Keys to the Drama in Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No 2
I. Moderato
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18
I'm Sergei Rachmaninoff, and I'm glad to walk you through the I. Moderato movement of my Piano Concerto No 2. You'll hear it begin with the piano alone, tolling out slow, heavy chords before the main theme rises in the strings and clarinet, and that opening is why this movement stays with people. Here on this site my fellow composers and I also teach you to recognize our pieces when you hear them, so put yourself to the test and see how quickly you know this one.
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Ears Open, Shoes Off
Think of this movement as a conversation between one pianist and a whole orchestra, and your only job is to follow who is speaking. The piano begins alone, so you'll hear right away what it sounds like when it has the floor. After that, listen for the strings and the clarinet, because they carry the main theme, and the piano often answers them or wraps itself around their tune. You don't need to know any names or rules, only to notice when the mood warms up, when it turns restless, and when it settles again.Why Moderato, and Not Madly Anything
I called the movement Moderato, which is simply the Italian word for a moderate pace, neither hurried nor slow. I chose it because this music needs room to build, and a faster tempo would have squeezed the big melodies until they lost their weight. A slower one would have let the tension sag before the movement had gone anywhere. So the title is a kind of promise to walk at a steady step and keep enough strength in reserve for the climaxes.A Sonata in Disguise, Minus the Disguise
I shaped the movement in sonata-style form, which is not a rondo, where one tune keeps coming back, but a kind of three-part story. First I present two themes, then I pull them apart and let them argue, and finally I bring them home again. I'll take you through it in five stops: the opening chords, the main theme, the second theme, the restless middle, and the return. Stay with me, because each stop has its own weather.Section 1: Heavy Footsteps at the Door
The movement begins with the piano alone, playing tolling chords in C minor, the key where the whole movement begins and ends. They start quietly and grow louder and fuller, as if something large is slowly coming closer. Nothing is hurried here, and that is exactly what the Moderato tempo is for. By the last chord you should feel that a story is about to begin, though you can't yet say what it is.Section 2: The Orchestra Takes the Wheel
Now the strings and a clarinet sing the main theme, and the piano steps back to become a rippling accompaniment underneath. It's a dark, yearning tune that keeps reaching upward and never quite gets the answer it wants. Notice how the tempo stays the same while the feeling is already deeper and more personal than in the opening. If you remember only one melody from this movement, let it be this one, because everything else grows out of it.Section 3: A Window Opens in E-flat Major
Then the music moves to E-flat major for the second theme, and the mood changes at once. The light comes in, the melody turns warm and songlike, and the piano is now allowed to sing rather than only accompany. The pace hasn't changed, but the key makes it feel as though the clouds have thinned for a few minutes. I wanted you to have this gentler moment, because the contrast is what makes the dark theme matter.Section 4: Everyone Gets Nervous
The middle of the movement is the development, and it is agitated from start to finish. I take the themes you've just met and break them into pieces, so the piano and the orchestra push at each other and pass fragments back and forth. Keys shift quickly and the pianist's hands are very busy, rather like a crowd in a station when the departure board suddenly changes. Don't try to follow every detail; just feel the tension rise, because it is being gathered for what comes next.Section 5: Back Home, Slightly Changed
After the storm the themes return, and you'll recognize the old melodies even though they now sound a little different for having been through so much. The movement closes in C minor, the key it started in, so there is no sudden turn to happiness here. That brightness has to wait, because only in the last movement does the concerto finally move from C minor to C major. I wanted this first movement to end with a serious, earned calm, and I think you'll hear that in the final bars.Your Turn: The Play Button Awaits
Now it's your turn to hear it for yourself, so find a comfortable chair and press play. Let the music carry you along, and if your attention wanders, just listen for the piano again and pick up the thread. Keep in mind what we've talked about: the slow chords, the dark main theme, the warm second theme, and the restless middle. I hope the journey through my Moderato moves you as much as it moved me while I was writing it.---
I hope you enjoyed this listen guide to the first movement, the Moderato, of my Piano Concerto No 2. If you did, you've only just opened the door, because the first movement is one part of a concerto with three very different moods. There is still plenty more to explore in this concerto, from the quiet glow of the slow movement to the bright energy of the finale, and from the story behind the music to the many places it has turned up since. Whenever you feel like going further, click on the links here and let them take you deeper into the Piano Concerto No 2. I'd be glad to think of you coming back to it, hearing something new each time, and finding that the music has become an old friend.