Wild Piano

For the past months I have been exploring a piano concerto played by Martha Argerich, an exciting dynamo well known by piano enthusiasts. The piece is the Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30, and the Agerich recording is coupled with the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor, Op. 23. The conductor is Riccardo Chailly, with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra.

I don't play piano, but I love the lush brooding of the Russian composers. The Rach 3, composed in 1907, is notoriously difficult to play, and often runs as long as 45 minutes. Apparently very few pianists can expertly navigate its thunderstorm of big chords and nearly insane tempos. Wikipedia writes that "The Rach 3 is feared by all pianists".

The Rach 3 is not loved by everybody. But if you appreciate huge, romantic, over-the-top piano concertos played at demonic speed and with technical virtuosity, check out this Argerich recording.