One of Rachmaninoff's most famous works. He composed it when he was only 19 years old after he graduated the Moscow Conservatory. Rachmaninoff was said to have difficult nightmares. A recurring nightmare was to be buried alive. The story goes that one night, after recurrence of this nightmare, he woke up and began work on this Prelude, which describes his dream in music.
The first part is quiet and is supposed to describe the composer's recurring anxiety attack. Then, the music becomes darker and more frantic as the composer is terrorised and cries out for help. The last part repeats the first one but, in a more powerful way, as the composer slowly grows insane, being buried underneath the earth. A "thriller" type of classical music which sends shrivels down your spine. Suggested title: "The nightmare".