Sergei Rachmaninow

Piano Concerto 'No.5'

What if the probably most popular symphony by Sergei Rachmaninoff were rewritten as a piece for piano and orchestra? This was the idea behind the 'adaptation' of Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2 into his Piano Concerto No. 5. All the while, the Russian pianist-composer Alexander Warenberg kept true to Rachmaninoff's style. However, the four movements of the symphony had to be adapted to the common three-movement form of the piano concerto by combining the second and third movements into one 'Adagio'. Warenberg's arrangement has meanwhile been performed many times. A recording with Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy (piano) is available on Brilliant Classics.