Elegie chronicles the life of composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff. Though he became an exile in 1917, Russia remained deeply rooted in his soul. His cultural identity and his longing for his homeland imbue his music, not least the many much-loved works he wrote for his own instrument, the piano. The narrative, scripted from letters and diaries, follows Rachmaninoff from his youth in Russia, through his subsequent self-imposed exile in 1917 and finally to California USA, where he died in 1943.
The concert includes many of his best-loved works for solo piano, including a selection of Preludes, Etudes-Tableaux and Moments Musicaux, some of his own transcriptions and the haunting Elégie, as well as works by Scriabin and Tchaikovsky.
Known internationally for her ‘Composer Portraits’ in words and music, pianist Lucy Parham is presenting Elegie in 2023 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rachmaninoff, and is joined by internationally renowned stage and screen actor, Sir Simon Russell Beale, for this special performance.
