Rachmaninoff wrote his well-known piano cycle in 1931, at a time when his great works for piano solo and the piano concertos had already made him very famous. Yet it is by no means the Œñwork of an old manŒî. The composerŒÍs variations on the theme ŒñLa foliaŒî (taken from a sonata by Corelli) are like a series of fireworks on the piano. He once drily said to a friend, ŒñAll this mad running about is necessary in order to efface the themeŒî. Did Rachmaninoff succeed in silencing Œñla foliaŒî Œ_ i.e. the ŒñmadnessŒî? Why not see for yourself!
