Elim Chan
Paul Lewis Johannes Brahms
Sergei Rachmaninoff

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) met many of the 1850s' most central composers and musicians. He made an impression with his expressive music and playing style on the piano, and Robert Schumann exclaimed that Brahms was the savior of music. The expectations became heavy to bear, and Brahms took a long time to complete his first orchestral work. His best friend, Hungarian violinist and composer Joseph Joachim, became his most important helper. After a long letter correspondence with Joachim, his first piano concerto premiered in 1858.

Sergei Rachmaninoff's (1873-1943) Symphonic Dances originated in a collaboration with the famous Russian choreographer Michel Fokine. In 1939, the choreographer staged a successful ballet performance with Rachmaninoff's music in London. The collaboration was enjoyable for both, but Rachmaninoff only managed to play a piano version of his new work for Fokine before the choreographer died in 1942. The composer died the year after, and Symphonic Dances became a sort of farewell letter in orchestral form, with multiple quotes from Rachmaninoff's earlier work.