Prelude in C sharp minor, Rachmaninoff

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1 April 1873 [O.S. 20 March] – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. He was one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, the last great representative of Russian late Romanticism in classical music. The piano figures prominently in Rachmaninoff’s compositional output, either as a solo instrument or as part of an ensemble. He made it a point to use his own skills as a performer to explore fully the expressive possibilities of the instrument. Even in his earliest works, he revealed a sure grasp of idiomatic piano writing and a striking gift for melody. While still a student, he wrote the one-act opera, Aleko, for which he was awarded a gold medal in composition, his First Piano Concerto, and a set of piano pieces, Morceaux de Fantaisie (Op. 3, 1892), which includes this famous Prelude in C sharp minor. The composer later became annoyed by the public’s fascination with this piece, composed when he was 20 years old. He would often tease an expectant audience in the days when it was traditional for the audience to request particular compositions, by asking, “Oh, must I?” or claiming inability to remember anything else.

This work was one of the first the 19-year old Rachmaninoff composed as a “Free Artist”, after he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory on 29 May 1892. He performed this new work for the first time at one of the concerts of the Moscow Electrical Exhibition on 8/20 October 1892. It was printed the following year as the second of five Morceaux de Fantaisie (Op. 3), all dedicated to Anton Arensky, his harmony teacher at the Conservatory. Because at the time Russia was not party to the 1886 Berne Convention, Russian publishers did not pay royalties, so the only financial return he ever received for this piece was a 40 ruble ($1.64, £0.80) publishing fee.

The prelude became one of Rachmaninoff’s most famous compositions. His cousin Alexander Siloti was instrumental in securing the Prelude’s success throughout the Western world. In the autumn of 1898, he made a tour of Western Europe and the United States, with a program that contained the Prelude. Soon after, London publishers brought out several editions with titles such as The Burning of Moscow, The Day of Judgement, and The Moscow Waltz. America followed suit with other titles, such as The Bells of Moscow. It was so popular that it was referred to as “The Prelude” and audiences would demand it as an encore at his performances, shouting “C sharp!” Some say Rachmaninoff came to hate the work for this reason. Most, however, agree he would simply shrug in resignation and play it.

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