Andante cantabile in B minor from “Six moments musicaux”. Author: Sergei Rachmaninov (1873 – 1943).
The third piece drastically differs from the previous: the continual gauntlets of number two is relieved by the third piece in the set, an “introspective rêverie.” Drawing on the previous illustration of a “generic hybrid,” this piece is described as a mixture between the song without words and funeral march genres, to create what is called the “most Russian” piece of the set, containing both sonorous bass and a solid melody, characteristics of Russian music. It is one of the shortest but has one of the longer playing times of about seven minutes. The piece is structured as a three-part form. The theme of the first section is played entirely in minor thirds, accompanied by a left hand figure of open fifths and octaves. The middle section has the melody in minor sixths, alongside a staccato octave bass. The lament of the opening theme transforms into an explicit funeral march as the left-hand octaves become regular.
Pianist: Vladimir Ashkenazy.