__NOTOC__ ''Prince Rostislav'' is a

symphonic poem A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

. It was composed when he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory, and is one of his earliest surviving compositions for

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

. A typical performance of the work lasts from sixteen to twenty minutes. It is written in

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed for t ...

and uses the instruments in a personal way. Melodies are more individual and the orchestral textures are quite evocative. ''Prince Rostislav'' has echoes of

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

's ''

Sadko Sadko (russian: Садко) is the principal character in a Russian medieval epic ''bylina''. He was an adventurer, merchant, and ''gusli'' musician from Novgorod. Textual notes "Sadko" is a version of the tale translated by Arthur Ransome in ...

'' (second version, 1869). The manuscript is dated 9–15 December 1891. The work is based upon an 1856 ballad written by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, called '' Prince Rostislav''.А.К. Толстой. Собрание сочинений в 4-х томах. Т 1. Стихотворения и поэмы. Москва. Художественная литература. 1964. Комментарии. Стр.719. ''Prince Rostislav'' is dedicated to

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (russian: Анто́н Степа́нович Аре́нский; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving ...

, who was one of his teachers at the conservatory. Rachmaninoff made no attempt to have the work performed during his life. The first performance of both ''Prince Rostislav'' and another early work, the Scherzo in D minor,Chandos CD notes
/ref> took place in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

on 2 November 1945, conducted by Nikolai Anosoff. ''Prince Rostislav'' was published in 1947.

References

Citations

Sources

External links

* *
Piano.ru - Sheet music download
*
Chubrik.ru - Audio download
Symphonic poems by Sergei Rachmaninoff 1891 compositions Compositions in D minor {{classical-composition-stub