Sergei Rachmaninoff & Willem Mengelberg - Legacy of a Friendship

Willem Mengelberg & Sergei Rachmaninoff

Tomorrow, 83 years after Rachmaninoff's death, the Rachmaninoff Network will publish the video production ‘Sergei Rachmaninoff & Willem Mengelberg - Legacy of a Friendship’ on its YouTube channel.

The focus is on the friendship between Sergei Rachmaninoff and the legendary Dutch conductor Willem Mengelberg, whose 155th birthday falls on that same March 28, 2026.

Mengelberg brought the Concertgebouw Orchestra to world-class status. As early as 1913, Rachmaninoff dedicated one of his favorite works to this orchestra and its conductor – the Symphony for Choir, Soloists, and Orchestra ‘The Bells’ opus 35.

Mengelberg was equally aware of Rachmaninoff's exceptional significance from an early stage. In his scores, he recorded Rachmaninoff's tempi and other instructions down to the smallest detail—just as he did during collaborations with Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss.

At the Netherlands Music Institute, surrounded by annotated scores of some of Rachmaninoff's best orchestral works and other revealing memorabilia, Mengelberg biographer Frits Zwart and Rachmaninoff expert Elger Niels reflect on the legacy of a musical friendship at the very highest level in a 60-minute dialogue.

Elger Niels & Frits Zwart