Paganini's variations are composed on a stirring theme from Rossini’s tragic opera, Mosè in Egitto: the theme is a musical prayer for deliverance sung by Moses from the banks of the Red Sea in the face of Pharaoh’s pursuing army. Paganini's variations on the theme are composed for violin and orchestra, and demand technical acrobatics for which the composer is known, in this case focused on the fourth string.

In 1967, Evangeline Benedetti was invited by Leonard Bernstein himself to become a member of the New York Philharmonic, the first female cellist and the second tenured woman. She remained an active and integral member for more than 40 years, during which time she played nearly 8,000 concerts and participated in countless recordings and television productions including the renowned Young People's Concerts conducted by Bernstein. Mrs. Benedetti served for 20 years on the faculty of Manhattan School of Music and is a sought after master clinician and guest artist. She currently lives in New York, where she teaches, continues to perform and serves on the boards of The Bloomingdale School of Music and The ViolonCello Society of New York. In 2016 her book “Cello, Bow and You: Putting It All Together”, was published by the Oxford University Press.