Rachmaninoff’s exploration in 24 variations of Niccolo Paganini’s Caprice for solo violin delights us with some of the 20th Century’s most memorable and evocative melodies. Premiered in 1934, with Rachmaninoff at the piano, the sheer brilliance of the ‘Rach/Pag Variations’, as they are sometimes known, never fails amaze audiences. Featuring a journey through keyboard fireworks, sumptuous melodies and memories of plainchant, Rachmaninoff, as if with a chuckle, finishes with a tribute to the original theme.
A fanfare, a funeral march and a love song, all feature in Mahler’s Fifth Symphony, premiered in Cologne in 1904. From the excitement and drama of the trumpet’s opening notes, to passionate and overwhelming string playing, we are carried through a work of epic proportions. Reflecting Mahler’s own progression from a near-death experience in 1901, to marriage and the birth of his first child in 1902, this symphony is sure to inspire the audience with a sense of absolute wonder.