Rachmaninoff Marathon
Yingdi Sun × Valery Gergiev × Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra
National Centre for the Performing Arts, Beijing · December 3–4, 2015
Overview
On December 3 and 4, 2015, conductor Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra presented an unprecedented Rachmaninoff Marathon at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Beijing — two monumental concerts, each lasting over three hours, offering a panoramic traversal of Rachmaninoff’s symphonies and piano concertos.
Over two consecutive evenings, audiences experienced the complete cycle of Rachmaninoff’s four piano concertos, three symphonies, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and Symphonic Dances — nine works that trace the composer’s creative journey from youthful brilliance to spiritual introspection.
Among the four featured pianists, Yingdi Sun, Gold Medalist of the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition, performed the towering Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30, one of the most technically and emotionally demanding works in the piano repertoire.
Program
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943)
Symphony No. 1 in D Minor, Op. 13
Symphony No. 2 in E Minor, Op. 27
Symphony No. 3 in A Minor, Op. 44
Piano Concerto No. 1 in F♯ Minor, Op. 1
Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45
Artists
Piano Soloists
This marathon featured four distinguished pianists, each performing one of Rachmaninoff’s concertos:
Yingdi Sun — Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 30
George Li — Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18
Lucas Debargue — Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40
Daniel Kharitonov — Piano Concerto No. 1 in F♯ Minor, Op. 1 and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Conductor — Valery Gergiev
Artistic and General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre, Chief Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra (2007–2015), and Chairman of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, Gergiev is one of the most influential conductors of our time. His intense charisma and uniquely Russian musical sensibility have made him synonymous with the grand tradition of Russian Romanticism.
Orchestra — Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra
Founded in the early 18th century as the Russian Imperial Court Orchestra, the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest and most distinguished ensembles in Russia. Under Gergiev’s leadership since 1988, the orchestra has entered a new golden era, acclaimed worldwide for its authority in the Russian repertoire and its dynamic, electrifying performances.
Notes
Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto (“Rach 3”) stands as a pinnacle of pianistic artistry — vast in scale, symphonic in conception, and emotionally unrelenting.
Yingdi Sun’s performance, under Gergiev’s baton, marked a rare meeting of two generations of Russian-trained musicians who share deep reverence for the Romantic tradition.
Sun first collaborated with Gergiev earlier that same year during the China–Russia Youth Symphony Gala, performing The Yellow River Piano Concerto — a project that forged a deep artistic bond between the two. Their reunion for Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto at the NCPA became both a continuation and an echo of that shared musical dialogue — a “Huang He to Rach 3” cycle that reflects destiny’s symmetry.