Sergey Rachmaninoff
Piano Concerto 3
in D Minor, Op. 30

The Third Concerto places huge technical demands on the soloist, but also features subtle lyricism, intricate musical conversation, and glimmering orchestration.

ID: 2623
Sergey Rachmaninoff - Concertos:

Piano Concerto 3
Op. 30

Key: D Minor
Year: 1909
Level: 8+
Period: Late Romantic
piano sheet music Piano score: Scanned score Download
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A special day in music history

Planning a tour of the United States, Rachmaninoff decided to write a third piano concerto, designed to showcase his talents as a pianist. Composed quickly, and rehearsed on a mute keyboard as Rachmaninoff crossed the United States, it requires great virtuosity and has the most complex structure of the concertos.

Imagine, if you will, being in a concert hall for a piano concerto performance, and then Rachmaninoff and Mahler come onto the stage. One takes his place at the piano, and the other steps onto the podium! Mahler had just a year and a little bit left to live in January 1910. The performance was a rousing success, as had been that of his second piano concerto a decade earlier. This wasn’t the third’s first performance, but it was a special day in the history of music during the first half of the 20th century. Rachmaninoff later described the rehearsal with Mahler:

"He devoted himself to the concerto until the accompaniment, which is rather complicated, had been practiced to perfection, although he had already gone through another long rehearsal. According to Mahler, every detail of the score was important – an attitude too rare amongst conductors. ... Though the rehearsal was scheduled to end at 12:30, we played and played, far beyond this hour, and when Mahler announced that the first movement would be rehearsed again, I expected some protest or scene from the musicians, but I did not notice a single sign of annoyance. The orchestra played the first movement with a keen or perhaps even closer appreciation than the previous time."

Unfortunately, after that special day, the concerto drifted into obscurity until resurrected by Vladimir Horowitz in whom Rachmaninoff had an ardent cheerleader. Rachmaninoff also made several cuts to the score in an attempt to make it more palatable to audiences. None of these cuts worked. Fortunately, Horowitz popularized the uncut version.

The piece ends with the four-note rhythm, sometimes interpreted as the composer's musical signature – "Rach-ma-ni-noff!" – because it is used in both the composer's Second Concerto and Second Symphony.




Forum posts about this piece:

My Journey to Rach 3 by luis guendulain
Hello! I dont know where else to post this, but I wanted to share so badly this project with pianists all over the world. I thought this mor...

Rach 3 ?? by happy notes
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Better Version of New World Symphony? by winsto7
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Rach 3 as a way to improve technique in other works by mr.vitamin_water
Hi guys, [left]As I was studying Chopin`s Etudes op. 25, his ballades, and  rach 3, besides other works, an idea came to me: what gain...

Digital Orchestra... by perfect_pitch
I'm currently learning Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto, and aim to record it with a second piano in October. While I would LOVE ...

Rachmaninov Concerto 3 recordings by lucasmachado
Hello everyone. I know there's already hundreds of topics about this concerto on internet but I still wanted to have advices. I'd...

Preparation for Rach 3 by schoenberg
Hey guys, I am currently 14 years old and would like to be able to perform Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 3 by the time I graduate high school(...

Rachmaninoff 3rd concerto real difficulty. Is it really that impossible to play? by rovis77
Hi, I just have a question. Is this concerto really impossible to play as it seems? or it looks harder than it really is?...

Rach 3 by rachmaninoff_forever
Hey so as all of you probably know, this is my favorite piece EVER since I was a kid.  And I've tried learning this several times ...

How to listen to music? by c_minor
I've started listening to classical music around 6 years ago, but it seems that I still tend to listen to "ear-friendly" musi...

What's your favorite performance of the Rach 3 Ossia Cadenza? by matthew from florida
I don't think I've found a favorite ossia cadenza, every performance has some elements I like and others I would change. Here are ...

Going to make an attempt to play the concert grand after by mrcreosote
the performance at the local small venue theater. The county symphony orchestra is going to do the Rach 3 concerto with Orion Weiss. The ...

Rachmaninov No. 3 at St. Cuthbert's London 26.11.2016 by wkmt
Piano Lessons London - Rachmaninov No. 3 at St. Cuthbert's November 27, 2016 | Juan Rezzuto It was a great pleasure to share with ...

SRdan Kozlica Plays Rachmaninov NO. 3 26.11.2016 Earls Court - London by wkmt
Srdan Kozlica performing Rachmaninov No. 3 – 26th of November 2016 Make sure you let us know about your party for the 26.11.2016. It is a ...

Rachmaninov NO. 3 for two pianos by wkmt
We are very happy to announce WKMT IN CONCERT 26.11 730PM at St.Cuthbert's Philbeach Gardens - Earls Court - London - UK PROGRAMME - M...

The Technique Master Thread by invictious
1) What exactly is technique? Having the means to get the sound that you want? Consistency? Minimising unnecessary movements? Being able to ...

Rachmaninoff concerto 3 by expressman70
Hi all, What is the real difficulty of this piece besides its length? Comparing for instance the second concerto that I am studying right n...

Time-wasting routine teachers indulge themselves in by simombarerus
My fellow piano aficionados, please think of your favorite recording of a monumental work (e.g., Rach 3, or Liszt B Minor). Do you like or a...

Some repertoire too hard for some great pianists ???? by ignaceii
Hello, I wonder quite some time how we have to see or approach some pianists with respect to their repertoire. Nowadays any named "Gre...

Cadenza Preference in Rach 3 by mk22
Just wondering what version of Rach's 3 cadenza you all preferred in the 1st movement. I used to prefer the ossia cadenza much more due...

Rach #3 - Blah Blah by thejeev
You're Rachmaninoff, on your way to the US, you write #3 as a way to explode onto the scene. You're practicing on the plane ride o...

The benefits of learning only sections of pieces by opus10no2
Like many pianists here - I was a late starter. On top of that I never have visions of being a concert pianist. I do enjoy learning some sh...


Member's recordings of piece:

Rachmaninoff 3rd Concerto by chuapiano
It was such a great feeling to finally be back on stage, and what better way than to perform this masterpiece with an orchestra! I hope you ...

Rach 3 mov 1 by rachmaninoff_forever
Alright so yo... I recorded this on my phone in a friends house on Thursday.  Yeah I know dynamics are kinda dry but dead ass Ima blam...


Members who like this piece have also downloaded:

Piano Concerto 3 Op. 30 in D Minor (published in 1909) from Concertos by Sergey Rachmaninoff - piano sheet music to download and print instantly.
Piano Concerto 3 in D Minor - Op. 30 is a piano piece by the late romantic composer Sergey Rachmaninoff who lived between the years 1873 and 1943.
The composition was first published in 1909 and is included in Concertos by Rachmaninoff.