Prelude, Op. 3 No. 2

1. 0:01
   Opening motto and ppp chords

   The motto A–G♯–C♯ is played in low octaves, ff. The chords that follow are marked ppp. The same three bass notes return beneath them and sound between the right-hand chords.

2. 0:32
   Sale to Gutheil, 1893

   In 1893 Gutheil paid the nineteen-year-old Rachmaninoff forty roubles for the Prelude, which he published that February. The piece travelled around the world. Years later, audiences still demanded that Rachmaninoff play it as an encore.

3. 0:52
   Agitato section, bars 14–⁠16

   At the Agitato the right hand begins running triplets over a held low C♯. Within the triplets a melody descends by semitones, E–D♯–D♮–C♯.

4. 1:40
   Siloti’s tour, 1898

   In the autumn of 1898 Rachmaninoff’s cousin Alexander Siloti took the Prelude on tour across Europe, England and America, where it became more popular than anything else he played. Rachmaninoff later teased his audiences in his deep voice, “Oh, must I?”, and came to call the piece “It”.

5. 2:38
   Return of the opening chords

   The opening chords return at Tempo primo, marked fff pesante, very loud and heavy. Rachmaninoff wrote them on four staves, two for each hand. The pianissimo reply to the chords now spans the width of the keyboard.

6. 3:13
   C♯ pedal and final chord

   The bass holds C♯. Above it the chords move by semitones, now separated by rests. The final C♯ minor chord is marked ppp, the same dynamic as the answer near the beginning.

Joins

1. 0:52
   Held bass under the Agitato triplets

   The left hand repeats A–G♯, moves to C♯ and holds it. At bar 14, marked Agitato, the right hand plays triplets above this held bass, and the line E–D♯–D♮–C♯ descends through them. The long pauses between chords are gone, and the key remains C♯ minor.

2. 2:38
   Bass notes lead back to Tempo primo

   The running chords stop on two enormous bass notes, A and G♯. F♯ minor over A moves to a G♯ dominant seventh, then resolves into C♯ minor at Tempo primo. The bass plays the opening signal again, and both hands follow with doubled chords, marked fff pesante.

3. 3:13
   Into the coda over low C♯

   A diminuendo brings the doubled chords down to mf. The bass reaches C♯ and repeats it while the hands play shorter, separated chords above. The chromatic notes in these chords drop out one by one, and the passage ends on a plain C♯ minor chord at ppp.

1. 0:03
   Opening three-note motif

   The piece opens with A–G♯–C♯ played in octaves, fortissimo. The chords that follow are marked ppp. The same three-note descent repeats in the bass beneath the chords.

2. 0:51
   Agitato, bars 14–⁠17

   In the Agitato, triplet quavers surround a melody that descends E–D♯–D♮–C♯. The right hand plays both parts, with the melody in its upper notes and the triplets below.

3. 1:34
   Composition and demand as an encore

   Rachmaninoff wrote the Prelude at nineteen. Years later, audiences still demanded it as an encore before letting him leave the platform, in recital halls around the world.

4. 2:11
   Return of the opening chords

   The opening chords return at Tempo primo, now marked fff pesante, very loud and heavy. Rachmaninoff writes this passage on four staves, two for each hand, and the bell figure spreads across the whole keyboard.

5. 2:53
   Closing chords over low C♯

   A low C♯ is held beneath the last sequence of chords. Above it the hands move by small steps, and the final C♯ minor chord is held under a fermata, ppp.

1. 0:02
   Opening, bars 1–⁠4

   Three low notes, A–G♯–C♯, sound in octaves. Rachmaninoff marks them fortissimo. The chords that follow are marked ppp.

2. 0:47
   Agitato, divided right hand

   In the Agitato (bars 14–⁠21), the right hand plays a descending E–D♯–D♮–C♯ melody above triplet quavers. The left hand takes low bass notes, then moves up into a separate line in reply to the melody.

3. 1:32
   Recording sessions, 1928

   On 21 March 1928 Rachmaninoff made three takes of the Prelude in Camden, New Jersey, and Victor discarded all three. He recorded it again in New York on 4 April. The second take from that day became the published record.

4. 2:25
   Return of the opening, four staves

   At Tempo primo the opening returns, greatly enlarged. The score sets the piano on four staves and marks the chords fff pesante. The bass continues its repeated notes while both hands play the tune in octaves.

5. 2:58
   Final bars over C♯ pedal

   The closing chords sound over a low C♯ held across the bars. The last chord is C♯ minor, ppp, with a fermata above it.

1. 0:00
   Opening three-note figure

   The figure A–G♯–C♯ falls in octaves, marked fortissimo. The chords that follow are marked ppp, and the three-note figure returns beneath them.

2. 1:32
   Melody in the central Agitato

   In the central Agitato, bars 14–⁠34, the melody sits within running triplets. The tune is carried by long notes at the top of the right hand, stemmed separately above the triplets. The left hand plays phrases in reply, and the melody rises.

3. 2:12
   Return of the opening, bars 45–⁠54

   At the Tempo primo, bars 45–⁠54, the opening material returns written out on four staves, two for each hand. Rachmaninoff marks it fff pesante, very loud and heavy. The chords that were quiet on the first page now span the keyboard.

4. 3:14
   Closing chords over low C♯

   The last slow chords share a held low C♯. Above it, the hands move through a short succession of harmonies to the final C♯ minor chord. The dynamic returns to ppp.