Sergei Vassilyevich Rachmaninoff (rock-MAH-nee-novf) was a brilliant pianist and conductor. His superlative skills in these areas along with his ability to compose, allowed him to produce music of the highest degree of mastery. During his lifetime, it was his pianism that brought him the most acclaim. Known as a powerful and aristocratic pianist, he concertized extensively performing his own works and the works of other composers. As a composer, Rachmaninoff is best known for his works involving the piano and it is these works that will be discussed in this endeavor. His four concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini are some of the most popular works in the literature for piano and orchestra. Among his many works for solo paino are twenty-six Preludes, seventeen Etudes-Tableaux, two Sonatas for solo piano and one for cello and piano, and several transcriptions based on his own work and the work of other composers.

His transcendent pianism was instilled into his compositions making them very difficult, yet, due to their pianistic nature, achievable. Pianistic can be difficult to define, especially if one is not familiar with the piano literature in practice. I suppose, I would describe 'pianistic' to be, for any particular piece of music, the relationship between the keys on the piano and the human anatomy. If the relationship is complimentary, the music is said to be pianistic. Much of Rachmaninoff's music would be technically impossible if transposed to another key because that would drastically change the 'point of view' of the hands with respect to the keys. A Schubert march on the other hand may be easily played when transposed to another key because it was not necessarily composed with any particular 'point of view' in mind. Clementi, Chopin, Scriabin, and Rachmaninoff were pianistic composers. Beethoven, Brahms, and Tchaikovsky were not typically pianistic composers. There, clear as mud right! Non-pianistic music is usually more uncomfortable to play. Think of it as "keyboard geography", as described by Marc-André Hamelin. Rachmaninoff's complete understanding of piano composition and his command of the instrument allowed him to compose music that is very grand and virtuosic technically. This virtuosity was not "virtuosity for the sake of virtuosity" as explained by Evgeny Kissin. This was virtuosity for the sake of producing a more effective whole piece. Many feel that Rachmaninoff's contributions are some of the most important works in the piano literature.

This site will discuss and catalog five main works:

1) Rachmaninoff called his concertos "piano symphonies" and his second sonata could very easily be called a concerto without orchestra (like Schumann's Third Sonata, op. 14.)

2) Rachmaninoff's most successful concertos are the second and third. The second was written during a very creative period in Rachmaninoff's life; composed almost simultaneously with the Suite no. 2 and the Sonata for Cello and Piano. Obvious comparisions can be drawn between the three works.

3) The Third Concerto was written for Rachmaninoff's first tour of America in 1909. Not that it says anything for the music, but this concerto has the record for the most notes per minute. The Second Sonata was composed a few years after the Third Concerto and many structural similarities can be drawn between the two works. The Third Concerto and the Second Sonata can be explored further by using the menu at the left.