Cheryl Shantz performs Serge Rachmaninoffs Prelude No. 12, Op. 32, in G # Minor, which is another of her favourite piano pieces. In this set of thirteen preludes, Prelude No. 12 is the more popular of the set. It was composed in 1910 presumably at the height of Rachmaninoffs career. With piano music, prelude pertains to a solo work that was written in the Romantic period which has certain melodic and rhythmic themes throughout the piece. Prelude No. 12 begins with a beautiful sensitive left-hand melody accompanied by a rhythmic motif in the right hand that is suggestive of a pulsating heartbeat.
The Life of Rachmaninoff
Serge Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was born April 1, 1873 in Novgorod in northwestern Russia. His parents were music lovers and his mother gave him his first piano lessons. When their finances dwindled, the family relocated to St. Petersburg where Rachmaninoff began his piano studies at the Conservatory. Later he received a well-rounded musical training at the Moscow Conservatory. Tchaikovsky encouraged Rachmaninoff as he blossomed musically and gained some success with his early compositions. However, there were disappointments throughout Rachmaninoffs career especially when his Symphony No. 1 (1895) was not well received which brought on depression and made him doubt his compositional abilities. But with the wonderful reception of his Piano Concerto No. 2 (1900-1901), his reputation as a successful composer was guaranteed. Rachmaninoff married his cousin, Natalya Satina, in
1902. In the late 1890s, Rachmaninoff toured America and was greatly admired there. His home was still Russia but after the 1917 Revolution, he left permanently living in Switzerland and the USA in between his European and American tours. Eventually in 1918, Rachmaninoff lived permanently in the United States. He often had conducting engagements but it was his astounding capabilities as a pianist which gained him his greatest acclaim. He was famous for his massive hand span and powerful touch on the piano. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934) was his favourite work. A few weeks before Rachmaninoff died in Beverly Hills, California, on March 28, 1943 at 70 years of age, he took out American citizenship. Rachmaninoff will be dearly remembered foremost as a composer and pianist, as well as a conductor and one of the final true heroes of Romantic classical music. He was a bridge between the Modern contemporary composers of the 20th century.
