Rachmaninov transcribed Lilacs (No. 5 from Op. 21; 1902) for piano in 1914, and around 1922 decided also to arrange Daisies, from his Six Poems for Voice and Piano. The original text comes from Igor Severyanin and deals with the beauties of nature. Unlike his Lilacs arrangement, this one contains mostly just the accompaniment to the original song, owing to the piano's rather independent role, which can almost be viewed as a composition apart from the vocal work. Still, it does contain a few snippets from the vocal line.

The piece begins delicately and presents a freshness associated with springtime or nature. But there is a wistful quality also in the music, and the trills at the end might almost suggest a transition from winter to spring, the snow still melting, the days not yet long. The vocal line, mostly absent here, will probably seem brighter to most listeners. The piano theme is attractive and in Rachmaninov's typical style, though there is a little less richness of texture and a rather lean sound overall.

While the date of this transcription is not certain, some sources claiming it may have come as late as 1924, its publication in 1940 is rather more definite.

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Rachmaninov transcribed Lilacs (No. 5 from Op. 21; 1902) for piano in 1914, and around 1922 decided also to arrange Daisies, from his Six Poems for Voice and Piano. The original text comes from Igor Severyanin and deals with the beauties of nature. Unlike his Lilacs arrangement, this one contains mostly just the accompaniment to the original song, owing to the piano's rather independent role, which can almost be viewed as a composition apart from the vocal work. Still, it does contain a few snippets from the vocal line.

The piece begins delicately and presents a freshness associated with springtime or nature. But there is a wistful quality also in the music, and the trills at the end might almost suggest a transition from winter to spring, the snow still melting, the days not yet long. The vocal line, mostly absent here, will probably seem brighter to most listeners. The piano theme is attractive and in Rachmaninov's typical style, though there is a little less richness of texture and a rather lean sound overall.

While the date of this transcription is not certain, some sources claiming it may have come as late as 1924, its publication in 1940 is rather more definite.

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Until Sergey Rachmaninov left Russia after the Revolution in 1917, he was a prolific songwriter. Once in the West, Rachmaninov had to concentrate on piano playing to make a living. Aside from the Three Russian Songs for Chorus of 1926, these beautiful and romantic songs are the last of his total of 85. The Six Poems, Op. 38, show that when this unfortunate cessation happened, Rachmaninov was at the top of his form as a vocal composer. The songs achieve a unique synthesis of his powerful style of keyboard writing and sensitive, informed composition technique for voice. Moreover, Rachmaninov's taste in poetry was rapidly improving, thanks to the intervention of an idolizing fan. Marietta Shaginian, age 25 and a poetess, started writing to the composer in 1912, signing her letters simply "Re." Their correspondence became open and intense, two creative artists baring their creative souls. Soon, Shaginian felt able to criticize Rachmaninov's selection of poems to set as songs, telling the composer he relied too much on works of deceased poets and even then often used weaker ones. Shaginian introduced him to the works of the living poets of the Symbolist school of poetry. This was a movement particularly strong in France and Russia, and oddly influenced by American Edgar Allan Poe. Their poems tended to use objects as triggers for emotional reminiscence.

Rachmaninov responded by making his use of harmonies and tonality more subtle and colorful, adding a layer of chord-based symbolism. The first poem, At night in my garden (Noch'yu v sadu u menya), has delicate piano figures to suggest the warm, sad night of Alexander Blok's translation of a poem by the Armenian Avetik Isaakian. To Her (K Ney) has a text by Byely. Rich harmonies reminiscent of Isle of the Dead depict the poem's final realization that love is lost. Daisies (Margaritki) by Severyanin is one of the composer's best-known songs, with a sparkling pianistic accompaniment. The Pied-Piper is a possible title for Bryusov's poem Krysolov, which literally means "rat catcher." This has an infectious rhythm and crisp, staccato piano playing. There is an improvisatory quality to the fifth song, a setting of a poem by Sologub. Its title, Son, is probably best translated as "Sleep," although sometimes "Dream" is seen. It is soft-textured with a lulling, rippling accompaniment. Finally comes a poem called Au! by Konstantin Balmont. Sometimes called "The Quest," the Russian title is simply a cry of pain that bursts out in the last line when, again, one's love cannot be found. The outburst brings out Rachmaninov's powerful keyboard idiom, which asks a lot of the singer to match it on the concert platform

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