Rachmaninoff - Piano Concerto 2 (Best Part)

"The Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op 18, is a concerto for piano and orchestra composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff between June 1900 and April 1901. The piece established his fame as a concerto composer and is one of his most enduringly popular pieces."

"After the disastrous 1897 premiere of his First Symphony, Rachmaninoff suffered a psychological breakdown and depression that prevented composition for three years. In that period he was cash-strapped and turned to heavy drinking."

"The Second Piano Concerto is a record of an artist's survival. Deep in the stasis of depression, Rachmaninoff could see no way out. This concerto, dedicated to his therapist, was his companion as he took his first steps into the light."

"Piano Concerto Number 2 was written in three-movement concerto form. This part begins about 20 seconds into the 2nd Movement...

*1st Movement* - Moderato (C minor)

*2nd Movement* - Adagio sostenuto – Più animato – Tempo I (C minor → E major)

*3rd Movement* - Allegro scherzando (E major → C minor → C major)

*PHOTO:* Tatiana Romanov (Russian Tsar Nickolas' 2nd daughter) in 1914, four years before she was assassinated along with her parents, 3 sisters and brother by Lenin's Bolsheviks in Siberia.