April 2023 marks the 150th anniversary of the composer Sergei Rachmaninoff's birth; at the same time, Villa SENAR, the composer's residence in Hertenstein from 1932 to 1939, which was recently acquired by the Canton of Lucerne, will be reopened to the public for guided tours and workshops following extensive renovation work.

The Hans Erni Museum is taking this coincidence as an opportunity to organize an exhibition on the composer's time in Lucerne in close cooperation with the Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation. After a long search for a retreat from his strenuous everyday life as an internationally sought-after concert virtuoso, Rachmaninoff acquired a plot of land in Hertenstein in 1930. There he had a villa built in the New Building style in a large landscaped garden by the renowned Lucerne architects Möri & Krebs, which he lived in with his family until the outbreak of the Second World War when he was not on concert tours.

The favorable environment created in this way made his time in Lucerne extremely fruitful for Rachmaninoff, who composed his Variations on a Theme by Corelli in D minor op. 42, the famous Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, op. 43, and his 3rd Symphony in A minor, op. 44.

The exhibition will present these and other aspects of Rachmaninoff's time on Lake Lucerne and will be accompanied by a publication and a varied program of events consisting of guided tours and concerts.