Sergei Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C-sharp minor (Russian: Прелюдия, romanized: Prelyudiya), Op.
Part of a set of five piano pieces titled Morceaux de fantaisie, it is a 62-bar prelude in ternary (ABA) form.
His cousin Alexander Siloti was instrumental in securing the Prelude's success throughout the Western world.
In the autumn of 1898, he made a tour of Western Europe and the United States, with a program that contained the Prelude.
[2] It was so popular that it was referred to as "The Prelude" and audiences would demand it as an encore at his performances, shouting "C-sharp!"