Sergei Rachmaninoff, Chapter 8: A Stunning Finale

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 explore Rachmaninoff’s final masterpiece -- the Symphonic Dances. Rachmaninoff reaches back to the debilitating early failure of Symphony No. 1 and brings those early musical ideas to a glorious new realization.