Elegy & Scherzo was written at the request of cellist Yuki Ito, to commemorate the 150th birthyear in 2023 of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943). Composer Johan de Meij used some hints and quotes from Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Symphony (opus 27) and the Symphonic Dances (opus 45), to embrace the sound world of the Russian master.

Elegy & Scherzo was premiered on October 27, 2023, in the Cankarjev Dom in Ljubljana, Slovenia by the Band of the Slovenian Armed Forces, with Yuki Ito as t...