Aug 2020
The story is that Rachmaninov was depressed for three years from 1898 to 1901. Eventually he sought the help of Dr. Nikoli Dahl who saw Rachmaninov daily using hypnotherapy and psychotherapy. Rachmaninov responded favorably to these treatments. In 1902 he composed his Piano Concerto No, 2. There are, of course, many great and beautiful musical compositions.
But Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, along with Beethoven's 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th symphonies, together with Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and his Toccata and Fugue in G Minor stand at the pinnacle of the world's pyramid of great music.
I have written poems since my early 20s. A poem is not a symphony, but it
is a work of art. Do I ever feel the way Rachmaninov felt when he heard
the deafening applause after No. 2 was performed for the first time?
Close.
Copyright 2020 Tod Howard Hawks
But Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2, along with Beethoven's 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th symphonies, together with Bach's Brandenburg Concertos and his Toccata and Fugue in G Minor stand at the pinnacle of the world's pyramid of great music.
I have written poems since my early 20s. A poem is not a symphony, but it
is a work of art. Do I ever feel the way Rachmaninov felt when he heard
the deafening applause after No. 2 was performed for the first time?
Close.
Copyright 2020 Tod Howard Hawks
A graduate of Andover and Columbia College, Columbia University, Tod Howard Hawks has been a poet, a novelist, and a human-rights advocate his entire adult life.
