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

I. Allegro ma non tanto: the piano enters almost immediately with a plain, folk-like melody stated quietly under a rocking orchestral pulse, deceptively simple given what follows. The music builds through increasingly elaborate piano figuration, and near the movement's end comes a huge, crashing cadenza (a passage for piano alone) that Rachmaninoff wrote in two versions, one denser and more demanding than the other; listen for how the orchestra drops away entirely before it.

II. Intermezzo, adagio: a wistful, slow-moving melody opens in the orchestra, tinged with melancholy, before the piano takes it up and pushes it through darker and more agitated territory, including a brief waltz-like episode that lightens the mood before it settles back into shadow.

III. Finale, alla breve: launched without pause from the second movement, this is the most extroverted music of the piece, full of hard-driven rhythms and glittering runs. Listen for the return of the very first melody from the opening movement, now transformed into a broad, triumphant statement that closes the work.

Rachmaninoff wrote the concerto in the summer of 1909 for his first tour of the United States, wanting a substantial new work to introduce himself to American audiences as both composer and pianist. He gave the premiere that November in New York with the New York Symphony Society, and performed it again weeks later under Gustav Mahler, who led a rehearsal Rachmaninoff long remembered for its thoroughness. The concerto's technical demands, especially in its cadenza and finale, quickly made it a benchmark for virtuoso pianists. It remained on the fringes of the repertoire for decades before gaining wider popularity later in the twentieth century, helped in part by high-profile performances and recordings, and it is now among the most frequently performed of all piano concertos.