First published at 09:01 UTC on October 12th, 2021.
Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36 by Sergei Rachmaninoff
In 1912, Rachmaninoff moved with his family to a house in Rome once used by fellow composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The same year, Rachmaninoff began work on his second piano sonat…
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36 by Sergei Rachmaninoff
In 1912, Rachmaninoff moved with his family to a house in Rome once used by fellow composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The same year, Rachmaninoff began work on his second piano sonata. Before the work was finished, both of Rachmaninoff’s daughters would contract typhoid fever, prompting Rachmaninoff to make the decision to take the family to Berlin to consult with recommended doctors.
Once both children were well again, Rachmaninoff took the family back to his Ivanovka estate in Russia. The completed sonata would have a premiere performance in October of 1913 in Kursk. Despite the work being well received by the public in Moscow, Rachaminoff was unsatisfied with the work and revised the sonata in 1931, making it considerably shorter.
This recording is of the 1913 original version.
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