Sergei Rachmaninoff, Chapter 6: Triumph And R...

When the urge to compose finally struck again, Rachmaninoff took a little theme by Nicolo Paganini and turned it into a tour de force for the piano and orchestra, called Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. In this final episode of the Great Composers series on Rachmaninoff, we also ...  Show more

After four long years living outside of Russia due to political instability, Rachmaninoff was finally able to bring his family home. He returned with a determination to write a Russian sacred piece that would be a lasting contribution to the orthodox repertoire. The composer ulti ...  Show more

Rachmaninoff's music is often described as many different kinds of chocolate cake, but this piece, if it's chocolatey at all, would be that 85% dark chocolate - more bitter than sweet. It might be Rachmaninoff's greatest orchestral work, and one that is inextricably linked to ...

Rachmaninoff remains extremely popular as a composer. But at the same time, a kind of condescending attitude continues to linger about Rachmaninoff's music. People say it sounds like movie music, it's too sentimental, etc. etc. In fact, Rachmaninoff's music is as well put toge ...

Rachmaninov's 2nd Piano Concerto - famously featured in David Lean's film "Brief Encounter" - is one of the world's most popular pieces of classical music. Some of its fans describe the way in which it has touched and shaped their lives. Featuring a pianist from Taiwan whose memo ...  Show more

The Gramophone Award-winning pianist Kirill Gerstein has recorded Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Kirill Petrenko: it forms part of a twinned release, 'Rachmaninoff 150', from Platoon. James Jolly met up with Gerstein a couple of months ag ...  Show more