Scherzo in D minor (Rachmaninoff)
Encyclopedia
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.
The manuscript is dated 5-21 February 1888, when Rachmaninoff was still only 14. An unknown hand has changed this date to 1887. It is dedicated to his cousin Alexander Siloti
, and it was intended to be part of a larger work because it is headed "Third movement".
The model for the work is the Scherzo from Felix Mendelssohn
's incidental music
for Shakespeare
's A Midsummer Night's Dream
. Rachmaninoff had earlier transcribed Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
's Manfred Symphony
for two pianos, and the Scherzo also has echoes of that work.
The piece is scored for 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets (B♭), 2 Bassoons, Horn (F), Trumpet (B♭), 2 Timpani, Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos and Double Basses.
The first performance of both the Scherzo and another early work, Prince Rostislav
, took place in Moscow
on 2 November 1945, conducted by Nikolai Anosoff. The Scherzo was published in 1947.
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...
's earliest surviving composition 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...
, composed when he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory. It is quite short, taking between four and five minutes to play.
The manuscript is dated 5-21 February 1888, when Rachmaninoff was still only 14. An unknown hand has changed this date to 1887. It is dedicated to his cousin Alexander Siloti
Alexander Siloti
Alexander Ilyich Siloti was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Alexander Ilyich Siloti (also Ziloti, , Aleksandr Iljič Ziloti) (9 October 1863, near Kharkiv - 8 December 1945, New York) was a Russian pianist, conductor and composer. Alexander Ilyich Siloti (also Ziloti, , Aleksandr Iljič...
, and it was intended to be part of a larger work because it is headed "Third movement".
The model for the work is the Scherzo from Felix Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
's incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
for Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
. Rachmaninoff had earlier transcribed Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Manfred Symphony
Manfred Symphony
The Manfred Symphony in B minor, Op. 58, is a programmatic symphony composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between May and September 1885. It is based on the poem "Manfred" written by Lord Byron in 1817...
for two pianos, and the Scherzo also has echoes of that work.
The piece is scored for 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, 2 Clarinets (B♭), 2 Bassoons, Horn (F), Trumpet (B♭), 2 Timpani, Violins I, Violins II, Violas, Cellos and Double Basses.
The first performance of both the Scherzo and another early work, Prince Rostislav
Prince Rostislav (Rachmaninoff)
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...
, 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. The Scherzo was published in 1947.