Southern Music Company Rach 2: Themes from Piano Concerto No.2 - Rachmaninoff/Land - String Orchestra - Gr. 3

Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Arranger: Kirt Land
Format: Score and Parts
Instrumentation: String Orchestra
Level: 3

This arrangement uses the main themes of the second and third movements of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. It opens with the haunting Adagio sostenuto. At measure 16, the third movement's rhapsodic main theme is introduced and developed. At measure 57, we return to the Adagio melody with the Moderato theme merging and dominating until measure 74 when the work closes with the initial theme.

The Moderato theme is among the most beloved melodies of the 20th Century. Both themes in Rach 2 were featured in several movies. In first position for young people, this musical setting demonstrates the fluid relationship of 3 triplets against 2 eighth notes and the development of a long melodic line.