Rachmaninoff Plays His Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini | Stokowski | Restored 1934

Sergei Rachmaninoff performs his own Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43, with Leopold Stokowski conducting The Philadelphia Orchestra. Recorded on 24 December 1934 at RCA Victor’s Trinity Church Studio in Camden, New Jersey, this historic performance was made only weeks after the work’s premiere. Rachmaninoff’s playing is lean, rhythmically exact, and remarkably unsentimental. The interpretation moves with extraordinary clarity through the work’s shifting character: wit, tension, lyricism, darkness, and the brilliant final surge. Although the Rhapsody is written as a continuous sequence of 24 variations, its large-scale architecture resembles a compact piano concerto. The famous eighteenth variation emerges naturally from the broader design rather than as an isolated showpiece. This restoration aims to preserve the authority of Rachmaninoff’s piano tone, the distinctive character of Stokowski’s accompaniment, and the natural dramatic arc of the original performance while reducing surface noise, harshness, and shellac-era distortion. The intention was not to modernize the recording artificially, but to reveal more clearly the musical information preserved in the historical source. Sergei Rachmaninoff — piano The Philadelphia Orchestra Leopold Stokowski — conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43 Recorded: 24 December 1934 Camden, New Jersey Restored from the historical recording. HASHTAGS #Rachmaninoff #Stokowski #PhiladelphiaOrchestra #ClassicalMusic #Piano #HistoricalRecording #AudioRestoration