First in a series of documentaries about
20th-century music. The Secret Island
Sergei Rachmaninov in Exile. Composer, conductor and one of the greatest pianists in the history of music, Rachmaninov seems to be the model of the essential romantic artist - sad, obsessed with death, isolated from homeland and culture. Yet at the same time he was a convivial friend and devoted family man. This portrait, written by British composer Gerard McBurney , presents the paradoxes and contrasts of a mysterious creative personality, drawing on previously unseen home movies of the composer. With pianists Howard Shelley and Hilary Macnamara. Director Barrie Gavin ● STEREO