During his lifetime—which, post-1917, was spent in exile in Europe and the US—Rachmaninoff was as celebrated as a pianist as he was a composer (and, luckily, many recordings exist to bear witness to his formidable technique and sensitivity at the keyboard). Needless to say, he left a vast body of piano music, including four magnificent concertos. But away from the piano, his wonderful ear for orchestral and choral sonorities gave us a wealth of treasurable works, including three symphonies, of which No. 2 is a modern classic.