Your interpretations of Rachmaninoff's music

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Okay so you can probably tell from my username that I love Rachmaninoff.  Perhaps a little too much.  But ANYWAYS, what do you think Rachmaninoff's pieces were about?

I always thought that they were about places, like a really large landscape, or a forest, or even like weather.  For instance, I think his first piano concerto is kinda about like a forest, and his second piano concerto are like waves in the ocean.  Or his fourth moment musical is like a thunderstorm.  Or his prelude op 32 no 10 about like the sun coming out of the clouds or something!

I don't know, if I'm a weirdo who's images of Rachmaninoff are waaay off, but I don't know.  So what are yours?!

[lostinidlewonder]

Hi rachmaninoff_forever, you will be glad to know there are many rach fans here, and also others who even use him in their username

Music draws together (like many other art forms) many disciplines of art. There are some people who close off their mind to the connections that we can make outside of piano playing when we listen/play the piano and I think this is not for the better. I always made up stories that pieces made me think about whether it was the composers intention or not. The Classical Russians generally take me to some physically cold place (eg: it might be a forest but its a cold one ), it must be the large chords/harmonies they tend to use and where they come from! I feel visualising an image helps us express ourselves better when playing the piano, Debussy encouraged it whole heartedly in his writing as he often revealed a glimpse of an image through his music just like an Impressionist artist.

If music did not have a connection to the other forms of art I think I would have little interest in it and would have not made it my profession nor maintain a lifelong relationship with it. The emotions that we think about is what it is all about, the "button" pressing is nothing.

[werq34ac]

Okay so you can probably tell from my username that I love Rachmaninoff.  Perhaps a little too much.  But ANYWAYS, what do you think Rachmaninoff's pieces were about?

I always thought that they were about places, like a really large landscape, or a forest, or even like weather.  For instance, I think his first piano concerto is kinda about like a forest, and his second piano concerto are like waves in the ocean.  Or his fourth moment musical is like a thunderstorm.  Or his prelude op 32 no 10 about like the sun coming out of the clouds or something!

I don't know, if I'm a weirdo who's images of Rachmaninoff are waaay off, but I don't know.  So what are yours?!

Actually the opening of Rach 2 is considered by most to be faraway bells on a cold Russian winter night.

[pytheamateur]

His Prelude in C Sharp Minor evokes scenes of a dead person rising from his tomb.

[teosoleil]

Now now, let's not be too definition-like. Interpretation depends on the listener! But for me, most of his pieces evoke the feeling of some type of boldness, whether beautiful bold, dreadful bold, etc. His music initially made me think of him as a noble, strong, and confident and strong person, so I was initially surprised when I found him to be quiet through biographies (though he was still strong and bold, inside, actually).

The mental images I get are usually action scenes or extremely atmospheric images. His C# Minor prelude reminds me of a person falling into an endless coma, the sleep being filled with nightmares, amd waking up to find the nightmare is real. His G Minor Prelude reminds me of a victorious war battle, the B section like a noble prince riding his horse, and the middle apreggio section being like the prince seduced by a mysterious gypsy woman, haha.

You get the picture .