We are continuing our exploration of 2nd movements of romantic piano concertos with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. #PianoAdagios
In 1909, Sergei Rachmaninoff crafted his Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor. It’s dedicated to pianist Josef Hofmann, though he never performed it. Rachmaninoff premiered it himself in New York on November 28, 1909, with the New York Symphony Society. This is one of the most difficult to perform piano concertos ever written. I fell in love with it in 1997, and we have been together since.
Let’s play this game. Listen to these two performances first:
Then listen to Valentina Lisitsa perform solo without orchestra. Again, I hope you’ll see Rachmaninoff’s genius in making the piano be both a soloist and an orchestra:
You can listen to the full concerto here:
