Every year on this date, I play my entire collection of Rachmaninoff music. This year, I’m playing the tracks in order of length, shortest to longest. 214 tracks, taking 24 hours.
The shortest track, at 1:12, is his piano arrangement of Rimsky-Korsakov’s *Flight of the Bumblebee, *performed by Ruth Laredo.
The longest track, at 23:00, is the *Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, *performed by Cecile Licad, Claudio Abbado and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
I agree-I never tire of his music. It seems that many of his themes show up in soundtracks, even bits and pieces in rock music.
For a composer whose work was denigrated by musicologists, he has remained hugely popular-so He must have been doing something right.
I don’t know much (anything) about him, but whenever I hear the name I always thing of The Seven Year Itch.
Curse you! Cut off at the pass before I could do my Marilyn imitation.
There’s still the second part of the scene, when she actually does show up and prefers chopsticks and sitting in front of the AC.
“Champagne and potato chips! Isn’t it elegant?”
I’ll toast to the maestro!
I don’t think there’s been a month gone by in the past 20 years that I have not listened at least once to his Piano Concerto No 2, Piano Concerto No 3, or Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. Rachmaninoff’s compositions sing with a voice that is hypnotic and of which I will never tire.
I will, however, never watch Groundhog Day again. Bastards. :mad: