Rachmaninoff's Final Composition

Conductor Karina Callenakis takes the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra through a rousing performance of Rachmaninoff's famed Symphonic Dances, via Prokofiev's Violin Concerto No. 2, a worldly piece featuring both Russian and Spanish folk influences, and Victoria Borisova-Ollas' ethereal and magnificent tone poem The Kingdom of Silence. Grammy and BRIT Award-winning violinist Nicola Benedetti lends her talent to the orchestra as soloist for the violin concerto, for a program that showcases the enduring and versatile power of the classical orchestra. 

A Colorful Masterpiece

Sergei Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances is a piece of true angular intensity and vibrant kaleidoscopic instrumental color, a magnificent work that proved to be the Russian composer's final composition. Each of its contrasting three dances come together to yield a retrospective whole that stunningly sums up the Romantic icon's musical philosophy - bold driving rhythms, heart-stoppingly beautiful melodies and lush orchestration.