Sergei Rachmaninoff may have been born on April 1, but he was nobody’s fool. Frequently derided by critics, he knew just what the public wanted – good tunes and heart-on-the-sleeve emotion! His Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 3, the “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” the Symphony No. 2, the “Vocalise,” and more solo piano works than I care to list, including the Prelude in C-sharp minor – so ubiquitous the composer himself came to hate it – have never been out of the active repertoire.

Rachmaninoff has been my focus on “The Lost Chord” several times over the years – I devoted a show to his friendship with Nikolai Medtner and another to his achievements as a recitalist – but the program most easily referenced is the one that aired this past Sunday on WWFM – The Classical Network.

For Rachmaninoff’s 150th birthday, enjoy an hour of vintage recordings of his music, including one of the composer playing his own “Symphonic Dances,” on the piano of Eugene Ormandy, in 1940. Also, Ormandy introduces – and conducts – the Philadelphia Orchestra in a memorial performance of “Isle of the Dead,” given only days after Rachmaninoff’s death in 1943. The hour concludes with a literal party piece, as Rachmaninoff tosses off the folk song “Bublichki,” or “Bagels,” in 1942.

The recordings are taken from a 3-CD boxed set on the Marston Records label. Get a piece of the Rach! Enjoy the webcast by following the link and clicking on “listen.”

https://www.wwfm.org/show/the-lost-chord-with-ross-amico/2023-03-24/the-lost-chord-march-26-rach-of-ages

Happy 150, Sergei Rachmaninoff!