For Immediate Release
Corvallis-OSU Symphony performs all-Rachmaninoff program Feb. 25
By Zachary C. Person
Source: Marlan Carlson
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Corvallis-OSU Symphony under the direction of Maestro Marlan Carlson performs an all-Rachmaninoff program at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 25 in the Austin Auditorium at The LaSells Stewart Center, 875 SW 26th St., Corvallis.
The concert features two works by Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff: “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” Op. 43 for piano and orchestra featuring student soloist Christopher Yoon, and the Symphony No. 1 in D-minor, Op. 13.
The “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” Op. 43, composed in the summer of 1934, is one of only six works Rachmaninoff composed after fleeing Russia in 1917 as a result of the revolution in February of that year. At the time of its composition, Rachmaninoff had largely abandoned writing music in order to pursue his career as a virtuoso piano soloist in order to provide support and stability to his family after losing nearly everything as a result of their self-imposed exile from Russia.
His Op. 43 derives its main theme from the 24th and final caprice for solo violin by Niccolo Paganini. Over a span of 24 minutes, Rachmaninoff spins Paganini’s famous theme through 24 increasingly virtuosic variations in a variety of keys and tempi.
Rachmaninoff wrote his first symphony in 1895 at the youthful age of 22, a few short years after graduating from the Moscow Conservatory of Music. Despite his youth, Rachmaninoff was already one of the most respected musicians in Russia; his first piano concerto had already received its premiere while he was still a student, and Rachmaninoff had received a prestigious gold medal in composition upon graduation from the conservatory. The premiere of the symphony in 1897 was an unmitigated disaster; when Rachmaninoff later fled to the west, he left the score for his first symphony behind, and only acknowledge its existence by naming his next symphony as his second. Op. 43 remained unperformed and almost entirely unknown for decades, though following its American premiere in 1948 by the Philadelphia Orchestra it has since established itself as a work of importance worthy of inclusion in the standard symphonic repertory.
Tickets are $22 to $32 in advance or $25 to $35 at the door. Tickets are available online at www.cosusymphony.org. Up to three K-8 students accompanied by a ticketed adult, and all high school and college students with ID, may be given free general admission tickets at the door starting one hour prior to the concert, subject to availability.
Corvallis Arts for All discounts apply with a valid SNAP card and are available one hour prior to performance. For accommodations relating to a disability please call 541-286-5580, preferably one week in advance.
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