This is the first transcription for the clarinet of Rachmaninoff’s great Cello Sonata Op 19 of 1901. Paul Harris has skilfully arranged the work and has maintained its authenticity throughout.

There are small modifications in passages that include double-stopping and other particularly string-like devices; the result is an important addition to the clarinet repertoire.

This is also the first re-setting of the piano part for many years and mistakes in former editions have been corrected.
About the Composer:
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor, born on April 1, 1873, in Semyonovo, Russia, and he passed away on March 28, 1943, in Beverly Hills, California, USA.

He is widely regarded as one of the finest pianists of his day and as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music.

Rachmaninov’s music is known for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness, dense contrapuntal textures, and rich orchestral colors. His compositional output prominently features the piano, and he used his skills as a performer to explore the expressive and technical possibilities of the instrument.

His early life was marked by musical influences from his family and he began learning the piano at the age of four. He studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory, graduating in 1892 with several compositions already to his name.

However, the disastrous premiere of his Symphony No. 1 in 1897 led to a four-year depression during which he composed little until he completed his well-received Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901.

After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninov left Russia permanently, settling in New York in 1918. He spent most of his time touring as a pianist through the US and Europe, and from 1932 onwards, he spent his summers at his villa in Switzerland.

His compositional output decreased significantly after leaving Russia, completing just six works.

Rachmaninov’s health declined by 1942, leading him to move to Beverly Hills, where he died from melanoma in 1943.

Despite the challenges he faced, his legacy as a leading piano virtuoso and a major composer of the 20th century endures, with works such as the “Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18,” “Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30,” “Preludes,” “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” and “Symphonic Dances” remaining popular and frequently performed.
About the arranger:
Paul Harris studied the clarinet at the Royal Academy of Music with Professor John Davies, winning the August Manns Prize for outstanding playing; composition with Timothy Baxter, and conducting with Maurice Miles. He then went on to study music education at the University of London where he was a pupil of Professor Keith Swanwick.

He now has over six hundred publications to his name; among them The Music Teacher’s Companion, which won the UK Music Industry Award for Best New Book, the Improve Your Scales!, Improve Your Practice!, Improve Your Aural! and Improve Your Sight-Reading! series (published by Faber Music), through which he has assisted thousands of young players worldwide to develop these vital musical skills.

He is a gifted composer who writes appealing music for players of all abilities and ages and has written many other works ranging from innumerable short education pieces to seven concertos, a ballet and a children’s opera.

Paul writes regularly for many of the major international music magazines, including Music Teacher, BBC Music Magazine, the ABRSM’s Libretto, and the American ICA Journal.

He is in great demand as a workshop and seminar leader and adjudicator in the UK, the USA and the Far East, Australia and New Zealand. Paul has also undertaken research into specialist music education for the highly talented (the clarinet prodigy Julian Bliss number among his pupils), an interest that has taken him to many musical institutions around the world.

He is an examiner and adjudicator and is frequently asked to take part in national events including the Chamber Music for Schools Competition, Music for Youth, the BBC Young Musician of the Year and he is a regular judge for Classic FM’s teacher of the Year.

He has also recently co-authored (with Anthony Meredith) major new biographies of the British composer Sir Malcolm Arnold (Malcolm Arnold: Rogue Genius), the late Master of The Queen’s Music, Malcolm Williamson (Malcolm Williamson – A Mischievous Muse) and Sir Richard Rodney Bennett.

Paul’s innovative teaching techniques, especially his concept of Simultaneous Learning, have found support all over the world and combine thoroughness, imagination and practicality; the defining qualities of his outstandingly successful work.