Abstract
Paavo Järvi, principal conductor of the Tonhalle-Orchester, conducts the Philharmonia Zürich in a concert at the Opernhaus. The event will bring the two ensembles’ joint Rachmaninoff cycle to a close. Internationally acclaimed Swiss pianist Francesco Piemontesi appears as soloist, performing Rhapsodie über ein Thema von Paganini – a set of frenzied virtuosic and catchy variations written by Lake Lucerne, where Rachmaninoff owned a villa in the 1930s. Also on the program is the Symphony No. 2, written during Rachmaninoff’s stays in Dresden. The work premiered to great acclaim in St. Petersburg in 1908.