Rachmaninoff Transcriptions – Marek Kozák

To this day, Rachmaninoff’s four concertos remain a touchstone for pianists around the world . His piano transcriptions of music by other composers (and of two of his own songs) do not attract so much attention, but what they tell us about the composer and his life is just as interesting . His arrangements place him along side Liszt and Busoni, masters of the genre, whose transcriptions are both tributes to the originals and unique creations with a sonic aesthetic of their own. Rachmaninoff wrote most of his transcriptions between 1921 and 1929, when he was busily performing concerts and making recordings. On the concertstage , they allowed him to demonstrate his phenomenal technique.