Rach 3 Live

Finally got to hear Yefim Bronfman play Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto 3 live. The first time I heard this piece was Bronfman's version from the 2004 Tokyo concert. Was totally blown away by his passion and of course, moved by the melancholy and vigor in the music as well. Remember it was a Friday drizzling night, I couldn't hold my tears when listening to it amid the hustle-bustle in Midtown.

So this time, when it's played by NY Philharmonic and conducted by Lorin Maazel, it felt like one of my biggest dreams coming true. The Philharmonic sounded great under Mr. Maazel, and it blended seamlessly with the piano. Being a layman as I am to classical music, I constantly have the image of a boat drifting in the sea when I listen to piano concertos--strings and horns become ocean waves and no matter how they push the little boat, it still manages to steer ahead, gracefully and brilliantly. At one point, the little boat becomes so bold that it silenced all the waves and winds surrounding it--like when Bronfman played the cadenza in the first movement, the whole concert hall was holding its breath. It sorta reminds me of that movie, Legend of 1900, and maybe that's why I like piano concertos, it's rich-textured and powerful, and yet, it's lucid and incisive.