Rachmaninoff Paganini Rhapsody

Sergei Rachmaninoff declared, I try to make my music speak simply and directly that which is in my heart. Michael Davidman, who triumphed to win the American Piano Awards, plays Rachmaninoff’s ravishing Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Rachmaninoff premiered his final work for piano and orchestra with the composer as the piano soloist in 1934. Inspired by the famous 16-bar tune from Niccolò Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 for Solo Violin, the same theme also influenced works by Brahms and Franz Liszt. Rachmaninoff’s now-too-rarely-heard Youth Symphony opens the program, a piece that showed more than mere promise. The mastery of the 18-year-old composer is astonishing. Tchaikovsky concludes the programming with Symphony No. 2 in C minor, infused with Ukrainian folk melodies and colorful orchestration into his blazing “Little Russian” Symphony, his first masterpiece in the form. Sponsored by the DeHaan National Orchestra Program of the American Piano Awards. Plan Your Visit This concert is available as part of a Classic Series or Create Your Own Subscription. This concert will be preceded by Concert Comments, a pre-concert talk, beginning one hour before each performance. Linda Ronstadt Music Hall has a clear bag policy. Read more about this venue. Music Director José Luis Gómez recommends these videos: