Description
Rachmaninoff left Russia in 1917 during the Bolshevik revolution with his family, with only a few suitcases and a small amount of money. He made it to America where, in his exile, he sought to make a living as a concert pianist. Natalia Rachmaninoff, herself a skilled pianist, would play the piano duet version of Polka Italienne with her husband as an encore and at parties, to the point that Sergei joked “this is the only thing Natashenka knows!”
The excellent Russian piano virtuoso Vyacheslav Gryaznov arranged the work for solo piano, gaining huge popularity worldwide for its creativity and virtuosity. We immediately saw the possibilities of transcribing this version across four guitars, adding a wonderfully energetic dance to our programme. We would like to thank Vyacheslav Gryaznov for your kind permission in allowing us to transcribe his excellent arrangement.
