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Bruce Liu joins the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for Rachmaninov's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, along with music by two emigrée composers, Korngold and Bartók.

Recorded a fortnight ago at the Royal Festival Hall, presented by Ian Skelly.

Korngold: The Sea Hawk extracts (Main Theme, Reunion The Albatross, Farewell)
Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

Interval music

Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra

Bruce Liu (piano)
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Vasily Petrenko (conductor)

Rachmaninov’s world was turned completely upside down by the Great War. Severed from his roots, he fled Russia and began a career as a globetrotting pianist. His devilish set of variations, performed here by Bruce Liu – winner of the 2021 International Chopin Competition – embodies this nomadic life: written in Switzerland, premiered in America, based on a tune by Italian violinist Niccolò Paganini and infused with Rachmaninov’s own Russian style. Composers Erich Korngold and Béla Bartók were also forced by politics to leave their homes: both fled from fascism to the New World, and Korngold’s swashbuckling film score is practically a hymn to freedom. Bartók’s spectacular Concerto for Orchestra, meanwhile, is more than just a multi-coloured showcase, it’s a struggle between darkness and light, crowned by a mighty shout of joy.