I am excited to present to you the fourth piece from Sergei Rachmaninoff to appear so far in the music library project – Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini. I was a relative latecomer to appreciating Rachmaninoff, but I now consider him one of my favourite classical music composers. I first heard of Rachmaninoff when academy award winner Geoffrey Rush wowed audiences playing pianist David Helfgott in the Australian movie Shine which appeared in my Friday’s Finest feature back in 2021.
Rhapsody is one of those timeless compositions that continues to captivate audiences with its emotional depth and technical brilliance. There are more versions of it than you can spoke a stick at (made for piano and orchestra), but the version I like most is this piano version (at the end of this post) which starts off with unspecified (at least to my ears) gorgeous melody then at 1:32 launches into the slow 18th variation which is by far the best known, and it is often included on classical music compilations without the rest of the work.
The inception of the Rhapsody took place in the summer of 1934, during Rachmaninoff’s retreat at his summer home in Switzerland (according to the score, from 3 July to 18 August 1934). The idea of reimagining Paganini’s iconic theme had long fascinated him, offering a perfect canvas to showcase his skills both as a composer and a pianist. The project was ambitious; Paganini’s Caprice No. 24 is known for its challenging technical demands, but Rachmaninoff saw beyond this to the thematic and emotional possibilities it held.
Rachmaninoff himself, a noted performer of his own works, played the piano part at the piece’s premiere on 7 November 1934, at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, Maryland, with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Leopold Stokowski (see image at top).
References:
1. Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
Sweet, very peaceful to me. Video stunning.
I don’t think I watched the video as I heard it. Will give it a go.
Really cool
This incredibly romantic piece was also used for the movie “Somewhere In Time”. I had just experienced a personal turning point in my life the first time I watched the movie. There was one incredibly heartbreaking scene accompanied by this music and I cried like never before. I was inconsolable. Beauty and heartache often go hand in hand, especially when coupled with a glorious piece such as this.
Hi Nancy, I should have mentioned ‘Somewhere in Time’ since nearly every other comment in the video mentioned it.
I haven’t seen it. It has very solid audience feedback with 7.2 on IMDB.
I really liked Reeve in his dramatic secondary part in ‘Remains of the Day’. Speaking of romance – that movie is the bee’s knees as far as romance and chemistry between the protagonists go. I’ll send my favourite clip from it below. Have you seen it?
Based on your moving recollection of ‘Somewhere in Time’, I do hope I get to see it.
Thanks for your poignant comments about this beautiful piece.
Remains Of The Day is a glorious piece. The direction and action are among the best and the storyline is compelling. It is a far better movie than Somewhere In Time, which I have seen since the first time it tore me apart and I did not have the same reaction. Remains Of The Day never fails to move me. The same is true for the remake of Imitation Of Life (1959) starring Lana Turner. I’ve often asked myself what these movies would be like without their amazing soundtracks; after all, many of the classic films do not have the sweeping majestic music that others do and they are still incredible films. Can you imagine watching The Godfather, Dr. Zhivago or The Great Escape without music? I can’t! Music just brings everything to a higher level and our enjoyment is heightened.
PS – I did a fair amount of blogging on the now defunct Rhythm Section but all my posts are on my current site, including everything I wrote for the category At The Movies. You might enjoy scrolling through some day.
Thanks, Matt
I don’t have enough superlatives for Remains of the Day. Like you I’m gobsmacked by it. I have it sitting at No 3 on my all time favourites. It’s a masterpiece of understated emotion. You are right about the sublime score in this as well as those other films you mentioned. The music and movie go hand in hand. I’ll take a look at your rhythm section. Thanks.
You know the stranger thing about us having this conversation is my blogger friend in Sharon had just written an article about Hampstead Heath which is a gorgeous green space situated in north London close to where she lives. During her time there she mentioned how she saw Emma Thompson: ‘The funny thing was we both kind of looked at each other at the same time. She was pushing a pushchair at the time (her baby daughter I’m assuming)! Happy days!!!’. I would have thought I’d gone to heaven right there. lol
“Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” is a gorgeous masterpiece, and my second-favorite classical piece after Rachmaninoff’s “Symphony No. 2 in E minor”. If you don’t mind me sharing, I wrote about it four years ago: https://eclecticmusiclover.com/2020/04/19/song-of-the-day-challenge-day-5-sergei-rachmaninoff-rhapsody-on-a-theme-of-paganini/
Thank you for sharing a link to your wonderful article which I just finished reading. Great job.
You’re welcome, and glad you liked it!