The night Prokofiev plays his Second Sonata in D minor to the American public, Serge Rachmaninoff is in the room. He hears Prokofiev play some of his Preludes, which are also on the program. Serge Rachmaninov arrived in New York the same year as Sergei Prokofiev, a few weeks later. Rachmaninoff sets foot in New York on November 10, 1918, the eve of the armistice! It is also the russian revolution of 1917 which pushed him to leave his country. At 44, he’s gone, as one of his friends says, with his hands as his only capital, and he resumed a career as a soloist. In America, Rachmaninoff quickly became famous. But he misses his native country. Like Prokofiev, he feels a bit uprooted. As a pianist, Rachmaninoff will find triumph in America. His exile will truly mark the beginning of his legend as a virtuoso.
In the United States, Serge Prokofiev is offered a concert commitment over several years, but he refuses. He says : “I was so sure of going home after a short time that I didn’t want to hear about a bondage that promised to drag on“. Prokofiev is disappointed with the New York public. He decides to try his luck in Chicago. He replays his first concerto and this time the audience acclaims him. The press is rather reluctant, except perhaps the Daily News of December 7 which publishes this: “Today Russia administers to us the antidote to French musical impressionism, whose delicate and seductive chiaroscuro had permeated all pre-war music.“.
