Prelude in C-sharp minor (Rachmaninoff)
A famous prelude that became both a triumph and a burden.
Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C♯ 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, also known as The Bells of Moscow.
- Composer
- Sergei Rachmaninoff
- Opus
- Op. 3, No. 2
- Key
- C♯ minor
- Form
- Ternary (ABA)
- Occasion
- Moscow Electrical Exhibition
- Dedicated to
- Anton Arensky
Reader's Guide
The prelude is organized into three main parts and a coda. It opens with a three-note motif at fortissimo that introduces the C♯ minor tonality. The second part is propulsive and marked Agitato, with highly chromatic triplets building to a climactic recapitulation. The piece closes with a brief seven-bar coda that ends quietly. The prelude became so popular that audiences would demand it as an encore, shouting 'C-sharp!' Rachmaninoff grew tired of it, calling it his 'Frankenstein.' It has been arranged for orchestra, used in films, sampled in songs, and adapted in jazz.
Did You Know?
- The prelude is also known as The Bells of Moscow, since the introduction seems to reproduce the Kremlin's most solemn carillon chimes.
- Rachmaninoff received only 40 rubles for the piece, about two months' wages for a contemporary factory worker.
- Audiences would demand the prelude as an encore by shouting 'C-sharp!'
- Rachmaninoff called the prelude his 'Frankenstein,' alluding to a creation that got out of control.
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