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Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Classical Music Milestone - November 7

Rachmaninoff is soloist in the premiere of his own Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43.


This day, Nov 7 (1934),   Sergei Rachmaninoff is soloist in his famous Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.  It was written for piano and orchestra, first premiered in Baltimore, Maryland.  He composed the music from a theme of Niccolo Paganini, a famous virtuoso violinist and composer.




Sergei (Vasilievich) Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor.  "Sergei Rachmaninoff" was the spelling the composer himself used while living in the West throughout the later half of his life. However, alternative transliterations of his name include Sergey or Serge, and Rachmaninov, Rachmaninow, Rakhmaninov or Rakhmaninoff.  The beautiful and haunting  Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Variation 18, has been much popularized in the movie  "Somewhere in Time" starring Jane Seymour and Christopher Reeve, based on the book "Bid Time Return" by author and screenwriter Richard Matheson, who passed away in June, 2013.

Movement is andante cantabile, a tempo vivace.






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