Don’t fear the Reaper!

This Sunday night on “The Lost Chord,” listen in for historic recordings of Sergei Rachmaninoff, including a newly discovered demo of his “Symphonic Dances,” with the composer playing, humming, and singing at Eugene Ormandy’s piano in 1940.

Ormandy will introduce “Isle of the Dead” and conduct a special memorial performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra, given only days after Rachmaninoff’s death in 1943.

And the pianist will make a meal out of the Ukrainian folk song, “Bublichki,” or “Bagels,” at a party in 1942.

That’s “Rach of Ages” – Sergei Rachmaninoff in rare, vintage recordings. I’ll present a random harvest, this Sunday night at 10:00 EST, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.

Some rare home movies, with a personal reminiscence by Alexander Greiner, manager of the concert and artist department at Steinway & Sons from 1928 to 1958.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=506&v=QB6-gT-dt18&feature=emb_logo

LIFE OF THE PARTY: Depending on the source, Igor Stravinsky described him as either “six-foot-six of Russian gloom” or “a six-and-a-half foot scowl.”