When a performing artist is forced to cancel an orchestral performance, presenters often have little time to find a replacement. The ideal scenario is securing an artist who has the work programmed for this occasion in his repertoire and can arrive in sufficient time to rehearse with the orchestra.
Stephen Hough, one of the most highly regarded pianists of his generation, remembers getting a call in 1985 to fill in at the last minute on a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. The work he was asked to play was Rachmaninoff’s "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.” Hough had learned it as a student but had not performed it professionally.
"The call came asking if I could play the ‘Rhapsody’ in three days,” Hough said by telephone from his London home. "I asked them to give me an hour to decide. I got hold of a score and thought this was probably worth having a go at. I flew to Los Angeles, and it turned out to be a great experience. In many ways, that led to a lot of other performing opportunities.”
Hough will perform Rachmaninoff’s "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” at Saturday’s classics concert presented by the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. Music director Joel Levine also has programmed Strauss’ "Death and Transfiguration,” Ravel’s "La Valse” and Hindemith’s "Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Weber.”
"The ‘Rhapsody’ is a marvelous piece that I never get tired of playing,” Hough said.
The "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” is a set of 24 variations on the last of Niccolo Paganini’s "Caprices for Solo Violin.” Rachmaninoff was the soloist for the work’s premiere Nov. 7, 1934, at the Lyric Opera House in Baltimore. Leopold Stokowski conducted the Philadelphia Orchestra. The "Rhapsody” has remained a favorite of pianists and audiences.
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