Symphonic Dances (Rachmaninoff)

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Symphonic Dances, Op. 45, is an orchestral suite in three movements completed in October 1940 by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. The composer also published a version for two pianos. It is his final major composition, and his only piece written in its entirety while living in the United States. The work allowed him to indulge in a nostalgia for the Russia he had known, as much as he had done in the Symphony No. 3, as well as to effectively sum up his lifelong fascination with ecclesiastical chants. In the first dance, he quotes the opening theme of his Symphony No. 1, itself derived from motifs characteristic of Russian church music. In the finale he quotes both the Dies irae and the chant "Blessed art thou, Lord" ("Blagosloven yesi, Gospodi") from his All-Night Vigil.

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