Rachmaninoff’s forced emigration to America severed his ties to his Russian roots, yet modern American life left barely a mark on his music; he remained, unmistakably, a Russian Romantic.
Rachmaninoff’s dazzling and elegant Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini is, in essence, a piano concerto. Its infectious opening melody recurs throughout, each time in a new guise. Rachmaninoff himself performed the work with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1908—a performance that proved a triumph. Pianist Alexander Melnikov is more than capable of following in his footsteps!!
