Rachmaninov Archive

Rachmaninov composed his Opus 33 Etudes at his country estate, Ivanovka, a place whose rural setting offered the peace and tranquillity necessary to stimulate his creativity. The pieces are intended as “picture studies” (the designation …

The Third Concerto by Sergei Rachmaninov was given its first performance by the New York Symphony Orchestra on November 28, 1909, with Walter Damrosch conducting. Rachmaninoff scored such a success – as soloist and composer …

The Piano Concerto #3 by Rachmaninov has earned a reputation as one of the most technically daunting of all the standard piano concertos, and pianists  have often cited it as a sort of Everest they …

The Prelude Opus 32, number 12 by Sergei Rachmaninov was composed in 1910. It complements his earlier Prelude in C♯ minor, Op. 3/2, and 10 Preludes, Op. 23, to complete the full set of 24 …

It is amazing that Sergei Rachmaninov ever wrote a second symphony. He was so shattered by the terrible premiere of his first symphony in 1897—“the most agonizing hour of my life,” as he later put …