Mussorgsky, Shostakovich & Rachmaninoff: Feb 20–22, 2026
- 20 hours ago
- 6 min read
Hi! Before you get too far into this, please consider supporting my work here!
If you like what you're finding here and elsewhere on my site, you'll LOVE getting the full detailed nerdiness and extras by becoming a Backstage Pass subscriber. You can also purchase a Complete Concert Guide and get a Backstage Pass one month trial for free.
The Complete Concert Guide and Backstage Pass concert materials are chock full of extra stuff including an audio version of my notes, much more info, additional video resources, and extra love from Yours Truly. Please consider supporting the work I do here and either way, enjoy nerding out on music! Thank you!
DIVE IN Below for the basic juicy nerd stuff, Including an interview excerpt with Colorado Symphony Principal Trumpet Justin Bartels!
Modest Mussorgsky
Gopak from "sorochyntsi fair"
DIVE IN!
Modest Mussorgsky 1839-1881 was a Russian composer of the late Romantic stylistic era. He is most influential as a member of the Russian composers group nicknamed “The Five” or “The Mighty Handful”, and was known for hyping a Russian national musical identity independent from some of the established practices and traditions of Western European “classical” music. Mussorgsky was especially interested in Russian folk tales and national history and elevating the work of other Russian artists. Case in point, “Sorochyntsi Fair” is based on a short story of the same name by Nikolai Gogol a Russian author of Ukrainian origin.
Highlights:
Sorochyntsi Fair is a comic opera in three acts which Mussorgsky worked on between 1874 and 1880 but didn't finish before his death. The libretto, also by Mussorgsky, is based on Nikolai Gogol’s short story from the collection Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka.
The Gopak, or Hopak, music is a lively Ukrainian folk dance which has been elevated into large scale art forms including opera, ballet, and theater.
Mussorgsky’s Gopak has been orchestrated and arranged for many different ensemble combinations in addition to full orchestra. A Rachmaninoff solo piano arrangement was even recorded and made into a piano roll! You can hear this with a Complete Concert Guide or Backstage Pass subscription.
This music is utterly delightful and passes by so quickly you won’t have time to blink before it finishes. A typical performance is just under 2 minutes. Yell “ENCORE” loudly and long enough and maybe the orchestra will play it again for you. :)
Resources:
🤓Nerd alert!🤓
There is a bit of a Ukrainian 'easter egg' hiding here... The Mussorgsky is based on a Ukrainian author's story, set in Ukraine and expressed through an up tempo Ukrainian folk dance. You may think this is a stretch to include in these notes, but it would be a serious missed opportunity not to highlight the multicultural punk band Gogol Bordello, who were inspired to name themselves after Nikolai Gogol because of their shared interests and activities. Gogol introduced Ukrainian culture into Russia, and Gogol Bordello's mission is to bring Romani and Ukrainian music into the English speaking world.
SUPER NERD FACT: The original name for the band was Hütz and the Béla Bartóks, but band leader Eugene Hütz said that they decided to change the name because "nobody knows who the hell Béla Bartók is in the United States." wompwomp for that, but also yay for Nikolai Gogol! Give them a listen. It will also set you up perfectly to hear the Shostakovich Piano Concerto. With a Complete Concert Guide purchase or Backstage Pass subscription you'll find an epic video of the band being super amazing. 🤓😎🎻🎹🎺🎉
Dmitri Shostakovich
Piano Concerto No. 1
DIVE IN!
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975) was a Russian composer and pianist who achieved early fame at 19 years old with his first symphony in 1926. He and his music fell under intense scrutiny by the Soviet government, however, which led to his creation of music that satisfied political watchdogs as well as what he called his “desk music”, work that he kept hidden away in a drawer in case it might fall afoul of the authorities.
Shostakovich remains one of the most influential composers of the mid 1900s with 15 symphonies, multiple works for piano, an astonishing 15 string quartets, 3 operas, 3 ballets, numerous film scores, and 6 concertos including Concerto in C Minor for Piano Trumpet and String Orchestra.
🤓immediate nerding!🤓
Check out this interview excerpt with Colorado Symphony Principal Trumpet (and soloist for this concert!) Justin Bartels on the Shostakovich Piano Concerto. For the full length interview with LOTS more trumpet nerdery from Justin, get a Complete Concert Guide or become a Backstage Pass subscriber! 😎
About the music:
Shostakovich composed Concerto in C Minor for Piano, Trumpet, and String Orchestra in 1933 when he was just 27 years old.
The concerto was premiered that same year with Shostakovich as piano soloist, on the season opener concerts of the Leningrad Philharmonic.
Shostakovich originally intended for it to be a trumpet concerto, then decided to add piano to make it a double concerto. As he was composing it, however, the piano part became more and more prominent such that the only full “double concerto” representation is primarily in the final movement. So the title really should be Concerto for Trumpet and Piano Which Evolved Into Concerto for Piano with a Pretty Big Trumpet Part. But that’s kinda long so I guess the official one is okay. W. Piano, pie-ana I guess.🙄🤷🏽♀️🤓😎🙄🎹🎺
The concerto is in 4 movements:
Allegro moderato (medium quick)
Lento (slow)
Moderato (medium tempo)
Allegro con brio (quick with spirit)
There is barely any pause or silence between the second movement Lento and the third movement Moderato, and the Moderato movement elides directly into the fourth movement Allegro con brio so it can be a bit confusing for first time listeners who are trying to keep track of each movement as it goes by. Rest assured, the very quick and manic sounds of the fourth movement are enough of a distinction from the Moderato material preceding it that it will be obvious!
A typical performance lasts about 25 minutes.
Resources:
Extra cool nerd Vids Available with a complete concert guide or backstage pass subscription!🤓
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Symphony No. 2
DIVE IN!
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was a Russian pianist, conductor, and composer who primarily wrote in a late Romantic era style during the Modernist era. He is best known today for his piano and symphonic works. Rachmaninoff left Russia after the revolution there, immigrating to the United States in 1918 first living in New York and finally in California. He spent the majority of his time traveling and performing as a soloist but managed to compose in short bursts when he could. It was during one of these short bursts that he composed his famous Symphony No. 2.
About the Music:
Rachmaninoff composed Symphony No. 2 in 1906, finishing it on New Year’s Day 1907 and revising it a few months later in April of 1907. He took nearly a decade to return to symphonic composition after critics and audience alike resoundingly panned his first symphony, some even comparing it to the biblical plagues of Egypt! Symphony No. 2 was an instant success and the psychological boost Rachmaninoff needed to continue prioritizing composition even as he made most of his living performing concerts on piano.
In its original form Symphony No. 2 is around an hour long. However, many versions with various cuts have been performed and recorded so that it is commonly heard in 45-50 minute versions and there is even one version which is only 35 minutes!
Rachmaninoff dedicated Symphony No. 2 to his composition teacher at Moscow Conservatory, Sergei Taneyev, who himself had been a student of Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Pretty impressive lineage there! Still, the fact that Taneyev was among those that had severely criticized Rachmaninoff’s first symphony makes this dedication all the more interesting. Perhaps the dedication is a respectful nod to grit and determination, or even a middle finger to the harsh criticism from before. After all, Taneyev called the first symphony melodies “flabby” and “colorless” and said that nothing could be done with them. Gee, thanks coach. [hangs up sneakers for 9 years to wait out biblical Egyptian plagues]
Symphony No. 2 is in a 4 movement structure typical of the late Romantic era: a fast first movement preceded by a slow introduction, a very fast second movement, a slow third movement, and a blazing fast final movement. In each of these movements Rachmaninoff includes material taken from the opening slow introduction, giving the listener a thread to follow through the whole work.
Symphony No. 2 remains one of Rachmaninoff’s most popular compositions.
A typical performance lasts anywhere from 45 to 60 minutes.