‘I am a Russian composer and the land of my birth has influenced my temperament and outlook.’
Hearing this exquisite piece from Russian composer Rachmaninoff this morning was the perfect antidote to the post effects of a horrendous dream I had. I was once told if you have a nightmare, you should recall it to someone to ward it off being replicated into reality. When I first heard that notion I scoffed, thinking it was just superstitious phony-baloney, but I have put it into practice.
I did recount it to the principal person in my subconscious. So, any-hows I wasn’t in the mood to hear anything jolly or too melancholy this morning. Just something sitting in the middle, introspective, but rippling lightly on the emotions. Fortunately, I had Piano Concerto No.1 in F sharp minor, op.1 – II. Andante to write about. Andante means: ‘A moderately slow musical tempo‘.
Sergei Rachmaninoff composed his Piano Concerto No. 1 in F♯ minor, Op. 1 at age 17-18. Just let that sink in. When I was 18, I was well, umm my ambitions and skillset lied elsewhere. I honestly can’t fathom someone at that age composing this masterful Piano Concerto. When an 18-year-old Sergei Rachmaninoff can provide the musical remedy to counteract the effects of a 49-year-old’s nightmare, then there is only one thing I can do, which is refer to the quote that concludes every single one of my 1,056 posts:
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”
– Michel Legrand
In case you were wondering who Michel Legrand like I was: He was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and jazz pianist. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores, in addition to many songs.
The following is sourced from the Wikipedia page below:
Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote to Natalya Skalon on 26 March 1891, “I am now composing a piano concerto. Two movements are already written; the last movement is not written but is composed; I shall probably finish the whole concerto by the summer, and then in the summer orchestrate it“. He finished composing and scoring the piece on July 6 and was satisfied with what he had written. The first movement was premiered on 17 March 1892 at the Moscow Conservatoire.
References:
1. Piano Concerto No. 1 (Rachmaninoff) – Wikipedia
2. Sergei Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 1 in F sharp minor – Classic FM
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Hope this lovely piece of music worked Matt! The trick I hear with nightmares, is to go to sleep with peaceful thoughts! So I hear, anyway!!
Thanks Sharon. I’ll try to remember that next time
Let me know if it actually works!!! Ha! Ha!
I wrote what worked for me. You can’t just plug into your mind pleasantry thoughts as you fall asleep. You are just who you are.
As I mentioned on an earlier post of yours about Rachmaninoff’s music, he’s my favorite composer of classical music. As with other musical geniuses like Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Lizst, to name but a few, it boggles my mind that people are capable of writing such breathtaking and complex pieces.
Hey Jeff! Mozart is easily my favourite, but there are just so many exquisite pieces to be enjoyed. I think the difference between Rachmaninoff and the rest is how he moulded an almost Dostoevsky / Nietzsche (psyche) sound which goes way deep. It’s as though one is listening to their literary art performed as music. Rachmaninoff was 18 when he did this! That is otherworldly.