Description

Sergej Rachmaninov

Préludes op. 3, op. 23, op. 32 (selection)
Études-Tableaux op. 33, op. 39 (selection)

Ralf Schnell, Piano

Many of Sergej Rachmaninov’s works have been influenced by myths and stories from his native Russia, but also by pictures, fairy tales and works of art from other cultures. ‘Sergej Rachmaninov: Pictures and Fairy Tales’ is a selection of twelve Préludes and Études-Tableaux whose inspiration and intensity of expression stand out.

Each of these pieces tells their own story or paints their own picture. For some of these works, we do know the composer’s inspiration, the picture or story that he had in mind when writing each piece. For many, we don’t, which gives us the opportunity to think about our own inspirations, our memories, hopes or dreams, and this is precisely the composer’s intention.

Besides each telling their own story, the twelve pieces of this program are arranged to be part of a consecutive, overarching narrative that, in some form or another, is the baseline of so many of our fairy tales: a story of hope, love and happiness that is challenged by a catastrophic event, and the long, emotional, but lastly successful process of finding back to happiness. I will follow Rachmaninov’s lead and not reveal which story I have in mind when performing this programme, but rather leave it up to the listener’s imagination to find their own story while listening to this music.