Trio élégiaque No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)

Written in memory of Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff's Trio élégiaque in D minor, Opus 9 is a piano trio begun on 5 October and completed on 15 December 1893. It was first performed in Moscow on 31 January 1894 with Rachmaninoff himself playing the piano part.

Structure

The trio is in three movements, taking approximately 50 minutes to perform:

1. Moderato

   The first movement starts with a sombre tone, with a theme that returns both in the second movement and at the close of the final movement.

2. Quasi variazione

   The second movement consists of variations upon the first theme.

3. Allegro risoluto

   The final movement, although short in comparison to the previous movements, is dominated by the unceasingly powerful and dramatic piano part.

This piano trio is similar to Tchaikovsky's Trio in A minor, which was dedicated to Nikolai Rubinstein, in that it follows the same basic structure.

Orchestrations

The Australian pianist Alan Kogosowski has orchestrated the trio as a piano concerto, called Concerto Élégiaque in D minor, Op. 9b.[1] This has been recorded by Neeme Järvi and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, with Kogosowski as soloist.

References

1. Max Harrison: Rachmaninoff

External links

• Trio Elégiaque No. 2: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project