Product Description
Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2, is one of the composer's most famous compositions. Part of a set of five piano pieces entitled Morceaux de fantaisie, it is a 62-bar prelude in ternary (ABA) form. It is also known as The Bells of Moscow since the introduction seems to reproduce the Kremlin's most solemn carillon chimes.
Its first performance was by the composer on 26 September 1892, at a festival called the Moscow Electrical Exhibition. After this première, a review of the concert singled out the Prelude, noting that it had "aroused enthusiasm". From this point on, its popularity grew.
This work was one of the first the 19yearold 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 26 September 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 (about two months' wage of a factory worker) publishing fee.
The prelude has been arranged for orchestra in several versions. It has been used in many films, and many songs have sampled it. I thought it would sound great on brass instruments if played well. Well, here it is for you to play well. Enjoy!
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