Rachmaninoff. Mozart.

On September 18, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory hosted a concert featuring stars of the classical music world, dedicated to the magnificent music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Performed by the symphony orchestra and prize-winning pianist Anastasia Makhamendrikova, winner of numerous international competitions, the programme featured masterpieces that have become part of the golden heritage of classical music.

The evening included Mozart’s Overture to The Magic Flute and Piano Concerto No. 21, as well as Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2. The concert was performed by the State Kremlin Orchestra, conducted by one of Russia’s most sought-after conductors, Konstantin Chudovsky.

Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21 was first performed in Vienna in March 1785, with the composer himself presenting the work to great public acclaim. The music is imbued with a bright and joyful spirit, while its famous second movement, Andante, is particularly enchanting.

The delicate lyricism of Mozart, set alongside the purposeful energy of the first movement and the sparkling finale, demands the utmost concentration, technical virtuosity, and emotional maturity from the pianist.

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2 in E minor is likewise marked by a distinctive poetic quality and emotional intensity, though its lyricism belongs to an entirely different era.

In no other work did the composer’s mastery of polyphony reveal itself with such fullness and variety. It is no coincidence that Rachmaninoff dedicated this composition to the distinguished Russian contrapuntist, his teacher and mentor, Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev.

The Second Symphony immediately won the affection of audiences and received high praise from music critics. One contemporary critic wrote:

“The symphony is powerful as a unified whole and magnificent in its wealth of detail… This is Rachmaninoff, a new and already fully formed voice in Russian art. He is an artist of extraordinary tenderness of conception, nobility of taste, and refined imagination…”