Serge Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 3
Striking contrasts and Dies irae in Rachmaninov’s final symphony.
About the video
- Filmed 13 January 2022.
- The video is approximately 40 minutes.
Sergei Rachmaninov left Russia after the 1917 Revolution and was never to return. He wrote his third and final symphony in 1936 at his summer home on Lake Lucerne in Switzerland. Here, his unmistakable melodic richness is combined with a tauter, more concentrated musical language.
The symphony opens with a brief motif that returns in different guises, unifying the work. Its three movements encompass striking contrasts between lyrical, melancholy melodies and rhythmically intense music. In the middle movement, Rachmaninov combines two traditional symphonic functions: a lyrical Adagio gives way to a fast-paced, propulsive scherzo.
The finale is energetic and colourful, and also features the medieval hymn Dies irae, the Day of Wrath – a motif to which Rachmaninov returned in several works. The Third Symphony received a cool reception, but the composer himself stood firmly by it: ‘I am convinced that this is a good work.
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The music
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Serge Rachmaninoff Symphony No. 3
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Participants
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Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra
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Lionel Bringuier conductor
