The Bells is Rachmaninoff's two favorite compositions along with one that premiered where?
The Bells (symphony) The Bells (Russian: Колокола , "Kolokola"), Op. 35, is a choral symphony by Sergei Rachmaninoff, written in 1913. The words are from the poem "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe, very freely translated into Russian by the symbolist poet Konstantin Balmont. The traditional Gregorian melody "Dies Irae" is used frequently throughout the work. It was one of Rachmaninoff's two favorite compositions, along with his "All-Night Vigil", and is considered by some to be his secular choral masterpiece. Rachmaninoff called the work both a choral symphony and (unofficially) his Third Symphony shortly after writing it; however, he would later write a purely instrumental Third Symphony during his years in exile. Rachmaninoff dedicated "The Bells" to Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Alexander Spendiaryan Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiaryan (Spendiarov) (Armenian: Ալեքսանդր Ստեփանոսի Սպենդիարյան , Russian: Александр Афанасьевич Спендиаров , November 1, 1871, Kakhovka, Russian Empire – May 7, 1928, Yerevan, Armenia) was an Armenian born in Russia, music composer, conductor, founder of Armenian national symphonic music and one of the patriarchs of Armenian classical music. His compositions include the opera "Almast" (Armenian: Ալմաստ ՝ brilliant) and the "Yerevan Etudes," among others.