We are pleased to share Manny’s Musings, a preview of the program notes for our upcoming concert. Enjoy these notes, and buy tickets for the concert to hear these pieces played in person.
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op. 1
Sergei Rachmaninoff
So . . . what were you doing when you were 18 years old? If you were Sergei Rachmaninoff, who is often remembered for the sweeping lyricism and emotional depth of his later works, you were writing your first piano concerto! It proved to be a bold, youthful statement from a musician already brimming with talent, ambition, and a pianist’s instinct for drama.
Growing up in a Russia that was musically vibrant but also undergoing rapid cultural change, this is understandable. Rachmaninoff entered the Moscow Conservatory as a teenager, where he studied piano with the legendary Nikolai Zverev and composition with Anton Arensky and Sergei Taneyev. Even as a student, Rachmaninoff showed an unusual combination of gifts: a natural melodic instinct and a deep understanding of harmony. It was with these attributes that he would develop his unique penchant for igniting an audience.
The Piano Concerto No. 1 emerged from this environment of intense study and youthful confidence. Composed in 1891, it was Rachmaninoff’s first major orchestral work and the piece he chose to designate as his official Opus 1. That choice is telling. Although he would later revise the concerto extensively, he always regarded it as the true beginning of his compositional voice—the moment when he stepped into the world as both pianist and composer.
What makes the Piano Concerto No. 1 so compelling is the way it balances youthful bravado with glimpses of the expressive depth that would define Rachmaninoff’s later music. The opening is strikingly direct: a brilliant, ascending flourish from the piano that announces the soloist as the driving force of the piece. The orchestra responds with urgency, and the movement unfolds with a kind of restless energy that is full of sharp contrasts, sweeping gestures, and the unmistakable fingerprints of a young virtuoso eager to make his mark.
In the second movement, Rachmaninoff’s gift for long, singing lines comes to the forefront. The music is tender without being sentimental, shaped by a sense of introspection that hints at the emotional world of his later works. Even at eighteen, he knew how to use the piano not just as a vehicle for display but as a voice capable of the unabashed lyricism that became his signature approach.
The finale returns to the boldness of the opening, propelled by rhythmic drive and sparkling passagework. It is music that revels in the possibilities of the
piano—its brilliance, its power, and its ability to cut through the orchestra with clarity and force. The young composer who began the concerto with exuberance ends it with a clearer sense of direction, as though he is discovering his own voice in real time.
The rest of the Musings for “Let’s Fall in (Star-Crossed) Love” are posted in Manny’s Musings on the Bloomington Symphony website. Join us in person on Sunday, February 8 at 2 p.m. at the Gideon Ives Auditorium at the Minnesota Masonic Heritage Center. This concert includes Joan Tower’s Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, Soojung Hong performing Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and selections from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet. Purchase your tickets here.