Main Theme From Piano Concerto No 2

The second movement of Rachmaninoff’s second piano concerto is arguably one of his most endearingly popular pieces. Written between 1900 and 1901, it marks a turning point in the composer’s life – for years he was riddled with self-doubt and suffering with depression, the second piano concerto is believed to be the breaking of his writers block. The concerto was dedicated to Nikolai Dahl, a physician who had done much to restore Rachmaninoff’s self-confidence. in 1975, Eric Carmen adapted the second movement for his ballad: “All by Myself”. The following arrangement was produced for Wingates Band’s appearance at the 2015 Brass in Concert competition at the Sage Gatesehead. The theme of the programme presented was ‘Alice in Wonderland’ and the following arrangement was used to represent ‘The Mock Turtle’. The other pieces presented were:’Mad March Hare’s March and the Well Crazy TeaParty’ (available late 2017), ‘Piano Concerto Number 2 by Rachmaninov’ and ‘Dreaming’ by Schumann (available from Cantatio Music).