NJ Symphony : Discover Rachmaninoff

At NJPAC, the New Jersey Symphony devotes an evening to Sergei Rachmaninoff, the pianist-composer who carried Russian late Romanticism into the 20th century. The program traces his signature mix of long-breathed melody and thick orchestral writing, music shaped as much by virtuoso keyboard thinking as by symphonic tradition. In the New York region, Rachmaninoff’s legacy is local history as well as repertoire; he lived nearby and premiered several works in the city’s concert halls. Heard together, the pieces show how emotional directness can coexist with rigorous craft.