Sergei Rachmaninoff “Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano Op 19 No.3 Andante” (1901)
Proformed by Yo-Yo Ma and Emanuel Ax . Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff, 1 April 1873 [OS 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. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom which included a pronounced lyricism, expressive breadth, structural ingenuity and a tonal palette of rich, distinctive orchestral colors. Understandably, 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, however, 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. In some of his early orchestral pieces he showed the first signs of a talent for tone painting, which he would perfect in The Isle of the Dead, and he began to show a similar penchant for vocal writing in two early sets of songs, Opp. 4 and 8. Rachmaninoff’s masterpiece, however, is his choral symphony The Bells, in which all of his talents are fused and unified Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Cello Sonata in G minor, op. 19, a sonata for cello and piano, was composed in 1901 and published a year later. As typical of sonatas in the Romantic period, it has …
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25 comments
sometimes we think that music is life background, but actually life is music background
@majark4
you really should watch the one of horowitz and rostropovich!!! its really great!!
@wataloosa you know what you say is true , but lady gaga is a bad example , i think there are far worse out there like kesha , not to defend lady gaga but she did do some acoustic performances , and by the way i do not think she composes her songs .
oh how I wish I saw Rachmaninov in person, I would be no 1 admirer for a life. His music is breath taken..
bliss shear bliss
honestly, is there any other interpretation better than this one? I think this is by far the best. I hope you post the complete sonata, I cannot believe that there are persons that are not touched by this sonata and that even don’t like it. I am sorry for my bad English.
eargasm
Playing this tomorrow in front of all my school friends. If you’ve ever played you’ll understand how hard it is to keep in time with the piano!
nice
Tears to my eyes, man. Gives me chils.…
Birdman is the only artist that can rival Rachmaninoff. Thumbs up if you agree.
@ShadowRogue1990 meh.… sure its all legit and anything can capture someone but i feel like much classical music, classic rock, some indie rock, jazz, blues are organic are soulful. Alot of music today is formulaic and contrived to maximize fiscal revinue. But shit, art is in the eye or ear in this case of the beholder, just my own views on the state of art.
@wataloosa very narrow minded. ALL music is music, its just a different kind
@wataloosa very narrow minded. ALL music is music, its just a different kind
@whiteberryjuice exactly my point, which is why i appreciate classical music so much
@artymowycz Rather than the lyrics to tell us how we feel, the melody does so. I think in modern music, people use melody to try and set a mood, where as with rachmaninoff you have the mood AND the voice, leaving us the audience to interpret it.
thats how i feel about it anyway.
@BoazCastro from the description: “Rachmaninoff disliked calling it a cello sonata because he thought the two instruments were equal. Because of this, it is often referred to as Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano”
Please if anyone can help me I appreciate it. The melody of this song was originally written for the cello?
I love between 0:52 and 1:14
@wataloosa I think its because people need lyrics to understand what the artist is trying to convey, or because they can relate to the message the artist is trying to convey. You don’t hear any of the latest hits being written without lyrics these days, with the exception of some trance/techno/electro etc..
@artymowycz
It’s actually interesting, as one of my many guilty pleasures is lady gaga’s music. and i can assure you that i dont think this music ist boring.
the purpose of my comment wasn’t to raise the subjective definition of music, but to raise the question of why sensational music-as this piece– is
completely underrated and unacknowledged in comparison with the many millions of hits that lady gaga recieves.
@wataloosa as much as i hate lady gaga myself, you cannot say that her music is not music.
she appeals to others as rachmaninoff appeals to us and vice versa.
people that listen to listen to lady gaga would say that this music is borring. its all a matter of perception and taste.
There is something about this piece that makes me slightly confused, but at the same time ecstatic, and relaxed, and awestruck. There is so much in the one piece.
this is at the moment my favorite cello (and piano) piece! If only I could play it! I found the sheet music for the whole opus, not just the 3rd movement.……so, I’ll see about buying it.….
This piece is so moving and intense, I love it!