Prince Rostislav (Rachmaninoff)
Encyclopedia
Prince Rostislav is a symphonic poem
by Sergei Rachmaninoff
. It was composed when he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory, and is one of his earliest surviving compositions for orchestra
. A typical performance of the work lasts from sixteen to twenty minutes.
It is written in D minor
and uses the instruments in a personal way. Melodies are more individual and the orchestral textures are quite evocative. Prince Rostislav has echoes of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
's Sadko
(second version, 1869).
The manuscript is dated 9-15 December 1891. The song is based upon a 1856 ballad written by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
, called Prince Serebryany
Unlike his next orchestal piece, The Rock
, Prince Rostislav contains no dedication. Rachmaninoff made no attempt to have the work performed during his life. The first performance of both Prince Rostislav and another early work, the Scherzo in D minor
, took place in Moscow
on 2 November 1945, conducted by Nikolai Anosoff. Prince Rostislav was published in 1947.
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music...
. It was composed when he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory, and is one of his earliest surviving compositions for orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
. A typical performance of the work lasts from sixteen to twenty minutes.
It is written in D minor
D minor
D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In the harmonic minor, the C is raised to C. Its key signature has one flat ....
and uses the instruments in a personal way. Melodies are more individual and the orchestral textures are quite evocative. Prince Rostislav has echoes of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov was a Russian composer, and a member of the group of composers known as The Five.The Five, also known as The Mighty Handful or The Mighty Coterie, refers to a circle of composers who met in Saint Petersburg, Russia, in the years 1856–1870: Mily Balakirev , César...
's Sadko
Sadko (opera)
Sadko is an opera in seven scenes by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto was written by the composer, with assistance from Vladimir Belsky, Vladimir Stasov, and others. Rimsky-Korsakov was first inspired by the bylina of Sadko in 1867, when he completed a tone poem on the subject, his Op. 5...
(second version, 1869).
The manuscript is dated 9-15 December 1891. The song is based upon a 1856 ballad written by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy , was a Russian poet, novelist and playwright, considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist...
, called Prince Serebryany
Unlike his next orchestal piece, The Rock
The Rock (Rachmaninoff)
The Rock, Op. 7 is a fantasia or symphonic poem for orchestra written by Sergei Rachmaninoff in the summer of 1893. It is dedicated to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.- Inspiration :...
, Prince Rostislav contains no dedication. Rachmaninoff made no attempt to have the work performed during his life. The first performance of both Prince Rostislav and another early work, the Scherzo in D minor
Scherzo in D minor (Rachmaninoff)
Scherzo in D minor is Sergei Rachmaninoff's earliest surviving composition for orchestra, composed when he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory. It is quite short, taking between four and five minutes to play....
, took place in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
on 2 November 1945, conducted by Nikolai Anosoff. Prince Rostislav was published in 1947.