Lucerne Festival Continues Rachmaninoff Cycle

19 AUG 2025: Join Chailly, Lucerne Festival Orchestra, and pianist Beatrice Rana for a concert featuring rare and powerful works by Rachmaninoff.

The Lucerne Festival Orchestra and Riccardo Chailly continue their journey into Rachmaninoff’s world with The Rock, Op. 7 – an early and rarely performed work that already reveals the depth of his musical imagination.

In his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, Rachmaninoff counterposes his own piano virtuosity against the brilliance of the legendary violinist Paganini. “But it is not a ‘concerto’!” Rachmaninoff emphasised. Approaching a theme with piano and orchestra beyond the conventions of a piano concerto proved to be a creative breakthrough: spirited, tender, passionate, wistful, mystical, and intensely dramatic. The piece will be performed by the exceptional pianist Beatrice Rana, renowned worldwide for her electrifying playing.

To conclude the evening, Chailly and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra present Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13 – a bold, dramatic work from the composer’s youth. Marked by the biblical epigraph “Vengeance is mine; I will repay, says the Lord,” it reflects Rachmaninoff’s fascination with fate, struggle, and inner turmoil. A richly layered concert evening awaits.

Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Riccardo Chailly, conductor
Beatrice Rana, piano

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
The Rock, Op. 7
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13

Live on ARTE Concert
August 19, 2025 | 19:30
Concert Hall, KKL Lucerne

A 4K HDR Production of Accentus Music
In Coproduction with Arte G.E.I.E., SRG & SRF