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In 1934, Sergei Rachmaninov turned to one of the best known violin works in the literature. Niccolo Paganini’s 24th Caprice had been set as variations by Brahms and would later be set by such composers as George Rochberg and Witold Lutoslawski. Sergei decided to set his variations in the form of a piano concerto, and it was to become one of his most beloved pieces. What attracted him to this melody is that the harmonic pattern underlying it is the Dies irae, which was his favorite tune.

The rhapsody was premiered in Baltimore by Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra with Rachmaninov at the piano. When it came to Philadelphia, it was the hottest ticket in town.

My maternal grandfather had a cousin, a clarinettist in the Philadelphia Orchestra, who was known as “Uncle Joe”. He died before I was born, so I never met him. He had the ability to take a piece apart and tell you exactly how and why it worked. It’s been said I picked up some of his gifts. Uncle Joe managed to get a ticket for my seventeen year old mother, and she was looking forward to it.

My grandmother, however, didn’t want my mother out on the streets alone at night. This was absurd, as Philadelphia was not the cesspool it is today. Back then, it was perfectly safe to take public transportation at night, and everybody did it. My mother and grandmother got into a shouting match, and she didn’t go to the concert. Uncle Joe was furious.

Two years later, Rachmaninov came through town again to play the rhapsody. By this time, Stokowski was gone, and Eugene Ormandy had come in from Minneapolis to replace him. This time my mother got a ticket and went.

She said she had never seen a set of hands as huge as Rachmaninov’s. By this time, she had practically worn the shellac off the RCA Victor 78 rpm records of the piece, and she knew every last twist and turn. I don’t know if she got Rachmaninov’s autograph that night, but she was absolutely star struck.

5:42: Sounds like something Gershwin would have written with the syncopated, fascinating rhythm. Rachmaninov jazzes up the Dies irae!
6:20: Result of a bet. “Betcha you can’t make an orchestra tuning up sound interesting!” Rachmaninov won the bet.
8:50: Features a lightning-like key change from D minor to F Major, and it’s one of my favorite moments in the piece.
10:03: Almost a solo piano piece, and it’s used as an encore at piano recitals.
14:13: One of the best known piano pieces ever written. It’s been used in commercials (Maxwell House) and movies (“Somewhere in Time”). This variation takes the function of a slow second movement, and it’s built on Paganini’s theme which is inverted – turned upside down – and transposed from A minor to D-flat Major. Catch those waterfall piano chords that start at 14:59!
19:43: Great Gershwin riff!
21:40: The Dies irae laid out in all its glory as he shows the listener his cleverness. This leads to the sneakiest, quietest ending ever written for a piano concerto. You can’t help but chuckle.

Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 34 (Rachmaninov on piano with Leopold Stokowski conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra via RCA Victor recording, 1934, cleaned up electronically, modern sound quality)