Sergey Rachmaninoff
Four Pieces

About Sergey Rachmaninoff's Four Pieces

The Four Pieces were composed in 1887 when Rachmaninoff was just 14 years old. Together with the Three Nocturnes, also from 1887, they are some of Rachmaninoffs earliest compositions of a serious nature. They were first published posthumously in 1948.
The first piece, a passionate Romance, includes some stylistic influences from Chopin and Liszt. It is followed by a fast Prelude with quickly repeating chords as accompaniment and thereafter by a Melody featuring gently expressive outer sections surrounding a mournful middle section. The final piece, titled “Gavotte”, is – unusually – in 5/4 time and features the young composer in an energetic and harmonically inventive mood, providing some early hints of Rachmaninoff’s later style.