Russian Rag is one of Elena Kats-Chernin’s most famous pieces. It was arranged by her for various instrumentations and was used, among other things, as film music in the clay animation film Mary & Max. The composer herself says: “Ragtimes are such fun to write and they have a somewhat dark melancholy. Russian music often has a melancholic quality, and I was brought up on Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. I rarely write in major keys it seems and Russian Rag is no exception, however it concludes optimistically on a major chord.”