Lugansky - Rachmaninoff, Elegie in E minor (Op. 3, No. 1)

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3 (1892) No. 1 - Elegie in E♭minor. Moderato - Più vivo - Tempo I Nikolai Lugansky, 2023 From Moscow Philharmonic “...Because of the popularity of the Prelude, the Opus 3 pieces are rarely played as a group. When they are, the range and subtlety of Rachmaninov’s compositional genius (even at the age of nineteen) become apparent. The emotional range is wide: from the deep tragedy of the Prelude to the joyous character of the Serenade, and the whimsy of Polichinelle. The subtlety is shown by the fact that a tiny melodic cell—the semitonal fall, or its extension the whole-tone step and their inversions—is heard at the beginning of every one of the five pieces. Whilst it is too much to claim that this gives the pieces a unity of organic strength (of which Rachmaninov was certainly capable), it is fascinating to see how this tiny cell is used again and again in these pieces. In pa