It’s hard to believe that someone who has been described as a “Six and a half foot tall scowl” could have written something so gorgeous. I think I can safely say that Sergei Rachmaninoff’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” is among the most recognized pieces of classical music in the concert repertoire today, and in particular, the 18th variation is one of the most beautiful melodies that I myself am aware of. It alone has been used in film and television frequently since it was written in 1934. Now, Rachmaninoff was not the first composer to write up a series of variations on a work by Paganini, nor was he the first to write something based on the 24th Caprice by Paganini. Most notably, Brahms was another composer to write a series of variations on the theme of the 24th Caprice by Paganini.

In 1934, it was a widely held public belief that as a composer, Rachmaninoff was on his way out. As a performer, he was a virtuoso pianist and the premiere interpreter of his own works as you might expect, and he was still very active in the concert performance arena. This was primarily how he earned a living, since after he fled Russia in 1917, he hadn’t written anything that was particularly successful. The first original work he wrote after leaving Russia was the Fourth Piano Concerto, but at the time it wasn’t well received. He was also quite active in recording as well, but the beautifully romantic style which made him famous was losing ground to the more modern ideals that the aptly named “modernism” was perpetrating at the time.

Regardless of the public’s opinion, and Rachmaninoff’s own doubts in his abilities as a composer, in the summer of 1934 he was inspired to write a work based on the very simple melody and variations laid out in Paganini’s 24th and final Caprice. He worked day and night on the composition over the summer of that year, and on November 7th, the completed work had its premiere in Baltimore, Maryland. It was performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Leopold Stokowski with Rachmaninoff himself playing the piano. The work is structured like a piano concerto, but it is not held strictly to that construct. If you look at the variations and listen to the way the melodies change as the piece goes along, you can hear where the delineation of the traditional three movements would be had they been written in. As it stands, it flows from beginning to end as one long work, and in addition to the theme there is another melody woven into the texture, mostly in the middle six variations, known as “Dies Irae”. Rachmaninoff was no stranger to the melody, since he had quoted it extensively in many of his compositions over the years. It figures quite prominently in his work, “Isle of The Dead”, and it’s probably the most appropriate use of the theme since “Dies Irae” deals with the ideas of Fate and Death, so also does “Isle of The Dead” as its title would indicate. We’re not here to talk about that work though, so back to the Rhapsody…

The piece begins with a quick Introduction before the Theme itself is introduced, and strangely enough, or perhaps appropriately enough, the Theme is initially presented by the strings while the piano carries a selection of notes to fill in the gaps. Each variation presents something different, but they each fit together as one cohesive work. The 18th variation is immediately preceded by a series of rather dark variations, and once the first few bars of the 18th break into the gloom, it’s as if the sun has risen, thus ending a bleak night. The work continues up to the very difficult 24th variation. Rachmaninoff wrote this portion to be so technically involved that even he had doubts in his ability to perform it. A friend suggested to him that he should try taking a small glass of Creme de Menthe before playing the 24th, and Rachmaninoff took the advice of his friend to great success. He even took to calling the 24th variation the, “Creme de Menthe Variation”.

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini continues to delight audiences around the world, and it is among my favorite classical compositions. Below is a very good interpretation that is introduced and performed by Stephen Hough. Enjoy!