Musical Analysis and Performance Practice of the First Movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2

DOI

10.2991/978-2-38476-452-5_38How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Rachmaninoff; Piano Concerto No.2; Late Romanticism; Harmonic innovation; Performance interpretation

Abstract

Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2 stands as a seminal work of late Romantic piano literature, yet gaps persist in understanding its harmonic language and interpretative logic. Existing research predominantly focuses on macrostructural analysis or critiques of individual performances, lacking systematic exploration of musical materials and performative parameters. This paper integrates music analysis and performative analysis to examine the structural features, motivic development, and interpretative approaches. Rachmaninoff’s structural innovation emerges through cyclical organization of the bell motive. His harmonic advancements employing augmented triads with minor seconds and orchestra timbres advance beyond Romantic practices, establishing both architectural coherence and proto-modernist compositional discourses. By contrasting the interpretations by Richter (1959) and Lugansky (2005), this paper proposes strategies to balance “rational architecture” and “passionate expression,” such as tempo modulation guided by harmonic shifts, stratified dynamic control, and refined touch techniques. The research offers fresh analytical frameworks for musicologists, evidence - based solutions for performers, and reevaluates the transition from late Romanticism to modernism.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Enhao Yang
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/31
TI  - Musical Analysis and Performance Practice of the First Movement of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2
BT  - Proceedings of the 2025 4th International Conference on Science Education and Art Appreciation (SEAA 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 300
EP  - 305
SN  - 2352-5398
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-2-38476-452-5_38
DO  - 10.2991/978-2-38476-452-5_38
ID  - Yang2025
ER  -