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Just to see if I could, I recorded the audio off Youtube that contains some of his piano concertos. Since I don't anything much of his music I have had to depend on the internet to identify the pieces. Is it possible to post audio here for others to help with this?

Sure...people frequently post and ask for help in identifying pieces.

On the other hand, you could just listen to the concertos on Youtube and identify them yourself. It would be a good exercise.

Rachmaninoff wrote four piano concerti, five if you count "Variations on a Theme of Paganini". I think it's pretty easy to guess at which is which if you've heard a teeny bit of the music before. But even if you haven't, you can look up and listen to Rach 1, 2, 3, ..., etc., and then you'll know the pieces instantly .

2&3 at least are absolutely unfotgettable. They just snag you and drag you on one of the wildest, most breathtaking musical journeys the instrument is capable of.

Well put Markarian.

Wildest?
Breathtaking?
Musical Journey?
Capability?

Surely only your opinion?

Agerichfan is also not a Rachmaninoff fan lol

Surely only your opinion?

Nope.

I wouldn't say that. Maybe I'm just not a fan of the constant and obsessive adulation of Rachmaninov on this board.

Fair enough, eh?

Y U NO like Rachmaninoff??

Everyone likes Rachmaninoff—he's like the Italian food of the advanced piano repertoire.

Also, isn't this a Rach thread? A safe space to discuss our chemical addiction to those luscious, growling chords ?

This is the PC. Nothing is sacred.

I still remember the time when I were a young lad (i.e. in my previous incarnation ) in 1954, when the 5th edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music & Musicians confidently predicted that "the enormous popular success some few of Rachmaninov's works had in his lifetime is not likely to last."

Hubris is a term that comes to mind .

Rach 2 & 3 (especially 3) have become more & more popular since then, and are now the most popular concertos in concert halls - with both pianists and audiences; Rach/Pag is by far the most popular set of variations ever; and Rach is a staple of all pianists' diets who play Romantic music.

In fact, good ol' Rach has never been so popular - not just with pianists and audiences, but also among orchestras and conductors. (Rach's 2nd symphony is guaranteed to sell out halls, and orchestral players love playing it....)

LOVE IT!!

You are a 'player' and cheers for that~

Well to each his own, matey!

I must be one of the few people I know who thinks Rach's 1st symphony the best of the lot... by far!

The finale of the 2nd symphony... really? Is that great music? I would think Rach could have been a bit more discrete about his public [yeah, that], but, well never-mind.

Whilst the Rach concertos have been part of my musical education, I would have to have a very good reason to listen to another performance. I would rather take a chance on something I have yet to hear.

I wonder if the Rach lovers have heard concertos by Rozycki, Nikisch, Hannikainen, Sherwood, & Andriessen for example.

Concertingly.

Thal

Apart from Hannikainen's, I wouldn't have thought that the piano concertos of those other composers would appeal to someone who adores Rach's.

I'd say Paderewski, Moszkowski, Rubinstein, Frédéric d'Erlanger, Scharwenka, Taneyev, and most of all, Rach's great friend Medtner are more likely to fit the bill.

But IMO, there's still a very good reason why Rachmaninov's concertos have continued to soar in popularity, whereas others' languish in (relative) obscurity. Rach simply wrote lots of memorable tunes that linger in the memory......

No mine too!

That's the thing, Ben. They are distinctive enough to be accessible and memorable, and technically astounding enough to challenge even the most accomplished pianists. Everyone with popular appeal in music gets accused of being overrated.

I cannot for the life of me link Moskowski's two concertos with Rachmaninovs 4.

I bow to your superior judgement.

Thal