Rachmaninoff, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini

 
Born into a wealthy family, Sergei Rachmaninoff did not look sympathetically at the revolutionary outbreaks of the early century that would later lead to the outbreak of the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. So as soon as the historical change began, he went on a tour of the Scandinavian countries. Once the tour was over, he decided to go to North America with his wife Natalia in a fragile boat that set them down on Long Island in the first days of November 1918. It was not his first visit to America, but this time he would stay there forever.

Between the US and Europe
The successes of the previous visit allowed him to get convenient access the American musical circuits.  He toured the country extensively in exhausting tours as a virtuoso piano player, although this forced him to neglect his career as a composer. But at the same time, the economic well-being achieved in North America provided him to divide his life and his time between the United States and Europe. Between the years 1932 and 1939, he was able to travel every summer to the small village he had built in Switzerland, near Lake Lucerne, in the company of Natalia.

In Villa Senar
The Swiss refuge was called Villa Senar, a name formed by the first two letters of his name, Natalia's own, and the initial of her surname. In this house, Russian was spoken, Russian food was cooked by Russian servants and immigrants and friends from Russia were welcome – the pianist Vladimir Horowitz among them. If there was enough peace, Sergei would try to compose.

It was in the comfort of this home, between July and August 1934, that Sergei Rachmaninoff composed one of his most acclaimed works, Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini, premiered to great success by the Philadelphia Orchestra in Baltimore, on November 7 of that year, with the author at the piano under the leadership of Leopold Stokowski.

"Creme de Menthe" Variations

The work comprises twenty-four variations on Caprice N° 24 for solo violin by Niccolo Paganini. It is clear that Sergei was not the inventor of the idea, as the Caprice composed by the violinist who had a pact with the devil has inspired a wide and diverse number of composers including not only Brahms, Liszt or Lutoslawski but also Benny Goodman.

Although the work is executed in one go, it can be divided into three sections corresponding to the three movements of a concert: up to variation 10 they make up a first movement; from 11 to 18, a second slow movement; and the rest the final movement. Due to great technical difficulties, the piece forced Rachmaninoff to drink a glass of creme de menthe prior to going on stage on opening day in order to calm his nerves, a protocol he followed every time he had to perform the piece that he himself later dubbed "creme de menthe variations".

Variation 18 (14:50) is by far the best known. Slow and surprisingly romantic in character, it is often featured as a standalone piece in various compilations of classical music. Its use in Hollywood movies and various popular songs has also contributed to the popularity of the piece and the subsequent fame of Sergei Rachmaninoff.

The rendition is by the Russian pianist born in 1991 Daniil Trifonov, accompanied by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Zubin Mehta.