Waltz of the Dead by Sophie Solomon

This piece is an elegy to a lost-age, to the Russia into which Rachmaninov was born and in which he flourished, a world which vanished completely with the revolution of 1917. At the age of 45, Rachmaninov lost his estate, his way of life, his Mother Russia. Waltz of the Dead meditates on this vanished world. The motifs on the electric guitar hint at the unavoidable momentum of the modern age; at times these sounds feel natural and in tune with the musical whole, and at times, they are harsh and abrasive intrusions. The piano ­ symbolic of Sergei himself - is melancholic and hesitant, wavering between time signatures and trying to find its way in a new challenging world. The fragile waltz melody that comes in on the violin halfway through the piece recalls the lighthearted merriment of grand Tsarist balls. Yet now it is slow and uncertain and feels as though it may fall apart at any moment.

The revolution came as a day of reckoning upon the Romanov Age. The piece is named Waltz of the Dead in reference to Rachmaninov¹s evocative symphonic poem Isle of the Dead, with its rich allusions to judgement day, and in recollection of Rachmaninov's frequent return to motifs from the Dies Irae plainchant throughout his life.

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