Spanning 45 years of the composer’s life, Rachmaninov’s piano music has become a staple of the repertoire. His first set of Preludes, Op. 23 begins a series continued in the thirteen Preludes, Op. 32, completed in 1910, that makes use of all major and minor keys, with the exception of C sharp minor, a key used in the famous Prelude, Op. 3, No. 2. This dramatic and melancholy piece, with its ominous descending chords leading to one of Rachmaninov’s most memorable tunes, rapidly became one of his most famous compositions. It is even more well-known today through its use in numerous arrangements, in music-hall sketches and in the film Shine.