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[OPUS 3] Morceaux de Fantaisie pour Piano. Op.3 [i.e. Fantasy Pieces for Piano, Op.3].

RACHMANINOFF, S.

Item #2931

Folio (33 × 26 cm [13 ×10¼ in]). 7 pp. Contemporary owner’s cloth binding, gilt-lettered “V.B. Kuz’mina” on the upper cover, containing this score together with three additional compositions by Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736), and Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921). Contemporary ownership inscription “V. Kuzmina” and stamp of a Tiflis music shop on the title page. Engraver’s and printer’s imprint at foot: “Gravé et imprimé chez G.Grosse à Moscou.” Binding slightly rubbed; otherwise in very good condition.

An early Moscow edition of music from Rachmaninoff’s Op. 3, preserved in a contemporary private music volume with named ownership and evidence of circulation through the music trade in Tiflis, now Tbilisi, Georgia.

Rachmaninoff composed the five Morceaux de Fantaisie in 1892, the year of his graduation from the Moscow Conservatory. A composer, pianist, and conductor, he subsequently became one of the foremost interpreters of his own music.

The complete collection comprises Élégie, Prélude in C-sharp minor, Mélodie, Polichinelle, and Sérénade. The Prélude became an international success and remained closely associated with Rachmaninoff throughout his performing career. These early pieces helped establish his reputation and have retained a lasting place in the piano repertoire.

The binding and matching ownership inscription associate this copy with V. Kuzmina. Its preservation alongside compositions by three other European composers documents the formation of a private music collection, while the Tiflis shop stamp records a further stage in the score’s circulation beyond Moscow.

Worldcat shows copies in Newberry Library and Stanford University.

Price: $850.00