Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei RachmaninoffProbably the most revered of Rachmaninoff�s compositions is the Second Piano Concerto, a work whose existence is attributed to the auto-suggestion therapy of a Dr. Nicholas Dahl. Rachmaninoff�s need for the good doctor�s services came about in this manner: in 1897, the composer was in the throes of despair over the failure of his First Symphony at its premiere at St. Petersburg. Nothing, not even subsequent success in London in his unusual triple role of pianist, conductor, and composer, could dispel the agony of the defeat. Depressed and unable to work on a concerto he had promised to bring with him on his next London visit, Rachmaninoff took the Dahl treatment. This consisted of four months of daily sessions with the doctor, who bombarded the patient with constantly repeated, "You will begin to write your concerto... The concerto will be of excellent quality..."
He did write the concerto, dedicating it to Dahl, and it is indeed of excellent quality, a judgment audiences have been making since it was played by the composer for the first time on October 27, 1901. It immediately took its place as one of the quintessential romantic showpieces for piano and orchestra, and this in...
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