Building a Collection #39: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 3

With recommended recordings

Building a Collection #39

Piano Concerto no. 3 in D minor, Op. 30

Sergei Rachmaninoff

_____________

“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” 

-Sergei Rachmaninoff

Welcome back to Building a Collection!    We have now arrived at #39 on our way up to the top 250 classical works of all-time.  Number 39 is Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 3 in D minor Op. 30.  One of the most difficult and brilliant piano concertos ever written, it takes a spot on our survey along with Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto no. 2, which appeared earlier at #17.

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Sergei Rachmaninoff (also often spelled Rachmaninov) was born in Semyonovo, Russia in 1873 and died in Beverly Hills, California in 1943.  Rachmaninoff was one of those rare artists who excelled as a performer, conductor, and composer.  During his lifetime, he was known as one of the greatest pianists of all time and also the last great composer of the Russian Romantic tradition.  Sergei was raised in a music-loving, aristocratic family and his mother fostered the natural ability he showed by giving him piano lessons.  It was clear early on that Sergei possessed prodigious talent, and when the family fortunes declined, they moved to St. Petersburg, where the boy entered the conservatory.  Eventually as he continued to impress, he was sent to the Moscow Conservatory.  There he received lessons from the strict Nikolay Zverev and his own cousin Alexander Siloti.  As he grew in maturity and musical prowess, Rachmaninoff also made the acquaintance of many important and influential contacts in the music world.  

Rachmaninoff became good friends with Tchaikovsky along the way, and the elder Tchaikovsky became quite an advocate for the young pianist.  While at the conservatory, Rachmaninoff also displayed significant compositional gifts, eventually winning the gold medal in composition for his opera Aleko in 1892.  Rachmaninoff was prone to depression, and when his Symphony no. 1 was received poorly in 1897, he went into an extended depression and withdrew from composing for several years.  Later it was revealed that the orchestra for the premiere had been very poorly rehearsed, and the conductor Alexander Glazunov had likely been intoxicated while on the podium.  Rimsky-Korsakov remarked after hearing a rehearsal, “Forgive me, but I do not find this music at all agreeable.”  

The assessment from Russian composer and critic Cesar Cui was the most cutting:

“If there were a conservatory in Hell, and if one of its talented students were to compose a programme symphony based on the story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt, and if he were to compose a symphony like Mr. Rachmaninoff's, then he would have fulfilled his task brilliantly and would delight the inhabitants of Hell. To us this music leaves an evil impression with its broken rhythms, obscurity and vagueness of form, meaningless repetition of the same short tricks, the nasal sound of the orchestra, the strained crash of the brass, and above all its sickly perverse harmonization and quasi-melodic outlines, the complete absence of simplicity and naturalness, the complete absence of themes.”

A later reassessment of the symphony would redeem it from its dismal initial reception, but the blow would haunt Rachmaninoff for the rest of his life.  

In his depression, Rachmaninoff turned to hypnosis, which provided some relief.  After a four-year period of self-doubt, Rachmaninoff returned with a huge success in his Piano Concerto no. 2 in 1900-01.  The concerto almost assured him of lasting renown, with its large romantic melodies and virtuosic piano runs and climaxes.  In popular culture, Frank Sinatra used themes from the first and third movements respectively for his songs I Think of You and Full Moon and Empty Arms.  Perhaps more familiar is Eric Carmen’s 1975 ballad All by Myself based on the second movement.

His career resurrected, and after marrying his first-cousin Natalya Satina in 1902, Rachmaninoff would go on in the first decade of the new century to compose some of his most well-known and enduring works:  Isle of the Dead (1907), Symphony no. 2 (1907), and his Piano Concerto no. 3 (1909).

Keep in mind that Rachmaninoff was not really making a living from composing, but rather from performing as a pianist and conductor.  In 1904, Rachmaninoff agreed to become the conductor of the famed Bolshoi Theatre for two seasons.  As a conductor, Rachmaninoff received mixed reviews as musically discerning but also very demanding and exacting of his players.  During his second year in the post, he tired of the job and handed in his resignation in February of 1906.  Unhappy with the political climate in Russia at the time, he packed up his family and moved them to Dresden, Germany, where they stayed until 1909.  During this time, Rachmaninoff completed work on his Symphony no. 2 and it premiered in 1908.  It was to become his greatest orchestral success.  

During his time in Dresden, Rachmaninoff also agreed to travel to the United States for the first time to perform as a soloist and conductor in a series of concerts in 1909-10 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and conductor Max Fiedler.  While preparing for the trip, he worked on a new concerto which would become his Piano Concerto no. 3, which he hoped to premiere on the trip.  In Boston he performed 26 times, 19 as a soloist and 7 as a conductor.  Interestingly, his first appearance for recital was at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts on November 4th, 1909.  Shortly after he gave the second ever performance of his Piano Concerto no. 3 as the soloist accompanied by the New York Symphony Orchestra conducted by legendary conductor and composer Gustav Mahler.  This would be one of Rachmaninoff’s most memorable moments in the United States.

Upon his return to Russia in 1910, Rachmaninoff was appointed the head of the Imperial Russian Musical Society, but eventually resigned when he discovered that an administrator was dismissed for being Jewish.  In the following years, he would compose The Bells and his All-Night Vigil as World War I heated up.  Rachmaninoff went on tours in England and Europe performing his own works and for the first-time including works by other composers.  In February 1917, at the beginning of the Russian revolution, Rachmaninoff returned to his estate in Ivanovka only to find it had been confiscated by the Social Revolutionary Party.  Rachmaninoff left within weeks and vowed never to return.  After a vacation in Crimea with his family, they moved to Moscow and lived in a collective for a time amid chaos and violence outside their doors.  

Soon after, Rachmaninoff received offers from Scandinavia to perform recitals, which he quickly accepted mostly for the purpose of obtaining permits for his family to leave Russia.  Packing lightly, and traveling through Finland by train and sled, they eventually arrived in Stockholm and then settled in Copenhagen.  During this time, Rachmaninoff mostly performed live in recitals throughout Scandinavia as a means of income.  As a result, he had to learn many new pieces by other composers, which greatly increased his repertoire.  Despite receiving offers from the United States to conduct the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and to tour giving recitals, Rachmaninoff declined them all.  But he changed his mind after realizing that the United States could be financially advantageous for his family.  He found a way to raise enough money for his entire family to travel from Oslo, Norway to New York City on the SS Bergensfjord.  

Rachmaninoff toured extensively in the USA and began an exclusive relationship with the Steinway piano company.  Soon finances were no longer an issue, and the family lived quite well in New York City with many of the luxuries of the day.  Rachmaninoff also began a recording relationship with RCA Victor in 1920, which would carry on through the rest of his career.  He would also become well off enough to periodically send money to friends and family in Russia that were suffering through the Revolution.  In the early 1920s, Rachmaninoff toured widely in England and Europe, solidifying his fame.  In 1924, he once again declined to be the conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  Leaving his home country had blunted his desire to compose, and he didn’t compose again until 1930 when he was spending summers in France.  He would compose his well-known Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini there in 1934.  Rachmaninoff would sign on to an article in the New York Times denouncing the cultural policies in the Soviet Union, and as a result he was boycotted from entering the country.

In his remaining years, Rachmaninoff would continue to perform and compose, albeit at a much slower pace.  Various health issues arose, and eventually he was advised by his doctor to move to a warmer climate.  In 1942 he moved with his family to Beverly Hills, California.  By this time, Rachmaninoff had befriended Vladimir Horowitz and Igor Stravinsky, both of whom had also fled their homelands to the USA.  The 1942-43 season would be his last season of performing, and even though he was still brilliant, he was very fatigued.  He passed away in March 1943, a few days short of his 70th birthday.  In his will, Rachmaninoff had requested to be buried in Russia, but since he had become a US citizen that was impossible at the time.  In August 2015, Russia requested that Rachmaninoff’s remains be moved back to his homeland because they contended America had neglected his burial place but had profited commercially from his name.  His descendents have resisted this request, claiming that Rachmaninoff had chosen to make the USA his homeland after political exile from the Soviet Union.  His remains are buried in Valhalla, New York.

As a pianist, Rachmaninoff was known for his precision, clarity, and consistent legato line (legato means smooth or flowing).  Rachmaninoff’s hands themselves became something of a legend as well, since he had enormous hands and a very wide span with his fingers.  He was able to play even the most difficult chords with ease, and he had an unbelievable ability to make full use of the keyboard.  There is speculation Rachmaninoff suffered from acromegaly, which could explain his large hands and feet, as well as his depression.    

The great pianist Arthur Rubinstein commented on Rachmaninoff the pianist:

“I was always under the spell of his glorious and inimitable tone which could make me forget my uneasiness about his too rapidly fleeting fingers and his exaggerated rubatos. There was always the irresistible sensuous charm…”

The music Rachmaninoff composed is noted for its highly romantic style, beautiful and memorable melodies, and rich harmonies.  There is no doubt his career as a pianist greatly influenced his compositions, especially as he created so many works for solo piano.  His early works were influenced by Tchaikovsky, whom he revered, but soon he would find his own voice and style that became very recognizable.  Rachmaninoff’s use of changing rhythms, sweeping lyricism, and compact use of themes became hallmarks of his style.  His melodies are passionate and unabashedly sentimental, and as he grew as a composer, he became more adept at contrasting orchestral color and textures.  He was also a master of counterpoint and fugue and used it well.  Much of his structure was related to his love of Russian choral music, and this can be heard in almost all his works, especially his use of chords spaced apart for effect.

While certainly tonal in nature, Rachmaninoff’s music also contains an original style and genuinely sounds modern due to his use of chromaticism between tones and his careful use of dissonant harmonies.  While some early critics said his works were shallow, gushing, and artificial, most now agree that Rachmaninoff’s greatest works are likely to endure forever.     

Piano Concerto no. 3

Rachmaninoff premiered his Third Concerto with the New York Symphony Orchestra with Walter Damrosch conducting on November 28, 1909.  For a long time, the concerto took a backseat to his Second Concerto, which was more melodic and concise.  The Third Concerto is a deeper and more difficult work, with more virtuosic passagework and lengthier cadenzas.  Unfortunately, Rachmaninoff was compelled to make some significant cuts which made it shorter and easier to play in concert but shortchanged much of the work’s artistic value.  In the last 30 years or so, most concerts have included the full, unabridged original score, which pushes the timing to around 45 minutes total.  

The concerto is structured as follows:

1. Allegro ma non tanto

2. Intermezzo. Adagio

3. Finale. Alla breve

Rachmaninoff claims the opening of the concerto wrote itself.  As described by Robert Cummings in the All-Music Guide:

“The concerto begins in a hushed, mysterious way with the piano playing out a simple but solemn theme of Russian character, which then immediately begins to sprout new ideas.  A bridge passage leads to the second theme that is slower, but then takes on another form, and in a typical Rachmaninoff way is soaring and ecstatic.  The main theme returns with a strong development section that leads into a fairly long cadenza, where Rachmaninoff offers the soloist two different versions:  the chordal original, which is commonly notated as the “ossia”, and a second one with a lighter, toccata-like style.  Finally, there is a restatement of the main theme and a brief coda which is subdued and reflective.

The second movement Adagio is formally rather unique, with the main theme dominating most of the movement, and a brief scherzo-like section appearing near the ecstatic glory of its big restatements by piano and orchestra in the middle part of the movement.  After the playful scherzo-ish music, the piano is given a brief but brilliant cadenza that leads directly into the colorful finale.

The finale, marked Alla breve, offers a typical Rachmaninoff fast theme on the piano right off immediately following a loud chord from the orchestra:  it is related to the first movement’s second theme and is rhythmically buoyant and catchy in its repeated notes.  A rhythmic chordal passage harkens back to the rhythm heard at concerto’s outset, and a lovely theme, related to the first movement bridge passage, is presented, hinting at triumphant resolution.  Following a dramatic, suspenseful buildup near the end the theme makes one final and absolutely triumphant appearance, after which the brilliant coda closes the work.”

The piece ends with the same four-note rhythm – claimed by some to be the composer's musical signature – as it is used in both the composer's second concerto and second symphony.  

You may recall the concerto is significant in the 1996 film Shine, based on the life of pianist David Helfgott. 

Rachmaninoff called the Third the favorite of his own piano concertos, stating that "I much prefer the Third, because my Second is so uncomfortable to play." Nevertheless, it was not until the 1930s and largely thanks to the advocacy of Vladimir Horowitz that the Third Concerto became popular.  The “Rach 3” as it is sometimes called, is widely considered to be one of the most difficult concertos in the repertoire, and one which many virtuosos choose for competitions in order to highlight their talent.  

The Essential Recording 

I must confess upfront that I much prefer the faster, edge of your seat, high-wire performances of Rachmaninoff’s Third.  This will not appeal to everyone, but for me the concerto loses something if slowed down too much, especially in the outer movements.  I am not proposing a robotic, typewriter-esque approach which takes out all romantic feeling and rubato.  But the concerto requires significant voltage and energy in order to satisfy.

The Argentine pianist Martha Argerich, now 82 years of age, is considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time.  Argerich has been disciplined in only performing music by composers she feels a particular connection with, including Chopin, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Schumann.  Her 1982 recording of Rachmaninoff's Third Concerto further established her reputation as one of the greats.  We are very fortunate to have this recording, as she would soon thereafter stop playing it (and to my knowledge she has never played or recorded Rach 2, to the chagrin of her fans).  This live recording was made by Philips with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra and conductor Riccardo Chailly.

As Bryce Morrison says in the liner notes for the CD:

“Rachmaninoff’s Third - arguably the most daunting and opulent of all piano concertos - has become inseparable in many musician’s minds from Martha Argerich, one of the few living pianists able to not only tame but dominate and engulf music of the highest passion and pianistic intricacy.  Such a statement invites comparisons with other celebrated interpreters of this magisterial example of fin-de-siecle Romanticism; with the composer himself, Horowitz, Gilels, and Van Cliburn…Sensuous, impulsive and with moments which will make even the most blase listener or virtuoso fancier pale, Martha Argerich remains acutely sympathetic to Rachmaninoff’s idiom, to subtlety and rhetoric alike, while at the same time conveying her own inimitable force and individuality.”

Indeed, it is Argerich’s passion and feeling which stand out from other rival recordings, and for me, raise this recording to the very best.  Argerich’s extrovert style is not to everyone’s liking, but in my view, she supplies exactly what is required of this piece.  As with almost any live recording, there is some background noise and a few coughs, as well as a few minor blemishes from Argerich herself (but precious few).  I would contend it is all the more stunning as a result of being a live recording, catching Argerich at her most volatile and blazing.  This is playing of the highest order in terms of pure virtuosity, but also musically in my opinion.  The Third Concerto is meant to be played at high voltage with fire in the belly.  And so, it is by Argerich.  

But it is the finale which has never been equaled, except perhaps by Horowitz.  While it is true that Argerich takes many sections of the finale at a faster pace than almost anyone else, it is also true that the music holds up to this treatment and at no point does she lose the musical line.  We cheer at this fiery performance by Martha Argerich, a true force of nature, and are grateful to have this recording which fortunately captured this historic concert.

Other Recommended Recordings

Vladimir Horowitz was certainly one of the best interpreters of Rachmaninoff that has ever lived.  After hearing Horowitz's performance of his Third concerto on August 7, 1942, at the Hollywood Bowl, Rachmaninoff said, "This is the way I always dreamed my concerto should be played, but I never expected to hear it that way on Earth."  There are at least four recordings commercially available of Horowitz playing the Third Concerto, but I have a difficult time choosing between his live 1941 concert at Carnegie Hall with the New York Philharmonic led by Sir John Barbirolli (on Appian Productions) and the 1951 recording from Carnegie Hall for the RCA Victor label with the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra led by Fritz Reiner.  Horowitz is virtually on fire at the keyboard on both recordings, and indeed he plays with such energy that at times it almost feels too fast, and we lose some clarity on the notes.  If anything, the earlier recording captures the faster passages marginally better.  But both recordings are a must if you love the Rachmaninoff Third.  It is important to know that the sound is poor on the 1941 recording, including some hissing and popping sounds.  The 1951 sound is better, but still not great even for its day, although the most recent remastering has improved things a bit.  The 1941 recording is the more cohesive performance as a whole, and while it is true Horowitz could sometimes be indulgent and overly schmaltzy on other occasions, this performance shows Horowitz at his most focused and virtuosic, with playing from another world.  I still love the 1951 performance as well, and in truth both performances are fairly similar.  Horowitz and Rachmaninoff were kindred spirits of a sort, both titans of the keyboard, but also, they both had personal crises which they overcame to reach greatness.  Reiner was in his prime, and his accompaniment is near ideal.  But I must admit, if you are wanting a slower, more lyrical performance, you should look elsewhere.  

Byron Janis (a pupil of Horowitz) and the Boston Symphony Orchestra with Charles Munch on RCA Living Stereo and recorded in 1957, deliver one of the best versions of this concerto.  Janis is crystal clear, and the orchestra is caught with detail and warmth.  While not quite as fast or impulsive as the recordings listed above, this is a very satisfying account.  I prefer this to Janis’s other recording on Mercury Living Presence with the London Symphony and Antal Dorati, although that one is also very good and some will prefer it.  The performances are somewhat similar, but this is the more exciting performance and I tend to prefer the warmer sound of RCA to the more brittle Mercury sound. 

American hero Van Cliburn, winner of the inaugural Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958 during the Cold War, making headlines and spawning ticker-tape parades upon his return, recorded the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto live at Carnegie Hall on RCA Living Stereo with the Symphony of the Air led by Kirill Kondrashin to commemorate his return to the USA.  This is a more lyrical, less frenetic performance, but still caught extremely well and displays the tremendous gifts Van Cliburn possessed as a young man.  The sound is outstanding for 1958, especially in the notoriously difficult recording venue of Carnegie Hall.  It is a truly beautiful recording.  It is worth noting that Van Cliburn’s actual winning performance in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, also of Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto, was recorded and is available on the Testament label for a tidy sum.  Kondrashin was also the conductor, leading the Moscow Philharmonic.  I have not heard that recording, but it is available for download on Amazon for less, and at various times it has been available to see or hear on YouTube. 

Russian-Swiss pianist Andrei Gavrilov was a phenomenal talent when he was young, and his astounding 1976 recording with the USSR Symphony Orchestra and conductor Alexander Lazarev simply must be heard.  However, if you want to hear it you must go to YouTube where you will find an acceptable transfer.  Why this performance never made it from LP to CD is beyond my understanding, because it is one of the greatest performances of this titanic concerto.  Gavrilov is lyrical, powerful, spontaneous, tender, delicate when needed, tempestuous when needed, and throughout he manages to keep control over everything.  Although only 21 years of age at the time, Gavrilov brings a deep sense of musical understanding as well as an unbelievable virtuosity to the piece.  The recorded sound has some issues, and the orchestra is not ideally captured but it is serviceable.  Gavrilov’s pianism is nothing short of amazing.  His later recording with Riccardo Muti is not in the same league. 

Equally recommended is the live 2004 recording by the British pianist Stephen Hough joined by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and conductor Andrew Litton, as part of a complete Rachmaninoff concerto cycle recorded for the Hyperion label.  While Hough’s traversal through the Second concerto is simply too fast in my view, the Third is a performance that fully deserves the top spot with Argerich and Horowitz and is in significantly better sound.  Because the Hyperion label only a short time ago joined the largest streaming services, and because the copy I borrowed from the library was damaged, I only heard this recording quite recently.  The level of excellence achieved by Mr. Hough is tremendous, his playing has both lyrical depth and virtuosic panache.  Litton and the Dallas orchestra acquit themselves with flying colors, the rich and detailed sound capturing their accompaniment very well.  Hough’s playing here reminds me strongly of Rachmaninoff himself as well as Horowitz in that Hough remains true to the composer’s dynamics and tempi.  Hough and Litton play off each other wonderfully, in the first movement pushing the momentum nicely, in the second movement keeping the pulse moving to ensure things don’t drag too much, and the finale is simply thrilling on all counts.

The final recording on my recommended list is a YouTube video of the 2022 live final round gold medal performance of the concerto by 18-year-old Korean pianist Yunchan Lim with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra and conductor Marin Alsop.  I include this performance because it is of such a high quality not only visually but also musically.  Lim brings his own flavor and voice to the piece, not an easy task with such a warhorse of a concerto.  Because I appreciate Horowitz so much in this concerto, to say that I hear a lot of Horowitz in Lim’s playing is the highest compliment.  But more than that, Lim is sensitive to his phrasing and his choices always feel right to my mind.  Indeed, he pulls back at times to let the music breathe, which contrasts nicely with the faster, more spectacular passages.  There is a personal nature to his playing that I enjoy, while he also has the chops to bring off the faster passages with a great deal of virtuosity.  Lim’s playing is far beyond his years, and I am excited about what may lie ahead.  This performance thrust Lim onto the musical stage, and I am confident this won't be the last we hear from him.        

Other Notable Recordings

London Symphony Orchestra / Anatole Fistoulari / Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano (Decca, 1963)

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Jascha Horenstein / Earl Wild, piano (Chandos, 1965)

The Philadelphia Orchestra / Riccardo Muti / Andrei Gavrilov, piano (Warner, 1986)

BBC Symphony Orchestra / Yan Pascal Tortelier / Grigory Sokolov, piano (DG, 1995)

City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra / Sakari Oramo / Nikolai Lugansky, piano (Warner, 2003)

London Symphony Orchestra / Antonio Pappano / Leif Ove Andsnes, piano (Warner, 2010)

Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela / Gustavo Dudamel / Yuja Wang, piano (DG, 2013)

Czech Philharmonic Orchestra / Paavo Jarvi / Khatia Buniatishvili, piano (Sony, 2017)

Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Valery Gergiev / Behzod Abduraimov, pianist (RCO, 2017)

The Philadelphia Orchestra / Yannick Nezet-Seguin / Daniil Trifonov, piano (DG, 2019)

Thank you once again for your readership, and I hope you join me next time when we discuss Gustav Holst’s epic work The Planets. See you then!

_____________________

Notes:      

Bertensson, Sergei; Leyda, Jay (2001). Sergei Rachmaninoff – A Lifetime in Music (Paperback ed.). New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-253-21421-8.

Brennan, Gerald. Dettmer, Roger. Reel, James. Schrott, Allen. Woodstra, Chris.  All Music Guide to Classical Music, The Definitive Guide.  All Media Guide. Pp. 925-926.  Backbeat Books, San Francisco. 2005.

Cobb, Gary. "A Descriptive Analysis of the Piano Concertos of Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2019-04-04. Retrieved 2020-07-06.

https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/144683.Sergei_Rachmaninoff

Harrison, Max, Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings (London and New York: Continuum, 2005). ISBN 978-0-8264-5344-0.

Hartley, Kris. Musical Review: Yunchan Lim’s performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto (16th Van Cliburn International Piano Competition). June 2022. Online at krishartley.com.  

Kyui, Ts., "Tretiy russkiy simfonicheskiy kontsert," Novosti i birzhevaya gazeta (17 March 1897(o.s.)), 3.

Lyle, Watson (1939). Rachmaninoff: A Biography. London: William Reeves Bookseller. ISBN 978-0-404-13003-9.

Martyn, Barrie, Rachmaninoff: Composer, Pianist, Conductor (Aldershot, England: Scolar Press, 1990). ISBN 978-0-85967-809-4.

Mayne, Basil (October 1936). "Conversations with Rachmaninoff". Musical Opinion. 60: 14–15.

Midgette, Anne (1 December 2016). "Martha Argerich is a legend of the classical music world. But she doesn't act like one". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 23 January 2017.

Morrison, Bryce. One of Nature’s Happenings. Martha Argerich Rachmaninoff 3 with Riccardo Chailly. Liner notes. Philips Classics. 1995.

https://news.imz.at/industry-news/news/rachmaninoff-and-horowitz

Norris, Geoffrey (2001a). Rachmaninoff. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-198-16488-3.

"Program Notes: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3". Archived from the original on 2005-04-20. Retrieved 2013-03-01.

Ramachandran, Manoj; Aronson, Jeffrey K. (2006). "The diagnosis of art: Rachmaninov's hand span". Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 99 (10): 529–530. doi:10.1177/014107680609901015. PMC 1592053. PMID 17066567.

Robinson, Harlow (2007). Russians in Hollywood, Hollywood's Russians: Biography of an Image. Lebanon: University Press of New England. ISBN 978-1-555-53686-2.

Rubinstein, Arthur (1980). My Many Years. New York: Knopf. ISBN 0-394-42253-8.

"Russia: Rachmaninoff reburial bid riles composer's family". BBC. 19 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2017.

Scott, Michael (2011). Rachmaninoff. Cheltenham: The History Press. ISBN 978-0-7524-7242-3.

Seroff, Victor Ilyitch (1950). Rachmaninoff: A Biography. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-836-98034-9.

Sylvester, Richard D. (2014). Rachmaninoff's Complete Songs: A Companion with Texts and Translations. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 978-0-2530-1259-3.

"The 20 Greatest Pianists of all time | Classical-Music.com". www.classical-music.com.

Wehrmeyer, Andreas (2004). Rakhmaninov. London: Haus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-904341-50-5.

Yasser, Joseph (1951). "Progressive Tendencies in Rachmaninoff's Music". Tempo. 22 (22): 11–25. JSTOR 943073.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martha_Argerich

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No._1_(Rachmaninoff)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Rachmaninoff

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano_Concerto_No._3_(Rachmaninoff)