Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Featuring

Krzysztof Urbański
Anna Vinnitskaya
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
Sergei Rachmaninoff

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Notable Performances

The premiere of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2 in Moscow in 1901 was a triumph, with Rachmaninov himself playing the solo part and his cousin Alexander Siloti conducting.

Performer Biography

Krzysztof Urbański, the conductor, was the first conductor to receive the prestigious Leonard Bernstein Award of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival in June 2015.

Performer Biography

Anna Vinnitskaya, the pianist on this recording, won her first international competition at the age of twelve and has received prestigious awards such as the Busoni Competition and the Concours Reine Elisabeth.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Rachmaninov always conceived piano music as song and maintained a distance from avant-garde movements throughout his life.

Compositional Technique

In the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Rachmaninov incorporates the 'Dies Irae' motive, which he was fond of, to bring a highly personal accent to the work.

Composition History

Rachmaninov began his Piano Concerto No. 2 after suffering a nervous breakdown and compositional crisis, which was resolved through treatment by Dr. Nikolai Dahl, a Charcot pupil and viola player.

Composition History

Dr. Nikolai Dahl, to whom Rachmaninov dedicated his Piano Concerto No. 2, hypnotized the composer daily for three months, whispering that he would write his concerto with ease and that it would be of excellent quality.