I Heart Rachmaninov

My two favorite pieces of art music are Rachmaninov's 2nd and 3rd piano concerti. Most people are familiar with the more flashy 3rd because of the movie Shine. In 2001 Russian-born Olga Kern co-won the Van Cliburn with the 3rd concerto. Her performance was a stunning display of power, nuance and an intimate understanding of the piece. Her co-winner was Stanislov Ioudenitch. It was impossible to compare the two, because Ioudenitch's graceful, elegant style was every bit as worthy of the award. I hope to see him play some day. One of the highlights of my life has been seeing Kern play the 2nd Concerto live at TPAC. I miss hearing the Symphony play at TPAC. The Schermerhorn is very elegant, but the entire hall is incredibly live, and every cough, seat shift, and rustle competes with the music.  It is probably fine for Pops performances, but for art music or anything with very soft passages the balance at TPAC was better for me. 

  The first movement of the 2nd concerto begins with chords on the piano that build leading up to the entrance of the theme in the strings. Every time I hear those opening chords I am on the edge of my seat waiting for that gorgeous theme to begin. 5 1/2 minutes in I am once again in breathless anticipation of the reappearance of the opening theme, more powerful this time as the theme takes the form of a march. If you are familiar with pop ballads of the 70s you will recognize the theme in the 2nd movement, and possibly be reminded of a very funny scene in Bridget Jones's Diary. The 3rd movement is powerful, though not as lush and satisfying as the 3rd movement of the 3rd concerto. Both works are too beautiful to describe with words. If you are not familiar with them and have an hour to spare, download all 6 movements on i-tunes and listen to both concerti back to back, starting with the 2nd. I like the Brailowsky recordings, mainly because I am not crazy about the 1st movement of the 2nd concerto on some of the other recordings. Try a search on i-tunes for Brailowsky Rachmaninov Piano Concerto no. 2 (ditto for 3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8KKn9Is1Wk