Concerts with works by

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Festival Élite 2025 – Duo Ermitage

Classical Hour Joana Mallwitz Francesco Piemontesi Sergei Rachmaninoff

In 1909, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) traveled on his first US tour. He brought along a newly written piece—Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. He was the soloist at the premiere in New York, not knowing that he would emigrate to the US nine years later after the Russian Revolution.Piano Concerto No. 3 opens with a simple, melancholic melody, but during the next 45 minutes, the soloist must master some of the most spectacular music ever written for the piano. Few pianists tried it in the first years, but it gradually became more popular and performed.

Guitar Alumni Concert

Be transported by the extraordinary sounds of the guitar with a free evening of unique arrangements of timeless classical works, performed by celebrated alumni from Guildhall School.

Joana Mallwitz Francesco Piemontesi Sergei Rachmaninoff Maurice Ravel

In 1909, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) traveled on his first US tour. He brought along a newly written piece—Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. He was the soloist at the premiere in New York, not knowing that he would emigrate to the US nine years later after the Russian Revolution.Piano Concerto No. 3 opens with a simple, melancholic melody, but during the next 45 minutes, the soloist must master some of the most spectacular music ever written for the piano. Few pianists tried it in the first years, but it gradually became more popular and performed. “I cannot imagine a more lively, problematic, human, artistically poignant and, in the best sense, dramatic figure … Mathis placed himself at the service of the powerful machinery of state and church and was apparently able to resist the pressures of the institutions.” These are the words Paul Hindemith (1895-1963) used to describe the Renaissance painter Matthias Grünewald, who inspired him to write a symphony and an opera with the title Mathis der Maler. The symphony is based on Grünewald’s most famous artwork, the Isenheim Altarpiece.Both artists bore witness to great upheavals - Grünewald lived through the German Peasants’ War in the 1520s, Hindemith during the rise of Nazism. Hindemith’s radical musical style, his provocative statements, and his wife’s Jewish background put him in a gradually more difficult position.In line with social developments, Hindemith in Mathis der Maler took a step in a more traditional direction, with elements of German folk tunes and music that may send the mind to Brahms and Wagner. The symphony was a great success with the public at its premiere in Berlin in 1934. ”Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be faintly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees (...) an immense hall peopled with a whirling crowd. The scene is gradually illuminated. The light of the chandeliers bursts forth (...) in an imperial court, about 1855.”This is the introduction Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) wrote in the sheet music for La Valse. Already in 1906, he started on a tribute to Vienna, the waltz, and the “waltz king” Johann Strauss Jr.. La Valse premiered in Paris in the fall of 1920 as a standalone orchestral work. The recently ended World War I ended Vienna as the capital of a great empire. In Ravel, the waltz undergoes an extreme transformation that ends in a breakdown. Many in the audience experienced the play as a description of the demise of pre-war culture.

Rachmaninoff’s stroke of genius

Rachmaninoff’s stroke of genius

Benjamin Kruithof, violoncello

Each year, the European Concert Hall Organisation selects six Rising Stars and sends them on a journey through its member concert halls. The young stars of 2024/25 also include cellist Benjamin Kruithof, who thanks to his »classy, cantabile and lovely tone« (bachtrack.com) emerged as the winner of the George Enescu Cello Competition in 2022. He can wholeheartedly display this beautiful tone at the Elbphilharmonie. After all, the programme culminates in the almost infinite melodies of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s cello sonata. However, first of all, Kruithof gives the evening a poetic start with the »Trois Pièces« by Nadia Boulanger and then presents his Rising Star commissioned work by British composer Sally Beamish. It continues with music by Benjamin Britten, who always knew how to produce a superb balance of modernity and sensuality in his works. In the five movements of his cello sonata, a real kaleidoscope of moods and textures evolves in which the melodic flair of the cello already appears several times. Rachmaninoff propelled this unrivalled ability to span the broadest arcs in his large-scale sonata to a glittering climax and lets the cello paint sensually over the edge – a fitting end!

Klangwucht – Rachmaninow & Marsalis

Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto, known for its emotional depth and technical demands, is tackled by the award-winning 20-year-old pianist Yunchan Lim. Following this, jazz star Wynton Marsalis demonstrates his creative power as a composer within a classical music setting.

Klangwucht - Rachmaninow & Marsalis + Livestream

Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto, known for its emotional depth and technical demands, is tackled by the award-winning 20-year-old pianist Yunchan Lim. Following this, jazz star Wynton Marsalis demonstrates his creative power as a composer within a classical music setting.

Discover Talent: Roman Fediurko / Piano Recital

The name Roman Fediurko is one to remember: at the beginning of 2023, the then 18-year-old won first prize and the audience prize at the Düsseldorf Robert Schumann Competition – by no means his first victory at a prestigious competition. His nuanced playing and interpretative maturity, which is far ahead of his age, were particularly impressive. The young Ukrainian has been studying with Milana Chernyavska in Graz since 2021 – as has his younger brother Oleksandr, with whom he presents captivating four-hand arrangements of works that are not typical for the piano, such as Astor Piazzolla’s Libertango, on a CD and in concert. This stylistic diversity and chamber music flair also characterise Roman Fediurko’s performance in »Discover Talent«: alongside piano classics such as works by Mozart, Rachmaninov, Chopin and Beethoven, he presents preludes by his compatriot Lewko Rewutzkyi – a tribute to the rich culture of his war-torn homeland.

Blüthner Trio Leipzig

My Bloody Valentine

From a recital by an Aphrodite on the eve of Valentine’s Day, one might expect a classic ode to romantic love, but singer Aphrodite Patoulidou has something else in mind.

Junge Symphoniker Hamburg / Yoichiro Chiba / Daniel Kirchmann

The Junge Symphoniker Hamburg, conducted by Daniel Kirchmann, will be performing two works by great composers in their spring concert programme: the orchestra will begin the concert with an elegant yet fateful work by Ludwig van Beethoven: his Third Piano Concerto is in C minor, the same key as the Fifth Symphony, which gave the work a huge boost in popularity as an early example of the »heroic phase« of the titan of Viennese classical music. The solo part will be performed by the young Japanese pianist Yoichiro Chiba, who recently won third place in the Possehl Music Competition at the Lübeck Musikhochschule. A real triumph after great disappointment was the Second Symphony for Sergei Rachmaninov, which is performed in the second part of the concert: with this highly emotional work, the composer finally overcame a creative crisis that had overtaken him after the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony. In the Second, he wanted to do everything better - and did so successfully: the symphony remains one of Rachmaninov’s most popular works to this day. Composed shortly after the famous Second Piano Concerto, it shares its rapturous tone and gripping melody.

Tchaikovsky’s Romeo and Juliet, Rachmaninoff and Franck

The Sunday Morning Concert brings you wonderful and much-loved compositions, performed by top musicians from the Netherlands and abroad. Enjoy the most beautiful music in the morning! You can make your Sunday complete by enjoying a delicious post-concert lunch in restaurant LIER.The Royal Concertgebouw is one of the best concert halls in the world, famous for its exceptional acoustics and varied programme. Attend a concert and have an experience you will never forget. Come and enjoy inspiring music in the beautiful surroundings of the Main Hall or the intimate Recital Hall.

Symphonic Dances

Juraj Valčuha presents Rachmaninoff’s final masterpiece, the electrifying Symphonic Dances. The horns throw down a challenge, the piano strides forward, and Tchaikovsky launches his First Piano Concerto with a tune you’ll never forget. This is music that demands total commitment, so it’s perfect for Boris Giltburg, the Moscow-born piano virtuoso whom BBC Music Magazine described as ‘characterful, sensitive and technically dazzling’. But even the most brilliant jewel needs the right setting, and conductor Juraj Valčuha pairs it with showpieces by two of Tchaikovsky’s most devoted fans: Glazunov’s elegant whirl around the ballrooms of St Petersburg, and Rachmaninoff’s final masterpiece, the electrifying Symphonic Dances.

Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Alexej Gerassimez / Thomas Guggeis

Dance, language and fantastic images: the three orchestral works on this concert programme by the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra are bursting with creative energy. Ravel wrote »Daphnis et Chloé« as ballet music for Diaghilev’s famous »Ballets russes«. In fact, the composition first celebrated its great success as suites on the concert stage, where its genius is revealed to its full advantage. Ravel had a »great musical fresco painting« in mind for the ancient love story between the two outcast infants, »less concerned with the ancient than with remaining true to the Greece of my dreams«. He pours the rising sun, the song of the nymph and an ecstatic final frenzy into an early 20th century painting in a brilliant blaze of colour.

Symphoniker Hamburg / Alexander Gavrylyuk / Harry Ogg

Rachmaninov had been living with his wife on Lake Lucerne in his newly built villa »Senar« (Sergei & Natalia Rachmaninov) for four years when he composed his Rhapsody on a theme by Paganini in 1934. The theme comes from the last of the 24 Caprices for solo violin, which are so technically tricky that they contributed significantly to Paganini’s reputation as the devil’s violinist. The curious list of composers who were inspired by Paganini’s theme ranges from Brahms and Liszt to Szymanowski, Blacher, Lutosławski and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Rachmaninov uses the theme as the starting material for a series of 24 variations with an introduction and coda, ingeniously combining the structure of the work with that of a three-movement concerto. Adaptations of the opulent 18th variation (in the rare key of D flat major) can be found in films as well as pop songs and video games. In the seventh variation, Rachmaninov also introduces the »Dies irae« – a cross-reference that appears like a signature in many of his works and also recurs at the end of the variations.

Robertson & Shaham

Playing violin sounds like fingernails scratching on a chalkboard. That’s how Gil Shaham’s mother reacted to his wish to learn the instrument. But he won out, and later even won a Grammy. What he says about Korngold’s magnificent violin concerto: »It takes a listener on a journey of about half an hour, and at the end, you’re transformed. You feel like you’ve read a great novel or seen a great movie.«

Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra / Alexej Gerassimez / Thomas Guggeis

Dance, language and fantastic images: the three orchestral works on this concert programme by the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra are bursting with creative energy. Ravel wrote »Daphnis et Chloé« as ballet music for Diaghilev’s famous »Ballets russes«. In fact, the composition first celebrated its great success as suites on the concert stage, where its genius is revealed to its full advantage. Ravel had a »great musical fresco painting« in mind for the ancient love story between the two outcast infants, »less concerned with the ancient than with remaining true to the Greece of my dreams«. He pours the rising sun, the song of the nymph and an ecstatic final frenzy into an early 20th century painting in a brilliant blaze of colour.

Joana Mallwitz makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker

When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.

Robertson in München

Joana Mallwitz makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker

When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.

Maria Warenberg: Into the Night

For lovers of chamber music the Recital Hall is the venue of choice. You can hear the musicians breathe and you can practically touch them. This hall is also cherished by musicians for its beautiful acoustics and direct contact with the audience. In the Recital Hall you can hear the best musicians of our time. Buy your tickets now and experience the magic of the Recital Hall for yourself!

Joana Mallwitz makes her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker

When she is on the podium, says Joana Mallwitz, she wants to take the audience with her “from the very first note”. This approach has already brought her a remarkably successful career. After holding positions as General Music Director in Erfurt and Nuremberg, she has been Chief Conductor of the Konzerthausorchester Berlin since 2023. In her debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, she leads us through very different worlds of sound with works by Prokofiev, Hindemith and Ravel. Anna Vinnitskaya will be the soloist in Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a work full of dreamy melancholy and pianistic brilliance.

Robertson in Zagreb

Concertgebouw Orchestra plays Rachmaninoff and Sibelius

Pianist Kirill Gerstein can do it all, having already demonstrated as much with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in works by Rachmaninoff – the Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – as well as Liszt, Richard Strauss, Shostakovich and Adès. Now he tackles the Mount Everest of piano concertos – Rachmaninoff’s Third. Rachmaninoff’s characteristic melancholy always culminates in exuberant finales. The Third Piano Concerto is an uncontested high point of his œuvre: it is not only a virtuoso work, but also a compelling dialogue between piano and orchestra. And the more you hear it, the more it reveals. This also applies to Anna Clyne’s turbulent Fractured Time, the second work on the orchestra’s repertoire by this successful and fascinating composer.And speaking of exuberant finales – the orchestra is performing Jean Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony after the interval. This well-loved symphony is sombre in character, the composer having suffered from deep depression. But during the compositional process, the sun gradually broke through, and the music culminates in a radiant and sublime ending. Sibelius’s symphonies fit Santtu-Matias Rouvali like a glove, and he has been a welcome guest with the Concertgebouw Orchestra since his first appearance in 2020. Like a passionate sculptor, the Finnish conductor moulds the orchestra in changeable shapes and colours – just what Sibelius’s epic music calls for.

Concertgebouw Orchestra plays Rachmaninoff and Sibelius

Pianist Kirill Gerstein can do it all, having already demonstrated as much with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in works by Rachmaninoff – the Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – as well as Liszt, Richard Strauss, Shostakovich and Adès. Now he tackles the Mount Everest of piano concertos – Rachmaninoff’s Third. Rachmaninoff’s characteristic melancholy always culminates in exuberant finales. The Third Piano Concerto is an uncontested high point of his œuvre: it is not only a virtuoso work, but also a compelling dialogue between piano and orchestra. And the more you hear it, the more it reveals. This also applies to Anna Clyne’s turbulent Fractured Time, the second work on the orchestra’s repertoire by this successful and fascinating composer.And speaking of exuberant finales – the orchestra is performing Jean Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony after the interval. This well-loved symphony is sombre in character, the composer having suffered from deep depression. But during the compositional process, the sun gradually broke through, and the music culminates in a radiant and sublime ending. Sibelius’s symphonies fit Santtu-Matias Rouvali like a glove, and he has been a welcome guest with the Concertgebouw Orchestra since his first appearance in 2020. Like a passionate sculptor, the Finnish conductor moulds the orchestra in changeable shapes and colours – just what Sibelius’s epic music calls for.

Concertgebouw Orchestra plays Rachmaninoff and Sibelius

Pianist Kirill Gerstein can do it all, having already demonstrated as much with the Concertgebouw Orchestra in works by Rachmaninoff – the Piano Concerto No. 2 and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini – as well as Liszt, Richard Strauss, Shostakovich and Adès. Now he tackles the Mount Everest of piano concertos – Rachmaninoff’s Third. Rachmaninoff’s characteristic melancholy always culminates in exuberant finales. The Third Piano Concerto is an uncontested high point of his œuvre: it is not only a virtuoso work, but also a compelling dialogue between piano and orchestra. And the more you hear it, the more it reveals. This also applies to Anna Clyne’s turbulent Fractured Time, the second work on the orchestra’s repertoire by this successful and fascinating composer.And speaking of exuberant finales – the orchestra is performing Jean Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony after the interval. This well-loved symphony is sombre in character, the composer having suffered from deep depression. But during the compositional process, the sun gradually broke through, and the music culminates in a radiant and sublime ending. Sibelius’s symphonies fit Santtu-Matias Rouvali like a glove, and he has been a welcome guest with the Concertgebouw Orchestra since his first appearance in 2020. Like a passionate sculptor, the Finnish conductor moulds the orchestra in changeable shapes and colours – just what Sibelius’s epic music calls for.

Guest performance

Guest performance