Obra: Rapsodia sobre un tema de Paganini para piano y orquesta, Op.43

The demonic Dies irae motif haunts many of Rachmaninov’s compositions – but what meaning did this Catholic hymn have for the Russian composer?

Possibly the greatest pianist of the 20th century and one of its greatest composers too, Sergei Rachmaninov left a relatively small catalogue – only 45 published works – yet many of them appear frequently in concert programmes.