Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 3 - Balakirev: Russia

Rachmaninov's third and final symphony was composed nearly 20 years after the composer's emigration from his homeland. Often considered to be his most overtly Russian symphony, Rachmaninov makes subtle use of a motto theme which appears throughout the work and can be heard in the finale as a variant of the Dies Irae plainchant - a melodic tag used in Rachmaninov's music as a dark reminder of mortality.