Nutcracker Magic

Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto begins with a brief murmuring from the orchestra and the simplest of introductions of the main theme from the piano. A mood of dark, impassioned lyricism prevails throughout which builds with urgent expressiveness before reaching an almost delirious close. With its massive chords, cascading and leaping octaves, high-speed runs and wide-spaced, busily embellished textures, it demands a pianist with strength, dext...