Name that tune!

August 6, 2022 7:13 AM

I'm wondering what the piano piece played at the four minute mark of DeGaulle (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-8x7_mUSVk) (The video is hardly inappropriate despite the warning. It's just an bio pic of the General in the early days of the second war.)
posted by BWA to Media & Arts (2 answers total)

Best answer: It is "Polka Italienne" by Sergei Rachmaninoff, arrangement by Siloti. You can see the sheet music pretty clearly at 5:13 in the video and even make out the names "Rachmaninoff" just below the title and "A. Siloti" as arranger if you use your imagination a little.

You can see the first few bars of this exact arrangement on the Wikipedia page for Polka Italienne.

The piece as originally written by Rachmaninoff was for two pianos. You can find various arrangements for one piano as well, including this more complex arrangement by Volodos and this arrangement by Gryaznov that is simpler, more like the Siloti arrangement.
posted by flug at 12:49 PM on August 6, 2022 [3 favorites]

Response by poster: Well done you! Many thanks, greatly appreciated
posted by BWA at 3:00 PM on August 6, 2022 [1 favorite]