nspired by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff’s melodies were masterfully crafted, soulful, reflective and nostalgic. He believed music should remain “unendingly obedient in trying to create beauty”. Rachmaninoff composed the majority of his melodies in the major mode and largely diatonically constructed. This diatonicism is a mark of his reflective spirit and old fashion style that “erred somewhat on the cautious side of his limitations” ; a tendency that could have begun after his breakdown in 1897. His inability to write for such an extended period of time could have stunted his development as a progressive composer; the same progressive composer that once wished to open new paths in music when he created his first symphony. But, for all he claimed to be set in his musical ways, his compositions show a man who seemed to be constantly developing a more complex harmonic language. Works completed after 1910, such as his Prelude op. 32 No. 1 and Etudes Tableaux, began to display subtle, perhaps modernistic, changes in his technique. "The surprising broadening of his musical conscience… has allowed him to write down what, only a decade ago, would have made him …show more content…
Rachmaninoff’s use of chromaticism is clearly seen in his Prelude Op. 32 No. 1 where, 36 out of the 42 measures in the work contain chromatic alterations. Measure 1 establishes the tonic pitch C in the first two eight notes followed by a C major arpeggio. M2-37 takes through a series of chromatic alterations before returning to C major in M38. M38-42 reestablish C thorough a I - vi - v7/vi – vi – iv –ii7- I progression. (Example 1). With only 6 measures out of 42, the Prelude can hardly be said to truly be in C major but instead appears to be a chromatic work that merely begins and ends in