The final caprice of Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices for violin published in 1819 has served as a point of inspiration for many a composer and the theme for many a set of variations. Indeed, it is quite the perfect theme for such treatment, with its regular form and as a melody that possesses just enough distinctness while leaving seemingly endless room for the composer’s imagination to reshape. Paganini himself provided the first set of variations. Of the variation sets that followed in the 19th century, Johannes Brahms’s two books of variations, published as his opus 35, are the most notable, but Franz Liszt’s set as the sixth and final Étude d’exécution transcendante d’après Pagnini should not be overlooked. But, of the many that have appeared from the pens of 20th century composers, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s set of variations is unquestionably the most familiar set to any admirer of classical music.
Composed at his villa in Switzerland during the summer of 1834, the Rhapsody of a Theme of Paganini is one of the composer’s last works. It is unique among the compositions that surround it. Rachmaninoff’s pace of composition slowed considerably in his later years, but the Rhapsody was written over the course of a month and a half. It also shuns the stark and cold modern style the composer had adopted in such works as the Variations on the Theme of Corelli for the lush post-Romantic style of his early piano concertos.
Employing the full forces of the orchestra and the piano, the Rhapsody actually embodies the three-movement form of the concerto. The first ten variations mark the work’s first major section, beginning with an introduction in which fragments of the theme are heard. Rachmaninoff delays the actual presentation of the theme proper by preceding it with a variation, quite likely an imitation of the finale of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony. The seventh variation mixes with Paganini’s caprice one of the trademarks of Rachmaninoff’s major compositions—the Dies Irae chant. Some have wondered if the inclusion of the “Day of Wrath” chant from the Requiem Mass is not an allusion to the myth that Paganini sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his virtuosic talents. The eleventh variation starts what might be considered the “slow movement,” and culminates in the memorable and lovely eighteenth variation. Based on an inversion of the theme in D-flat major, this variation has become the most recognized portion of the work. Lastly, the remaining variations form the work’s “finale,” culminating in the technically challenging twenty-fourth and final variation. Joseph DuBose
Istituto Europeo di Musica. Servizio di filodiffusione del Sabato e della Domenica, Nell'Antica Idea della filodiffusione di musica classica
The music published in our channel is exclusively dedicated to divulgation purposes and not commercial.
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini in A minor for piano & orchestra, Op. 43 Philadelphia Orchestra Conducted by Leopold Stokowski Sergei Rachmaninov, piano
Classical Music | Piano Music
Sergei Rachmaninov
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Play
Recorded on 11/12/2011, uploaded on 11/12/2011
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
The final caprice of Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices for violin published in 1819 has served as a point of inspiration for many a composer and the theme for many a set of variations. Indeed, it is quite the perfect theme for such treatment, with its regular form and as a melody that possesses just enough distinctness while leaving seemingly endless room for the composer’s imagination to reshape. Paganini himself provided the first set of variations. Of the variation sets that followed in the 19th century, Johannes Brahms’s two books of variations, published as his opus 35, are the most notable, but Franz Liszt’s set as the sixth and final Étude d’exécution transcendante d’après Pagnini should not be overlooked. But, of the many that have appeared from the pens of 20th century composers, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s set of variations is unquestionably the most familiar set to any admirer of classical music.
Composed at his villa in Switzerland during the summer of 1834, the Rhapsody of a Theme of Paganini is one of the composer’s last works. It is unique among the compositions that surround it. Rachmaninoff’s pace of composition slowed considerably in his later years, but the Rhapsody was written over the course of a month and a half. It also shuns the stark and cold modern style the composer had adopted in such works as the Variations on the Theme of Corelli for the lush post-Romantic style of his early piano concertos.
Employing the full forces of the orchestra and the piano, the Rhapsody actually embodies the three-movement form of the concerto. The first ten variations mark the work’s first major section, beginning with an introduction in which fragments of the theme are heard. Rachmaninoff delays the actual presentation of the theme proper by preceding it with a variation, quite likely an imitation of the finale of Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony. The seventh variation mixes with Paganini’s caprice one of the trademarks of Rachmaninoff’s major compositions—the Dies Irae chant. Some have wondered if the inclusion of the “Day of Wrath” chant from the Requiem Mass is not an allusion to the myth that Paganini sold his soul to the Devil in exchange for his virtuosic talents. The eleventh variation starts what might be considered the “slow movement,” and culminates in the memorable and lovely eighteenth variation. Based on an inversion of the theme in D-flat major, this variation has become the most recognized portion of the work. Lastly, the remaining variations form the work’s “finale,” culminating in the technically challenging twenty-fourth and final variation. Joseph DuBose
Istituto Europeo di Musica. Servizio di filodiffusione del Sabato e della Domenica, Nell'Antica Idea della filodiffusione di musica classica
The music published in our channel is exclusively dedicated to divulgation purposes and not commercial.
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
in A minor for piano & orchestra, Op. 43
Philadelphia Orchestra
Conducted by Leopold Stokowski
Sergei Rachmaninov, piano
More music by Sergei Rachmaninov
Romance, Op. 11 No. 5
Prelude Op. 3, No. 2, in c-sharp minor
Prelude Op. 32, No. 5, in G Major
Etude-Tableau in A minor, Op. 39, No. 6
Prelude Op. 23, No. 10, in G-flat Major
Loneliness, Op. 21 No. 6
Prelude Op. 23 No. 5
Moment Musicaux Op. 16, No. 3
Piano Concerto No. 3 in d minor, Op. 30
Serenade, Op. 3
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