Russia: Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky & Rachmaninov

Modest Mussorgsky, Pyotr Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov each had very different attitudes towards piano performance and composition. Mussorgsky studied the instrument under Anton Gerke’s tutelage but established himself principally as a composer, one of ‘The Five’ who strove to achieve a uniquely Russian identity in their music. Tchaikovsky was not a pianist of any remarkable attainment. However, in addition to his three piano concertos, he contributed to the instrument’s repertory two sonatas and over one hundred miniatures, most of them grouped in various collections. He was also an early influence on Rachmaninoff, who became renowned as a conductor and pianist, no less than as a composer, and eventually enjoyed an international reputation and popularity in all three arenas.