Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28 [Alf:36-W713091]

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) completed his Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28, in 1908, and it is the first of three "Dresden pieces," the others being his Symphony No. 2 and part of an opera. Although he eventually abandoned the idea, the sonata was originally inspired by Goethe's play Faust, which has inspired so many works of the 19th and 20th centuries. The premiere took place on October 17, 1908, in Moscow, with Konstantin Igumnov at the piano.