Sonata No. 2, Op. 36

The original version of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Sonata, Op. 36, was completed in 1913 and published by Edition A. Gutheil (A 9695 G); the composer performed it in Moscow in December 1913 and included it in his concert repertoire until he left Russia in 1917. About 1930 he is reported as expressing dissatisfaction with his original setting of the work; a new edition "revised and modified by the composer", was duly published in 1931 (A 10447 G) and the original version was apparently then withdrawn. Increasing interest and demand in the orignal version in recent years has led to the decision to issue both versions in an authentic reprint based solely on the plates of the Gutheil publications. - Publisher's note.