rach 3 concerto w/daniil trifinov

per jess's request, i'm doing a little catch-up in here :)

it was chilly last night when we met up (in the 30s!) at totto ramen east side for some taiwan paitan ramen! perfect for this time of year.

then we scurried over to the upper west side for daniil trifonov's performance of rachmaninov's concerto no 3 the with nyphilharmonic performance. i'd never heard of daniil prior to the nyphil email which reached my inbox a couple months ago. but after some research, learned about the young virtuoso's first place at the 2011 international tchaikovsky competition and obsessed over some of his youtube performances. we were seated in the orchestra section, though far back left corner where the acoustics weren't great. his performance felt a little muted in the beginning - not nearly as expressive as his previous performances that i'd grown accustom to listening to, but it's possible it was due to our seats and the acoustics in the room.

things i noticed ... how calm he appeared, shoulders loose with a relaxed composure (at least initially before things got rowdy). his perfect form and technique as his fingers struck the keys. his relatively small hands, which one would not expect in such a technically difficult rach concerto. how inspired i felt ... though with slight regret. back in hs, i had practiced a beethoven concerto for quite some time and practiced with an orchestral soundtrack (on CD), though i never took it seriously enough to actually win a competition, which could afford me the opportunity to perform with a live orchestra. how i regret not trying a little harder ...

in any case, it's amazing to see a single pianist take on an entire orchestra!

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."