简介：TomServicetakesacinematicjourneythroughRussiaonthemusicaltrailofthatRomanticgiant,SergeiRachmaninoff.ViaMoscow,StPetersburg,Novgorod,Tambov(andSenarinSwitzerland),Tomchroniclesaclassictaleofrightman,wrongtime. BorninRussiain1873anddyinginAmericain1943,notonlydidRachmaninoffweatherthefalseaccusationthathewasananachronismwhowrotesentimental,gushingRomanticisminafirmlymoderncentury,hislifeintersectedwithoneofthedarkestperiodsinRussianhistory-Revolution,CivilWarandtwoWorldWars. Yet,fromtheworld-famousSecondPianoConcertoinCMinortothechocolatebox18thvariationfromtheRhapsodyonaThemeofPaganini,timeandtimeagainthemelodiousyetmelancholicwondermentofthisunstarry,aristocraticRussianhastouchedthecollectiveunconscious,andTheJoyOfRachmaninoffcelebratesourloveaffairwiththispassionate,darkandtremendouslypopularcomposer. TomvisitskeylocationsinRussiathatinformedRachmaninoff’sartisticlife-fromthebeautiful,throatysoundofthebellsofStSophia’sCathedralNovgorodtothebreath-takingendlesssteppeofIvanovka(pictured),hisRussianestateinTambovOblast. TomalsogainsrareaccesstoRachmaninoff’sbespokeSwissvilla‘Senar’onthebanksofLakeLucerne,andhearsthefamous18thPaganiniVariationplayedonthepianoonwhichitwaswritten.WithrespectedRachmaninoffscholarGeoffreyNorris,TomalsogetstogripswiththeoriginalscoresoftheSecondPianoConcertoandCSharpMinorPreludeinMoscow. ThefilmalsobringstolifekeymomentsinRachmaninoff’scareer,fromtheabortivepremierofhisFirstSymphonytoadisastrousmeetinginMoscowwiththatgiantofRussianliterature,LeoTolstoy,andhishurriedandfinaldeparturefromRussiain1917,fleeingtheperilsofBolshevism-momentsthatledtoself-doubtanddepressionforthecomposer. TomalsoexploreshowRachmaninoffinvokedamelancholiainhisworkthatsuggestsanalmostpropheticability:howinhismusicyoumighthearanexpectationofgreattragedythatwouldcharacterisetheRussian20thcentury. Withspeciallyshotperformances(includingVespers1,5&6,extractsfromthepianoconcerti,CSharpMinorPreludeandCelloSonata)andcontributionsfromgreatmusiciansincludingVladimirAshkenazy,DenisMatsuev,StevenIsserlis,LucyParham,AlexanderVinogradov,IainBurnside,JamesRhodes,StephenHoughandVladimirJurowski.…