Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36 (1913 edition) Sergei Rachmaninoff
If Ravel’s Sonatine recalls Mozart in its scope, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 2 finds inspiration in Liszt. Rachmaninoff composed it in 1913 and revised it in 1931. Sean Chen plays the 1913 version. He writes about the work, “The revised version feels disproportionate to me, and less satisfying when I heard it, so that is why I play the first version. It is Lisztian in conception, where, like in the Liszt B-Minor Sonata, there are a few motives that recur throughout the entire piece, and they usually appear altered or in a different affect, along the lines of ‘thematic transformation.’”
While both works recall earlier periods, they also express the unique styles of their composers. Ravel and Rachmaninoff pose two contrasting answers to the question, “How do you write a piano sonata after Beethoven?”
Notes by Milner Fuller, American Pianists Association
Classical Music | Piano Music
Sergei Rachmaninov
Sonata No. 2 in b-flat minor, Op. 36 Play
Recorded on 07/28/2016, uploaded on 07/28/2016
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 36 (1913 edition) Sergei Rachmaninoff
If Ravel’s Sonatine recalls Mozart in its scope, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Sonata No. 2 finds inspiration in Liszt. Rachmaninoff composed it in 1913 and revised it in 1931. Sean Chen plays the 1913 version. He writes about the work, “The revised version feels disproportionate to me, and less satisfying when I heard it, so that is why I play the first version. It is Lisztian in conception, where, like in the Liszt B-Minor Sonata, there are a few motives that recur throughout the entire piece, and they usually appear altered or in a different affect, along the lines of ‘thematic transformation.’”
While both works recall earlier periods, they also express the unique styles of their composers. Ravel and Rachmaninoff pose two contrasting answers to the question, “How do you write a piano sonata after Beethoven?”
Notes by Milner Fuller, American Pianists Association
More music by Sergei Rachmaninov
Romance, Op. 11 No. 5
Prelude Op. 3, No. 2, in c-sharp minor
Prelude Op. 32, No. 5, in G Major
Etude-Tableau in A minor, Op. 39, No. 6
Loneliness, Op. 21 No. 6
Prelude Op. 23, No. 10, in G-flat Major
Prelude Op. 23 No. 5
Moment Musicaux Op. 16, No. 3
Serenade, Op. 3
Moment Musicaux Op. 16, No. 4
Performances by same musician(s)
Impromptu no. 3 in G-flat major, op. 51
Fantaisie-Impromptu in C-Sharp minor, Op. 66
La Valse
Impromptu no. 1 in A-flat major Op. 29
Impromptu no. 2 in F sharp major Op.36
Sonatine
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