Sergei Rachmaninov

Fleeing Russia in 1917, Rachmaninov (1873-1943) was forced to set aside composing in order to support his family as a pianist. This film looks at his life in exile and at how this separation from his homeland affected his music. Filming centres on Senar, the villa by Lake Lucerne which Rachmaninov built as a conscious recreation of Ivanovka, his wife's beloved estate in Russia. His grandson still lives there and, with his co-operation and that of Sofia Satin, his niece, the family archives have been used to piece together a picture of the composer's life in both Russia and Europe.