Seong-Jin Cho: Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Var.18) (20251203 Carnegie Hall)

Pianist Seong-Jin Cho joins the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and conductor Manfred Honeck in a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

A virtuosic set of 24 variations inspired by the last of Niccolò Paganini’s 24 Caprices for Solo Violin, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini received its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall in 1934 with the composer as soloist alongside the New York Philharmonic led by Bruno Walter.

The swooning melody of Variation 18—an inversion of the work’s main theme—was so immediately popular that even the typically dour composer recognized its commercial appeal and commented, “This one’s for my agent.”