preludes

sergei rachmaninoff (1873 - 1943) is considered to be one of the world's greatest composers, pianists, and conductors. during the romantic period, rach's compositions were expressive and inventive, influenced by the early works of tchaikovsky and the great five. from what i remember from my childhood, his music is bold, grand, and majestic. my personal connection with rach's music is the final piece in my 14 years of piano study, the rach 3 concerto.

here are a couple of my favorite rach pieces:

prelude opus 3 no 2 in c-sharp minor
performed by vladimir ashkenazy

prelude opus 23 no 2 in b-flat major
performed by vladimir ashkenazy

piano concerto no 3

performed by martha argerich

last night we watched an off-off-broadway show, preludes, by dave malloy at the claire tow theater at lincoln center. preludes is a musical, part fantasia and part reality, which takes place in the mind of sergei rachmaninoff during his three year writer's block and depression following the disastrous premiere of his first symphony. it was a really well-written and directed show, creative and sensual, highlighted by the amazing portrayal of rach by gabriel ebert.

the nytimes summed it up in the opening line of its review: "writer's block turns out to be a lot more inspiring than you could ever have imagined - and sad and stirringly fun."