plays
Pianoforte Concerto No. 2, in C minor
(Rachmaninoff) with The BBC Northern Orchestra
Leader, Alfred Barker
Conductor. H. Foster Clark
After the failure of his First Symphony in 1897, Rachmaninoff got into such a morbid state of mind that, except for one short period of activity, he was unable to do any creative work. Finally, in January 1900 Rachmaninoff submitted himself to hypnotic treatment, and he says : ' Although it may sound incredible, this cure really helped me. I began again to compose. The material grew in bulk, and new musical ideas began to stir within me-far more than I needed for my concerto '. This was the Second Piano Concerto, in C minor, which a year or two previously he had agreed to write for the London Philharmonic Society. The music is full of great virility and spontaneous invention.