Fantasia in C-sharp minor

At a glance

• What it isthe second of five Morceaux de fantaisie for piano, usually called the Prelude in C-sharp minor.
• Who, when, whywritten in 1892 by the nineteen-year-old Rachmaninoff, fresh from the Conservatory. He gave the first performance himself that autumn at a concert at an exhibition in Moscow.
• What to listen forthe bell of the three opening notes, the whirling middle section, and the enormous chords at the end.

Listen for

• The bellthree notes sound very loudly and slowly and become the foundation of the whole piece.
• The whirlwindin the middle the music speeds up and both hands swirl anxiously, the opposite of the opening's weight.
• The vast returnthe opening theme returns in huge chords spread across four staves of music, filling the whole piano, then fades away quietly.

When it was written

Rachmaninoff sold this piece to his publisher outright for a single payment. The piece was played around the world and the sheet music sold in enormous numbers, but it is said all he received was that first fee. Russia was not then party to the international copyright treaty, so many unauthorized editions were printed abroad.

When the piece became so famous, he grew tired, it is said, of audiences shouting for it at every concert. Even so, he played it as an encore throughout his life.