Rediscovering Rachmaninoff: Pianist and Composer Teodor Doré’s Modern Perspective

Teodor Doré is proud to present his new project entitled Rachmaninoff Variations, out now on DAG Klassical, the biggest classical music label in Central and South America.

 

 

 

 

The album, Rachmaninoff Variations, features reimaginings of several of Rachmaninoff's iconic works, blending them with new perspectives. These transcriptions weave classical instruments such as the violin, cello, piano with different types of vocals, creating a dialogue between Rachmaninoff's deeply emotional music and modern expressions of human resilience.

 

 

One of the most poignant aspects of the album are readings of excerpts from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s personal diary. In one passage, the composer wrote, ‘After leaving Russia, I lost the desire to compose. Having lost my homeland, I lost myself. The exile who has lost his musical roots, tradition, and native soil, has no desire to create.’ 

 

Teodor Doré talks to us about this latest project:

The musical material for the album blends modern compositional techniques with elements of folk music modes. By altering, varying, and transforming Rachmaninoff's work, I sought to create something entirely new. This album is, at its core, a modern composer’s interpretation of Rachmaninoff – a reimagining of his music for the 21st century.

 

The first piece, a variation on Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2, features a rhythmic motif from Chopin’s Funeral March (the third movement of his Piano Sonata No.2, Op. 35).  While I’ve played the Prelude in C-sharp minor since childhood, it was only recently that I found a way to reinterpret it in such an unconventional and distinctive manner. In this variation, I adjusted the tempo, transformed the triplets into uneven slower patterns, and introduced a new melodic line for the violin. These changes heightened the piece’s dramatic and emotional intensity. Violinist Roman Lytwyniw delivered an extraordinary performance of the violin part during our recording session at Abbey Road Studios.

 

In the second composition, I wanted to highlight the theme of migration and capture the profound, irrevocable loss of homeland that Rachmaninoff experienced. He wrote the romance A Dream, Op. 8 No. 5, to the poetry of Pleshcheyev long before his migration, almost as if sensing that he would lose everything.  I also introduced a modulation at the end of the piece, shifting to a different key using the Turkish maqam hijaz and incorporating traditional Sufi vocals. For this, I worked with the Sufi vocalist Gürbüz Hakan, with whom I had previously collaborated on my previous album, Portraits of Cities, and titled the composition Ticket to Istanbul.

 

I continued exploring the theme of migration in the third composition, Variation on a Romance Don’t Sing for Me, My Beauty, Op. 4 No. 4. This piece, based on the harmony of the romance to Pushkin's poem about a Georgian beauty, features a new introduction and development. A vocalize in A minor, inspired by one of the Georgian folk modes was performed by the exceptional mezzo-soprano Aleksandra Kenenova. The tense pizzicato in the cello, played by the outstanding Gabriella Swallow, evokes the cold of the Georgian mountains. 

 

In the final composition, ‘Var. on a Prelude in G Major, Op. 32 No. 5,’ I aimed to conclude the album on an uplifting note. Rachmaninoff's epilogue represents the hope that creativity and music can overcome anything. In this variation on the G major prelude, I focused on adapting it for a piano trio, composing new parts for the cello and violin, giving them the second development of the theme in a duet.

 

After finishing the Variations and creating some more transcriptions – this time for solo piano – I incorporated them into my repertoire and performed them during my concert in Paris at the Rachmaninoff Conservatory in December 2023, as part of my world tour. This was the beginning of my connection with the composer’s great-granddaughter, Alexandra Rachmaninoff. She warmly embraced everything I do with great interest and, in the end, gave her blessing for the album’s release. It was an exciting and deeply significant moment for me to present the Variations to her, as it is an unconventional work in the world of classical music. Alexandra expressed her appreciation and gave me the green light to move forward with working on the lost D minor suite, which we premiered in its first part at Carnegie Hall on 29 January with violinist Taisiya Losmakova and cellist Sergey Antoroov, the Gold medallist of the Tchaikovsky competition. 

 

Through Rachmaninoff Variations, I tried not only to honor the legacy of one of the world’s greatest composers but also bring new life to some shared themes, showing how music can serve as a bridge between cultures and generations, and connecting the past with the present. The album Rachmaninoff Variations was released on February 28th, 2025 on DAG Klassical.

 

 

 

About the recording

Recorded at London’s legendary Abbey Road Studios (pictured above and below), Doré’s project has already captured the imagination of the international music community.

 

 

 

 

Teodor Doré's distinctive musical style is characterized by a seamless blend of virtuosic classical technique with modern elements. His deep understanding of classical tradition is enriched by his ability to incorporate subtle yet innovative textures and influences from other musical worlds, creating a sound that is uniquely his own. Rachmaninoff Variations stands as a testament to his ability to transform classical music into a living, breathing art form.

 

 

Further information about Teodor Doré – including his projects, concerts and recordings – can be found here.

 

 

Main image © Kirill Simakov