Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, 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.
Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom, marked by pronounced lyricism, expressive breadth, structural ingenuity and a tonal palette of rich, distinctive orchestral colours.
The piano stands at the centre of Rachmaninoff's compositional output. He drew on his own gifts as a performer to explore the instrument’s full expressive range, and even his earliest works show a sure grasp of idiomatic piano writing and a striking gift for melody.
Sergei Rachmaninoff is featured on the following titles
David Stanhope: Live in Concert
In an era of ubiquitous digital streaming, it is good to be reminded of the energy and excitement of live performance. This concert, with its scintillating late-Romantic repertoire, recalls what a diet of studio recordings can leave out.
Galop!: Virtuosic Orchestral Transcriptions
Stanhope is one of the very few Australian composers who takes on the challenge of transcribing piano works for orchestra. Composers once did this themselves to open other performing paths for popular pieces. Imagination, craft and creativity make the results thrilling.
Compositions by Sergei Rachmaninoff also appear on
Porgy & Bess Fantasy: Music for Two Pianos
In the early 1980s two of Australia’s finest pianists joined forces in masterpieces of the piano-duet literature. The set draws on concert and studio sessions from a period when such collaborations were still readily captured.
Australian Fantasia: Orchestral Works by David Stanhope
Orchestral works by David Stanhope and four of his transcriptions, realised with a digital orchestra. Apart from Olympic Fireworks, written for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony, these scores had not been heard in public performance.
Cafe Fiddle
After the success of his Tall Poppies Brahms sonatas with Milton Kaye, Australian violinist Ben Breen reunited with the veteran pianist for a second disc. Recorded near the end of Kaye’s life, it became the last chapter in the accompanist’s long recording career.
A Virtuoso Recital: David Stanhope Piano
This is the third solo CD that David has recorded for Tall Poppies (see also Virtuoso Transcriptions, TP088, and David Stanhope Plays, TP135). The centrepiece is Rachmaninoff's Preludes, Op. 32, which he plays magnificently.
Virtuoso Transcriptions
These ‘one take’ studio recordings were made for ABC broadcast about a decade before release. That they stand as a finished album is a tribute to David Stanhope’s prodigious musicianship and technique.
Arranger