Two pieces for cello and piano Op.2

Sergei Rachmaninov [1873-1943]

Two Pieces for cello and piano Op.2 [1892]

1. Prélude

2. Danse orientale

These Two Pieces were among the first of Rachmaninov’s works to be published. They are slight but charming display works giving a foretaste of the Cello Sonata that followed almost ten years later – and can be heard later in this Festival. Both these Pieces and the later Sonata are dedicated to the cellist, Anatoly Brandukov. The Prélude is a new version of the F major Piano Prelude. The succeeding Danse orientale is typical of the obsession with all things oriental that was sweeping through artistic and musical circles throughout Europe. 

Francis Humphrys