When Sergei Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia and its Revolution in 1917, he was famous as a composer, conductor, and pianist. Boston and Cincinnati promptly offered him the music directorships of their orchestras, but Rachmaninoff committed himself to the career of a traveling virtuoso to support his family, and composed almost nothing for nearly a decade. The Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, composed after his four piano concertos, quickly became one of Rachmaninoff’s most popular pieces, as a performing vehicle for himself and as a treasure trove of great tunes, particularly the inspired inversion of Paganini’s theme in the luscious 18th variation.

Come for:

Lise de la Salle, who had great success with Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 1 here and at the Hollywood Bowl, in Rachmaninoff’s gorgeous Rhapsody.

And more:

The rarely heard but stunningly imaginative and vital Third Symphony.