Rachmaninoff's "Concealed Variation" Principle: Inspiration for Motivic Unity in his Preludes, Op. 32

Abstract

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) is considered one of the greatest pianist-composers of the Late Romantic Era. Specifically, his twenty-four piano preludes stand as hallmarks of the Russian solo repertoire, inspired by the prelude cycles of Johann Sebastian Bach and Frédéric Chopin. Rachmaninoff’s preludes are regularly performed today by students and virtuosos alike. The composer experienced early success with the release of his Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2. The international triumph of the piece followed him throughout his career and resulted in his exasperation over the work’s popularity. During his middle period of composition Rachmaninoff completed his cycle of preludes by writing and publishing Op. 32 in 1910. The swift penning of this set displays remarkable continuity in motive, melody, harmony, and rhythm within the work. Since the release of the Op. 32 preludes, many musicians have noticed the similarities between Op. 32 and his early Op. 3, No. 2 prelude. In 2006, Rachmaninoff scholar Valentin Antipov revealed aspects of monothematicism within Rachmaninoff’s cycles of piano pieces. He also conditionally proposed the twenty-four preludes as a cycle of “concealed variations” on Rachmaninoff’s own Prelude in C-sharp Minor. It is hardly possible to assemble an exhaustive listing of the compositional methods used by Rachmaninoff to obscure the Op. 3 theme. However, in this document I seek to support the claim that two distinct motives in Op. 32 are drawn from Rachmaninoff’s universally acclaimed masterpiece, the Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3, No. 2.