Sergei Rachmaninoff’s chamber music for violoncello and piano comprises three works, all of which originate from his early compositional period and whose genesis is closely linked to people in his circle at the time.

Seventeen-year-old Rachmaninoff wrote the “Lied”, which was first published posthumously, during a stay with the family of his future wife Natalia. He dedicated this to her cousin Vera.

“Prélude et Danse orientale” op. 2 is dedicated to his good friend, the cellist Anatoli Brandoukoff, with whom he played the “Prélude” in the first public concert consisting entirely of his own works.

Also dedicated to Brandoukoff is the Sonata op. 19 which is one of the first works that Rachmaninoff wrote after the years of depression he suffered following the failure of his first symphony. Particularly in Opus 2 and the Sonata, it is evident that Rachmaninoff gave the violoncello and piano an equal standing.

• First Urtext edition of Rachmaninoff’s works for violoncello
• With a well-presented layout and practical page turns
• Includes a detailed Introduction on the genesis and transmission of the works (Eng/Ger) and a Critical Commentary (Eng) with a description of the sources

Editor: Daniela Macchione