Prelude in C-sharp minor (Rachmaninoff)

The massive theme occupies four staves in the second A section. The top two staves are both played by the right hand, the bottom two by the left.

Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor (Russian: Прелюдия, romanized: Prelyudiya), Op. 3, No. 2, is one of the composer's most famous compositions. Part of a set of five piano pieces entitled Morceaux de fantaisie ("Pieces of fantasy"), it is a 62-bar prelude in ternary (ABA) form. It is also known as The Bells of Moscow, since the introduction seems to reproduce the Kremlin's most solemn carillon chimes.

On 26 September 1892, the composer himself performed the work for the first time, at a festival called the Moscow Electrical Exhibition. After the première, a review of the concert singled out the Prelude, noting that it had "aroused enthusiasm". From this point on, its popularity grew.

Rachmaninoff later published 23 more preludes to complete a set of 24 preludes covering all the major and minor keys, in a time-honored tradition pioneered by composers such as Bach, Chopin, Alkan, Scriabin, and many others.

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