The keys sing and are held just right in the mouth when dizzying artistic ambition and a pact with the devil are accompanied by jealousy, murder and startling tonal play.
With Rachmaninov we find ourselves at the absolute focal point of romanticism. In the Paganini rhapsody, the composer creates a playground for the greatest piano lions. Here, the piano offers up a picturesque dance with the evil himself, and it has never been so tempting to give in to the devil's violence.
In the four pieces from Aleko , we get a rare chance to hear music from one of Rachmaninov's operas – moreover, some of the very first music that the composer wrote. In The fir tree and the palm , Kalinnikov depicts a lonely Nordic fir tree that dreams away to the burning heat of the south in longing tones.
In Études-Tableaux , Rachmaninov paints with the broad, romantic brush. The work is actually written for piano, but in the hands of the masterful composer Respighi, five of the etudes unfold to their full extent for the entire orchestra.
