In a brief visit to Cambridge, UK, I managed to go to a concert at the University. One of the highlights of the concert was Rachmaninoff's second piano concerto, beautifully performed by Tom Poster who was asked to play an encore at the end of the night. He chose to play Giovanni Sgambati's piano transcription of Gluck's Dance of the Blessed Spirits from his ballet Orfeo ed Euridice.
Poster claimed that it was one of Rachmaninoff's favorite pieces. I actually did not know the piece, but I remember I loved his interpretation that night and it's been in the back of my mind since. Today I decided to do a search and was happy to find an interpretation by Rachmaninoff himself on YouTube.
Later I found another gem: Yevgeny Kissin's Fantasy album. I only include here the aforementioned melody, but I highly recommend the entire album.
Composer: Gluck. Piano transcription by Giovanni Sgambati
Performer: Yevgeny Kissin
Album: Fantasy
