Rachmaninov forever!

Lyrical, extended and often passionate melodies, authentic romanticism – not everyone loves the typical Rachmaninov style: deeply rooted in the 19th-century Romantic musical tradition, full of homesickness for the Russia he had left behind. But even if his work was not pioneering, Rachmaninov was an audience favourite, and today, 150 years after his birth, he remains one.

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Rachmaninov completed the 3rd Piano Concerto in 1909 on the idyllic property belonging to his wife. Soon thereafter, he performed it as a soloist in New York during his first concert tour of the United States. Since then, the concerto appears on the top of many a list, thanks largely to its many unforgettable melodies – starting with the gripping and rightly famous opening.

"Sergei Rachmaninov's third concerto brings all emotions to the surface," said Czech pianist Lukáš Vondrácek - and he promptly showed what that meant at the final of the 2016 Queen Elisabeth Competition. Which he then won, with a performance full of energy, passion and unadulterated romance.

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In his last composition, the Symphonic Dances, the 67-year-old composer shows – without revealing his identity – that he was, after all, influenced by the music of his own period. The many rhythmic and energetic passages, the unusual and adventurous harmonies, the long, wild and brilliant final dance all reveal the influence of the complex and irregular rhythms of someone like Stravinsky, jazz and American dance music.