Nielsen & Rachmaninov

When the Russian Revolution breaks out, Rachmaninoff flees to the USA, where he becomes a great success as a concert pianist. But the years of gruelling tours and countless recordings wear him down, and he has no time to write music himself. He feels burnt out and longs to get away, so he buys a summer house in a very beautiful area of Switzerland - up on a mountain with a panoramic view over the lake. He wants peace and quiet - and does not want any instrument in his house, but Steinway installs a concert grand in the living room with the breathtaking view, and Rachmaninoff cannot keep away from the keys. He begins to improvise on Paganini’s Caprice No. 24, Op.1, and this later develops into the work of the evening, which becomes an enormous success. Here Rachmaninoff is reborn as a composer. In 1891 the young Carl Nielsen is finding himself as a composer. On a study trip around Europe he meets his future wife, Anne Marie, in Paris, and a stormy infatuation takes shape. The two artists travel on together and marry in Florence. They promise each other artistic freedom - very modern for the time. Back home, Nielsen writes his first symphony, in which one clearly hears the wild release of energy of a young person.

• Dirigent: Samuel Lee
• Lukáš Vondráčekklaver

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