Rach 3 is over played and over exaggerated

[lisztisforkids]

As i said above, Rach 3 is grossly over played and exaggerated. especially by young protege' punks that think they can play this piece but really dont have a fing clue about the musical aspect of this piece. To me this is acually a brilliant and beutiful piece of music. But please people, lets stop are worship of this piece for its technical prowes and look at the other side of this piece.



( I will probaly get beat for this)

[stevie]

you have a point, i think its the greatest piano concerto ever composer though.

[viking]

You know what?  Rach 3 isnt overplayed.  If it was overplayed, many people would be able to play it.  In national competitions ive competed in and viewed, there are hardly any people playing Rach 3.  Over listened to?  Maybe.  However, I respect any person who learns this piece.  I dont care if your a young protege punk that wants to learn it, because why not?  Who cares, you might not do justice to the concetro, but if you have an opportunity to learn it, why not?  It is the ultimate aspiration of most competiative pianists to learn it.  Shoot for the stars, why not???  Your a punk.
SAM

[stevie]

i think you are misunderstanding the original post, he is merely saying that it shouldnt be thought of as a 'stunt piece', that it should just be appreciated for the awesome music it is.

[presto agitato]

This concerto gained a "evil" reputation due to the movie Shine but is not the hardest piano concerto ever written.

[lisztisforkids]

Thank you Stevie, the only thing im saying here is that the concerto is very much abused by immature pianist. Just because you can play the piece dosent mean you can play the piece,i do beleive that many of us have lost roots in what true music is. And it shames me so.

[Aziel]

Then I expect you should be posting a recording of the local symphony and yourself playing this concerto with in the next few days.

Show us how it's done.  

[Motrax]

So what's the "young punk" supposed to play? We all started somewhere. If people who weren't "mature" enough spent their time learning musically shallow, technical junk, then they'd have a much harder time ever growing up in a musical sense.

Nobody's first Beethoven sonata was particularly noteworthy, and yet that doesn't stop young people from tackling them. Likewise, people playing Rach 3 who might not really understand the work in its full breadth are still growing up and learning. Furthermore, I would guess that not a single pianist learns Rach 3 simply for the sake of technical fireworks or prestige. Perhaps the finished product of the vast majority of young pianists sounds dull and dry, but nobody (besides Pollini, perhaps  ) purposefully and consciously plays in such a manner.

On a slightly different note, I'm rather tired of all this "true music is lost" garbage. I do agree that perhaps a greater portion of pianists today are more mundane than those of 50 or 100 years ago (not that I lived that long to compare  ), but there are many musicians of all ages who are magnificent artists. Perhaps the blame should not be placed on pianists who struggle to find a unique voice and fail, but rather it should be placed upon the listener who is so entrenched in this idea of a "musical wasteland" that they refuse to believe in great, living musicians even when they hear them.

Hope that made a bit of sense, it's past midnight.

[thierry13]

This concerto gained a "evil" reputation due to the movie Shine but is not the hardest piano concerto ever written.

Huh ... DUH ?

[thierry13]

As i said above, Rach 3 is grossly over played and exaggerated. especially by young protege' punks that think they can play this piece but really dont have a fing clue about the musical aspect of this piece. To me this is acually a brilliant and beutiful piece of music. But please people, lets stop are worship of this piece for its technical prowes and look at the other side of this piece.



( I will probaly get beat for this)

Yeah and Liszt is for Kids too  It is not overplayed. It is an awesome concerto that gets played minimum what it deserves.

[perfect_pitch]

THe only reason it is played so often, it is helps them to establish a sort of status when playing. If you can say to your self - I can play the Rach 3, then it's a great accomplishment.

The only reason it can sound bad is that Some performers don't put in the absolute critical thought into playing the music. They believe that if you can play it without making a mistake - Thats brilliant enough.

But even performers like Evgeny Kissin, and Horowitz had to start off somewhere... and they gain musicality as they mature and grow.

The Rach 3 may not be the hardest concerto, but it is the most impressive and most brilliant when played properly.

[lisztisforkids]

We have a little dinky symphony in my town, (were not very big). So it came as a big surprise to me when they announced that olga kern would be playing rach 3 with them. Olga Kern did very well,except at the first movement she had a short memory lapse.But the ala breve had me with my breath held. Whats that guys name she shared the Van Cliburn award with? I saw him play the tchaikovsky concerto and it was truly one the most amazing human feats i have seen. I would like to see him play Rach 3. Has he already? any recording?

[arensky]

Whats that guys name she shared the Van Cliburn award with? I saw him play the tchaikovsky concerto and it was truly one the most amazing human feats i have seen. I would like to see him play Rach 3. Has he already? any recording?

                                  Stanislaw Ioudenitch

[Nightscape]

Rach 3 isn't really overplayed - it is performed far far less than Tchaik 1, Rach 2, Grieg, and a host of others.

However Rach 3 is overdiscussed!!!  Imagine how a lot of people would feel about the Grieg concerto if it's technical difficulties were constantly being brought up, if people were constantly badgering others about who plays it the best, and whose recordings are awful.  From a psychological standpoint, there would be many who would even dread mention of the 'Grieg'.  That would lead to a gradual, almost subliminal dislike of the piece. 

So stop worshipping this piece on this board!  If you really respect it, and really love it, you won't ruin the experience for others by mindlessly ranting on and on about it.

If I made a post on this board about how I absolutely love Ravel's Daphnis and Chloe there would be a handful of people who would immediately dislike the piece (regardless of whether they heard it or not) because I'm sure there are some people here who don't particularly like me!

[Jacey1973]

Ohh i fancy watching "Shine" now.....might watch it later, my mum likes it too. Sorry, thinking aloud.

[thalbergmad]

It is my favourite Concerto and i don't think it is overplayed.

I do however feel there are many that are underplayed. Henselt only 2 recordings and Bortkiewicz only 1.

Whats going on??

[Motrax]

Henselt has 2 recordings? Who made the one that isn't Michael Ponti? 

[thalbergmad]

The famous Hamelin.

You ain't lived if you have not heard it.

Part of the Romantic Piano Concerto series issued by Hyperion.

[rapmasterb]

OK, I agree that some "punks" like to play it for the sake of it but the majority of performances are given by professional concert pianists.

Do you honestly think any of them guve a second thought to the difficulty? I don't think so. They play it because people want to hear it and because musically it is a titanic accomplishment. I fully agree with lisztisforkids.

It is only the uninitiated like us who ever focus on the difficulty. Rachmaninov certainly didn't.

Also, another thing to be siad is that the difficulty of the music is a means to an end; the piano solo part sounds amazing by virtue of the amount of work done by the soloist. The difficulty is there to create wondeful music and let us never forget that.

[larse]

I see no point in playing rach 3 if you want to play rach 3..but I would never perform this piece if I knew I was uncapable of it.

I hardly doubt it will ever be overplayed, it's just overlistened by enthusiasts like ourselves. personally I'm quite sick of all the rachmaninov concerti, but there's alot more than me out there who probably want to listen to these amazing concerti..

and, then, why would anyone judge anything for being too difficult? That's just silly. Why don't we start hating Brahms2 for being more difficult than Rach3? And why don't we just dislike Alkan, Medtner, Scriabin, Prokifev? Come on! This is just stupid.

Overexaggerated, yes. It's not 'the hardest piece in the world' as shine wants it to be

Overplayed, not in a million years

[perfect_pitch]

I see no point in playing rach 3 if you want to play rach 3..but I would never perform this piece if I knew I was uncapable of it.

Isn't that kind of obvious??? Who would perform something if they weren't completely capable of playing it???

[larse]

my point exactly...too many does this, I think. that is commonly the 'punks' referred to earlier in this thread.

[arensky]

It is my favourite Concerto and i don't think it is overplayed.

I do however feel there are many that are underplayed. Henselt only 2 recordings and Bortkiewicz only 1.

Whats going on??

Henselt has 2 recordings? Who made the one that isn't Michael Ponti?

The famous Hamelin.

You ain't lived if you have not heard it.

Part of the Romantic Piano Concerto series issued by Hyperion.

Raymond Lewenthal has also recorded the Henselt f minor Concerto, way back in the 50's or 60's, unless I am  mistaken...

[tompilk]

Neither overplayed or exaggerated for such a beautiful peice of music. That's my opinion...