears and sends me to a place beyond this realm every time I listen to it.
Very well-said. It will always be my favorite
@@claude-achilledebussy8994 Eh, it's fun but I consider it neither more beautiful nor better paced or structured. It IS, however, more difficult.
Last summer I played the symphonic dances and it was magical. After a week of nonstop playing this concluded the tour and everyone started crying straight after because of how emotional it was
Where was this? As no ignorant people in the west were banding the great Russian artists
There is tchaikovsky, there is chopin and then there is rachmaninov. Truly he wrote the most fascinating romantic compositions.
To me Rachmaninoff is more refined than Tchaikovsky.
both well behind Chopin. if talk of pure piano pieces
@@TonyMontana-os7kg I love Chopin and yet his style is too recognizable, whereas Rach was more versatile stylistically, even in his piano pieces and concertos.
This is such an indescribably well-made video. I'm going to be performing the 2nd concerto in the not-so-distant future, and this video made me so ecstatic! Thank you so much for this!!
That is... Amazing. Magnificent. You’re so lucky! Good luck!
Thank you Sergei. I didn’t know you were still alive.
@@rawyalamei9226 Lucky? More along talented… any who can accomplish that feat must certainly be able to call themselves talented
@@elise8276 if you're talented you're lucky, more like hard and smart working.
@@elise8276 But also lucky to have access to an orchestra and opportunity to play with them. Many of us who play piano don’t have that option.
That sweet, honey-coated melody played by the clarinet in the 3rd movement from his 2nd symphony always warms my heart 😍
Rachmaninov is regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the twentieth century. He had legendary technical facilities and rhythmic drive, and his large hands were able to cover the interval of a thirteenth on the keyboard (a hand span of approximately twelve inches). 12:00 [wmich edu]
This man created Arguably the most emotional compositions ever written
how about first ballade by chopin?
@@user-lq1gx3mt3o Chopin too but Rachmaninoff piano concertos are whole on another level
How about another great Russian composer Jan Sibelius? I call him Russian because he was born in the Russian Empire.
"why listen to Rachmaninov?" because Rachmaninov is phenomenal. His piano concertos are beautiful, I cried the whole way though #3 when I saw it live. Rhapsody on the Theme of Paganini is the most incredible 24 minutes of music you'll ever hear 💖.
His 3 piano concerts are brilliant and contain some truly amazing harmony and voicing, being a major Jazz fan i cannot help to to hear how harmonical sophistication in Jazz comes largely from 20th century Classical.
he wrote 4 piano concertos
@@jurejurakic182 Correct, I meant to write that Concertos 1, 2, and 3 are my particular favorites.
His non-sept chords were definitely borrowed by jazz musicians.
This video sums up the feel of Rachmaninov music so well. As a depressed and anxious child and adult later on, I really found myself in his music. Prelude in cis minor represent existantial dread and hopelessness perfectly and my all time favourite Rach 3 feels like life, beautiful and fluid at one time and moving too fast and being too chaotic to collect your emotions at other. I really wish Rachmaninov was more appreciated for all masterpieces he composed and emotions he managed to communicate through his music so masterfully.
What I value the most about the second concerto is how it is pretty much a musical description of Rachmaninov struggling to get out of a depressive state of mind. That's what makes the last movement so triumphant and epic.
I am lucky enough to say that this summer I'll get to see his Piano Concertos 2 & 3 as well as Symphonies 1 & 2 all in the span of a month. These are my favorite Rachmaninoff works and were some of the first pieces that showed me how much I could love music, specifically the Adagio of Symphony 2 and the 1st Movement of PC 2. Thank you Rachmaninoff for your gifts to the world
Lucky you! Leo Dominguez.
As Mae West noted decades ago, "Too much of a good thing can be ..... wonderful!"
Enjoy
My orchestra just performed the 2d concerto recently with a very talented pianist, who is a junior at Eastman. Was a wonderful experience.
@@craigkowald3055 Just curious, Craig, are the performances at Eastman recorded and kept as a document of the performance?
I was thumbing through my William Kapell recordings and put on the Rachmaninov "2 concerto.
Lucky you who were part of performing this wonderful work.
I believe Howard Hanson had a close relationship with the Eastman Scool?
He was the subject of a recent chat by Dave Hurwitz.
Me too, me too! 🥰 But in April 😊 I am very happy for you and I wish you the best time 😊
Which orchestra?
Rachmaninov has been one of the biggest influences in my life, I am very grateful to him for creating such profound music, he along with Chopin and Liszt changed my life for the better, great video :-)
Put it on your bucket list to see Piano Concerto No. 2 and get the good seats where you can see the piano keys. Absolutely incredible.
I’m seeing Rach 2 in June of next year :) I’m so excited
One of my favorite composers of all time!! Excited to see this 😄😄
His 2nd Concert really changed the way I had in viewing music. It is a masterpiece, and will have forever a piece of my heart. Great video.
For me, there is no better composer than Rachmaninov. There is no close second. ❤❤❤❤❤
Bach!!
@@bargledargle7941 ok, if there’s a close second, he’d be it. No doubt.
@@nikkivenable73 I think honestly that Bach is on top :3
@@bargledargle7941 what’s your top 3?
@@nikkivenable73 I have hard deciding honestly :/
I just feel Bach is the greatest for me because the reasons he is great is not just "It sounds good" it's more convincing for me personally.
How about you?
Imo Rachmaninoff's 2nd and 3rd piano concertos are the magnum opuses of classical music. The command of color and tone he shows are astounding. He brings forth some of the most complex melodies but her they are easily digestible for untrained listeners. And most importantly, they feel like they tell a story. Truly the greatest classical composer whoever lived.
How about the German-speaking trio: Bach-Mozart-Beethoven?
I have him in my top 5 but it is hard to argue he trumps Beethoven, Mozart or Bach. Mahler is my other candidate for top 5.
@@stephenburnage7687 I agree with you, Stephen, but I rate Rachmaninoff as number one among Russian composers above Tchaikovsky and even Stravinsky.
Thank you, being a pianist who dedicated his last 14 years to play his music and a composer who dedicated one and half album to Rakhmaninov, I genuinely appreciate the fact that there's someone who wants to enlight his genius and his masterpieces to a broad audience. My absolute and pure love for his music will never diminish.
Very cool music you have on your channel! Do you perform for a living?
@@_soulflower I did it for about a decade, I don’t like performing in public hence I changed career. My musical efforts are directed towards piano recordings and compositions. My daily job is in technical engineering (renewable energy field).
@@EdoardoBrotto ohh I see, very cool!
As a pianist, Rachmaninoff used the sustain pedal very sparingly to make his sound crisp and dry.
Just performed All-Night Vigil twice during Easter. That is absolutely the most beautiful music ever written and I love singing it!
Rachmaninov is phenomenal! He’s always been one of my favorite composers, nothing and no one compares to him. My brother is even learning Russian because it’s the language of some of his favorite composers (Rachmaninov’s obviously on the top of that list)
followed by Stravinsky and Prokofiev
Rachmaninoff is unequivocally the most underrated composer of all time. His Symphony No 2, and his 2nd and 3rd Piano Concertos are among the greatest pieces of music ever written, in an age when Romanticism was dying and the jarring and grotesque style of Mahler was on the rise, he stood true as the last great Romantic.
I'd definitely place him above Tchaikovsky. His music is deeper.
Yea his 2nd Symphony is my fav piece of all time
i think grieg is the most underrated but yeah rach is beautiful
What's wrong with Mahler? I'm a fan of both composers so i'm curious to know why you dislike Mahler's works. I notice that Mahler very much abuse the brass section more than others
@@theluanvuong5886 I compared two Russian composers - Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky, did not even mention Mahler whose Symphonies 6-8 and Song of the Earth are great works that were a great inspiration for Alban Berg and Dmitri Shostakovich.
One of my biggest inspirations! Every time I am lost in how to orchestrate, I look to his music so I can get an idea of how he creates his musical atmosphere!
you put subtle elements of rachmaninoff's orchestration into your own music?
ayoo, could you send me some of your music?
@@axyspianostudio I can send the beginning of my Symphony! If you want! It is the piece I am working on right now!
@@nightshockplayz5894 Sure
@@axyspianostudio I'm struggling to send it hahaha! However, whenever I can, I will try and send the media fire link with it!
@@nightshockplayz5894 alright
Great video! I will never get tired of his second piano concerto.
YES! I've been waiting so long for y'all to make a video on Rachmaninoff! Happy belated 150th birthday to one of my favorite composers! 🥳🥳
I love Rachmaninov because he's a master in everything... piano music orchestral music, choir...
Yessss. His choral music is simply divine
Stravinsky too
Since about half a year one of my favourite composers.
"The Bells" and "Isle of the Dead" are two of my favourite pieces of music of all time.
nobody talks about "the bells" as in the choral symphony when talking about Rachmaninoff. I think its one of my favourite pieces of music ever and is extremely underrated
What a masterpiece indeed is the 2nd concerto. The Bells choral symphony is well underrated. Btw…he died in 1943, not 42, and depends on which calendar for his birthday.
The irony being that, when played well, Rachmaninoff's 1st Symphony is absolutely AMAZING!!!!
I recently discovered Rachmaninoff and his 2nd piano concerto really spoke to me, and after watching this video, I believe I know why. Sometimes, it's really interesting how art can connect peoples experiences.
If I’m not mistaken, the conductor for Rachmaninoff’s first symphony was Alexander Glazunov. One of the stories from this premiere is that he was so drunk, that the first note surprised him and the baton went flying into the audience.
according to Prokofiev's diary, Glazunov was almost always drunk; during the infamous first performance of Rach's 1st Symphony Glazunov fell off the podium at least once....some sources say twice.
I grew up listening to Rach 2 and it remains my favorite piece of music
I've been listening to Rachmaninoff since I was a child and our mom bought our family an RCA Victor "HiFi" player. This was before the days of stereo. It came with a large library of 33 1/3 vinyl albums from RCA "Red Seal", Columbia, Mercury and other brands as well and which included his Symphony #2 and the Piano Concerto #2. I couldn't get enough of either of those two works and started playing Rachmaninoff Preludes on our home piano as soon as I could. When I got to college, I had a great, steely Austrian musicology professor who I've always thought (even to this day) knew as much about music as any one person possibly could. He only ever told me one thing that I ever wasn't sure about and that was that he didn't think Rachmaninoff's music would last. That was over 60 years ago and it's still around and played as much as ever. Will it be around 100-200 or so years from now? I have a hard time imagining that it wouldn't be. I think I might have had one of the greatest musicologists ever, one was only ever wrong about one thing. I still have those old vinyls by the way, safely tucked away on a shelf.
I had the honor of being able to play his second symphony in my school orchestra last year, easily my favorite piece of his
Great video! I hold both PC2 and 3 as absolute favourites in the genre, and it's impressive how they have touched so many listeners through the years. Also the slow moment of his 2nd symphony is probably the most blissful and forgiving music I can think of.
Regarding him looking up to Tchaikovsky: in his first piano trio (Élégiaque the short), he quotes Tchaikovsky's 1st PC by taking the first motif backwards, as well as imitating the famous dotted chords texture!
i love your channel, nice to see you here
I nearly cried when you described that moment in the second concerto as forgiving. I have never been able to out that section into words. You nailed it. It's forgiveness.
Beautiful interpretations of the deep emotion in Rachmaninoff’s music. Despair, foreboding, brushes from the wings of death, hints of hope, and ultimately vindication and celestial triumph.
Wow. One of the greatest TH-cam videos I ever watched. Never has anyone expressed so closely what I feel about Rachmaninoff and his second piano concerto. I had no idea why it was thus. Thank you.
I am in utter awe due to how well made this video is. The intro... absolutely a masterpiece in itself. By far the best classical music channel out there! The quality of your videos is just emaculate.
Rachmaninoff is one of my favourite composers. I wish he had written more pieces and had been more appreciated while alive. Thanks for this video.
I’m learning the 2nd piano concerto now for solo piano, even as a piano solo it’s amazing
I'm a big fan of the 4th concerto. A passage in the first movement elevates you to the heavens and leaves you changed.
Yunchan Lim's brilliance in the Cliburn Competition has made me better appreciate the 3rd concerto. (And Liszt, for that matter!)
I think his 2nd symphony is one of the few pieces of musics I like absolutely all of it. His 3rd is also very good
In my opinion, one of the best composer ever lived.
Fantastic video!! Great job to Ricardo on the script, and both Eddie and Ricardo on editing! I’ll definitely take a dive into more of Rachmaninoff’s music. His 2nd Piano Concerto always brings me to tears and gives me chills. ❤
You forgot to mention the Opus 23 and 32 Preludes. They are magnificent and just as brilliant, moody and emotional as his other works.
Rachmaninoff is the emotional outlet I truly need in my conventional male life :,)
The Second Piano concerto is what drew me in to Rachmaninoff’s works, but the Sonata Op.36 and “The Bells” are currently my favorite works of his
I was waiting for this...😊 I wonder how many fans of Rachmaninoff were first exposed to his music from the melody of a pop song, looking at you Eric Carmen, or a movie soundtrack.
The painting at 2:10 is a group portrait of the Vanderbilts. It is displayed at the Biltmore.
Rachmaninoff gets a shout out in David Lean's "Dr. Zhivago".
I think I love his Symphonic Dances best. So dramatic! I have overplayed his 2nd Concerto and 2nd Symphony unfortunately, but I enjoyed them immensely once.
Thanks so much. This was an amazingly well put together story!
Concerto no. 2 is my favorite classical piece.
It was the motion picture soundtrack to the film “Somewhere in Time” that introduced me to Rachmaninov. “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” is sort of weaved into the story. The main film score by John Barry (composer of early James Bond film scores) is just perfect.
Rachmaninoff was definitely inspired by Paganini's Bell Canto
In the book, a Mahler symphony was used instead.
@@miguelmontes9878 Mahler was very creative and an inspired Shostakovich.
The Rach 2, Isle of the Dead and his all night vigil are pieces I never tire of - all masterpieces.
Isle of the Dead is just.........perfection
Surprised there was no mention here of his Piano Preludes and Etudes Tableaux. If you like Romantic piano music, check them out. The Etudes Tableaux are unlike any other piano works.
Great video ! I’m a music major, jazz major and I always loved classical music, it’s so dope to have a richer appreciation and understanding of different times and composers..my instructor played some Rach earlier in semester was feelin it ! Def felt it
Wonderful exposition. I'm eager to listen his music now!
Isle of the Dead is one of my favorite classical pieces. Powerful and cathartic.
You always inspire me to listen to more and more music as time goes by. Thank you so much
Sergei Rachmaninoff is undoubtedly one of the important composers of the 20th century. He is known for his unique romantic style and emotionally charged compositions. Rachmaninoff reflected his personal experiences, thoughts and deep feelings in many of his pieces.
Rachmaninoff went through a very intense psychological process while writing his compositions. Having lost his father in his childhood, this musician has felt a great sense of loss throughout his life. In his own words, he stated that he could only truly find himself while making music. For this reason, it was very important for him to have deep feelings that he could sincerely reflect in his compositions.
The stories in Rachmaninoff's pieces also often have emotional characters. So much so that, among the things he reflects on his compositions, there are subjects such as loss, love, sadness, nostalgia, loneliness and death. For example, "Prelude No. 4", which is among his most famous work, carries with it a feeling of great sadness and longing. He also tells a romantic love story in his piece "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" using sad tones.
Again, in his piece called "Vocalise", there is a load of sadness and emotion that no dictionary can express. In this piece, too, Rachmaninoff expresses a thought that believes that music, which allows people to understand each other, strengthens the bond between people. This piece is considered a striking example of the composer's own unhappiness and disappointment.
Rachmaninoff was a musical genius with a distinctive musical style of his own. The intensity of the narratives and melodies in his compositions evoke different meanings and emotions in each listener. He created these works, which he created by processing his own emotions, by combining them with the extraordinary piano technique.
As a result, Rachmaninoff's compositions convey deep emotions that leave a mark on your heart and soul for a long time. His pieces create a musical atmosphere that allows people to overflow with their inner feelings and lasting happiness. Thanks to the personal feelings he reflects in his compositions, he carries us to the universe of music with his musical expressions, fine thoughts and intense expressions.
Rach experimented with Impressionism too
Amazing video, Rachmaninoff is by far my favorite composer and the way you talk about him and his music in such a captivating way is incredible, you just won a subscriber.
And again this is an amazing job.
How excited I was to see that you’d provided us with a precious video about this composer. By coincidence (or synchronicity) I came across the piano concertos performed by the young and utterly fascinating pianist Alexander Malofeev. Unfortunately his performances aren’t recorded to be listened to on Apple Classic. Thanks by the way for the alert, dear Oscar! One can get a very good video recording of the 3rd piano concerto though with the hr Sinfonie Orchester here on TH-cam.
He has been a revelation to me. I just love his melodies and rythms. Unfortunately, no video/film of him playing exists😢.
Unfortunately, that is the case. Thankfully, there are recordings of his performances available on TH-cam.
I would love to see an episode just on the all night vigil! I think it's truly one of the most beautiful pieces of choral music I've ever heard, which is made all the more incredible by the fact that Rachmaninoff really wasn't a choral composer. The antiphonic structure of several of the moments and the development of ideas within it, the amazingly rich harmonies, it's just spectacular from start to finish.
honestly i feel like rachmaninoff is the peak of romantic music if not the peak of classical music in general
the pc.II's moderato movement is just so moving and powerful and indescribably beautiful that it hurts, you can feel every shade of flowing emotion just beaming out from the movement, its just a magnificent experience oh goodness
Thank you for this 💚
Bro what a sick video once again!!!! 🔥🔥🔥I‘m always inspired to go listen for myself after watching your vids!! So great to have you on TH-cam!
Hi, I just wanted to say that i love Rachmaninoffs compositions and am very grateful that you made this video. I started listening to classical music after hearing Prelude in C Sharp minor and the three beginning note still give me thrills
I started listening to Mahler after watching your video. And I'm grateful to you for that. Now it's time for Rach.
it is my impression, that besides Beethoven Rachmaninov offers a supreme depth in his music, that is relieving to the heart and can build up spiritualty, that is unmatched. I deeply love his works and I am forever grateful for it.
I'm so glad you made this video. His 2nd concerto is my favourite classical piece and when I heard it live for the first time (finally) I basically had tears flowing all the way. I particularly enjoy Kocsis' performance as I believe he understood the piece better than most and had the technical capablity to perform it while maintaining the musicality and arch throughout.
Excellent video! Thank you so much
Rakhmaninoff has been with me all my life. My father loved and played prelude in c minor a lot, and the concerto no. 2 is my favorite peace of music, never get enough of this.
Fantastic video. Great descriptions of the moods to be found in these great works. The second concerto is without equal.
one of my favorite composer!
Wonderful, engaging and respectful. Thanks
this is such a terrific channel, classical music hits on a whole other level when you understand the history behind it.
Beautifully constructed !
Your story narrative is excellent. I feel the key to Rachmaninoff is the poor response to his first Symphony. Quite a fork in the road - to oblivion or greatness. My favorite song of all time. More feeling, humanity and a story and expression about life - than any other piece. His 3rd concerto shows his freedom from that past.
just played rach piano concerto two for a friends orchestra. genuinely one of my favorite pieces to hear and perform live.
Another phenomenal video
When I heard his second piano concerto for the first time I was in …😅ecstasy ! I was 16,and he was my favorite composer from then on! What a genius! What beautiful emotion he led us all to!l😊
I have been enjoying your videos for some time now. I took up your challenge and looked through my collections. I chose a representation of his works thusly: London (Decca) double CD set of the four piano concerti, Vladimir Ashkenazy playing and conducting the London Symphony and another set of him (same label) conducting the three symphonies performed by Concertgebouw Orchestra. Lastly, to fill the 5th slot of my Nakamichi changer, Dmitri Alexeev on piano with Yuri Temirkanov conducting the St. Petersburg Philharmonic on RCA Red Seal CD: Aleko Overture, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and lastly his Symphonic Dances. I am thoroughly enjoying this dive into Rachmaninov! Keep up the wonderful work!
This is one of the best videos I've seen on this website (and I've seen a lot). A great explanation on why Rachmaninoff is just amazing
I'm happy to report that Rachmaninoff is buried in a very nice cemetery in Valhalla, NY, with a very nice setup with flowers, bushes and trees around his plot. I wish I could upload pictures of it.
Ironically enough, his first symphony ends in apocalyptic catastrophe, foreshadowing his personal tragedy, and his second concerto ends in brilliant triumph, opening the way for him to become one of the most outstanding composers of all time
Easily one of my fav composers ever. Truly incredible what the human mind can do
Your narration is awesome
Mind blowing video. I am going to listen for sure. Really thankful to you.
if one is a beginner in classical music one may want to start with All by myself (Celine Dion or primarily written by Eric Carmen who created this song on the basic of the 2nd concerto II movement) He loved Rachmaninov's music so much that he also wrote a song Never gonna fall in love again based on 2nd Symphony III mov )
YES! so happy to see this
Listened to his Piano Concerto No 2 on a day of my college graduation after struggling journey lasted over decade to finish. For those who struggled but overcame its the most epic piece to get a vibe on.
3rd piano concerto is perfection.
Composer, pianist, conductor…thriller threat! And equally talented at each. Personal favorites include 2nd Piano Sonata, Corelli Variations, and his Bach Partita transcription. And everything else he wrote.