Wrestling Rachmaninoff

Before I begin, I must admit to stealing this headline from the title of a scene from the film Shine. I just couldn't think of a more appropriate headline. As many of you may know, I'm a classically trained pianist. Many of you probably don't know that my inspiration for pursuing this was the Russian composer, Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff. Particularly, his Piano Concerto No. 3 in D Minor, Op. 43 was the very inspiration that motivated my ambition to take every step I've ever taken in piano playing. I first heard it in the car with my father several years ago and, if it weren't for his choice to play that CD at that precise moment in history, it's quite possible this passion would have faded into oblivion. Dad, if you're reading this, thank you for that. Everything you do is significant. The piano has been the only effective form of therapy for me.

Though I've never actually considered the possibility that I'd ever be able to play this piece, I purchased the sheet music for it from a Connecticut music store about six years ago. Since the day I became serious about playing piano, I learned pieces I never fathomed I'd be able to play. I've played over thirty pieces by Beethoven, including his "Pathetique" Sonata in C Minor, "Appassionata" Sonata in F Minor and I've even composed a series of variations on his very popular "Moonlight" Sonata in C# Minor. I've played more Chopin than any other composer. I've played his entire set of 28 Préludes, about 15 of his nocturnes, 3 of the four Scherzi (the first one drove me insane), 4 Valses, his first Sonata, about 20 Mazurkas, a few of his Polonaises (including Grand Polonaise Brillante) and several other works. The rest of my repertoire consists of works by Mozart, J. S. Bach, C. Ph. E. Bach, Grieg, Satie, Scriabin, Liszt, Brahms, Granados, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and many others.

Quite recently, I've been attempting to play excerpts of the first movement of his third concerto and, I'm being completely honest when I say this, anyone who is able to perform this piece in its entirety is not human. This is, by far, the most difficult thing to achieve in the entire world of music. The cadenza in his first movement is described in many piano books as being "taxing to the pianist". I'd hate to know what country these people came from. If they think of this as just being taxed, I'll have to go to Hallmark and reserve every sympathy card for them. If you have or haven't an interest in classical music, I definitely recommend listening to this piece. If you have trouble finding it, send me an e-mail at DaveCB@optonline.net