Suite No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)

The first movement of Suite No. 2 is full of idiosyncratically large and thick chords.

Suite No. 2, Op. 17, is a composition for two pianos by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

This work was composed in Italy in the first months of 1901, and like the famous second piano concerto, Op.18, it confirms the comeback of the creativity of the composer after four years of silence since the flop of his first symphony. The Suite was first performed on November 24, 1901, by the composer and his cousin Alexander Siloti.

In contrast to the First Suite for two pianos, the work is not based on literature, and the form tends to approach the traditional suite.^[1] The movements are:

I. Introduction (Alla marcia, in C major)
II. Valse (Presto, in G major)
III. Romance (Andantino, in A flat major)
IV. Tarantelle (Presto, in C minor)

In Los Angeles in the early 1940s, just before Rachmaninoff died, he and Vladimir Horowitz were at a party and played the piece, the first and only time they ever did.

References

1. ↑ Tranchefort, François-Rene (1987). Guide de la musique de piano et de clavecin. Fayard. 

External links

• Suite No. 2 for two pianos: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Performance by Robert Levin & Ya-Fei Chuang from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format

Sergei Rachmaninoff
Operas	Aleko The Miserly Knight Francesca da Rimini Salammbô Monna Vanna
Symphonies	Symphony No. 1 in D minor Symphony No. 2 in E minor Symphony No. 3 in A minor The Bells (choral symphony) Youth Symphony
Concertos	Piano Concerto No. 1 in F♯ minor Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Orchestra works	Scherzo in D minor Suite in D minor Prince Rostislav The Rock Caprice bohémien Isle of the Dead Symphonic Dances
Vocal music	All-Night Vigil Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom Spring The Bells Three Russian Songs Vocalise
Chamber music	Trio élégiaque No. 1 Trio élégiaque No. 2 Cello Sonata in G minor
Piano music	Morceaux de fantaisie (includes Prelude in C♯ minor) Morceaux de salon Six moments musicaux Variations on a Theme of Chopin 10 Preludes Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor 13 Preludes Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 Piano Sonata No. 2 in B♭ minor Études-Tableaux, Op. 39 Variations on a Theme of Corelli Polka de W.R. Russian Rhapsody Suite 1 for two pianos Suite 2 for two pianos Étude in F♯ major Lento in D minor Four Pieces Three Nocturnes Piece (Canon) in D minor Prelude in F major Four Improvisations Morceau de Fantaisie in G minor Fughetta in F major Three Pieces Miscellaneous
Recognitions	Conservatoire Rachmaninoff Rachmaninoff (crater)
Related articles	List of compositions by Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Rachmaninoff Recordings Music written in all major and/or minor keys Youth Ivanovka estate Villa Senar Rachmaninoff (vodka) Romanticism
Category:Sergei Rachmaninoff Portal:Classical music