Amazing Performances of Rachmaninoff’s Four
Piano Concertos & Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Recorded Live at Walt Disney Concert Hall
with Yuja Wang are now available streaming for free
The Los Angeles Philharmonic today released a free Sound/Stage series — a six-episode online cycle of Rachmaninoff 150, performed by Yuja Wang, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. This ambitious project presented Rachmaninoff’s four piano concertos and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, recorded live at Walt Disney Concert Hall in February 2023. The series includes five performance episodes and one interview episode featuring Gustavo Dudamel and Yuja Wang in conversation.
I happened to be there for the sold-out and critically acclaimed performances that occurred as part of this year’s Rachmaninoff 150 celebrations. I knew they were being recorded, but had no idea they were being filmed. Over the course of two consecutive weekends all four of the composer’s piano concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini were played, and now they come directly to you.
Captured in live recordings at the Walt Disney Concert Hall by Deutsche Grammophon, the Piano Concertos and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini were released commercially on two CDs, three LPs, and digitally on September 1, 2023. The third movement (Allegro vivace) of Piano Concerto No. 1 was released as an e-single and e-video on June 23, 2023, and the filmed cycle of five performances premiered on Deutsche Grammophon’s STAGE+ on June 24, 2023. All five piano concerts plus the featured conversation are now available for free on Sound/Stage and will remain online for five years.
Sound/Stage premiered in September 2020 as a free online concert series produced by LA Phil Media, the media and digital initiatives arm of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, in an effort to use digital technologies to make music and performance accessible to a wider audience. The series features a range of performing artists and includes interviews, playlists, and program notes that shed new light on each episode’s theme.
PROGRAMMING INFORMATION:
Ep 1: RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 2
Ep 2: RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 1
Ep 3: RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 4
Ep 4: RACHMANINOFF Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Ep 5: RACHMANINOFF Piano Concerto No. 3
Ep 6: A Conversation Between Yuja Wang and Gustavo Dudamel
Yuja Wang (piano)
Los Angeles Philharmonic, Gustavo Dudamel Conductor
The new season of Sound/Stage and supporting material, including artist-curated playlists, program notes and insights from Dudamel on how each program came together, are available at LA PHIL.
