Concerto # 3

Once they've asked Horowitz 'could you please tell us how to become a great pianist as yourself?', and he responded, probably jokingly, the following way 'you need to be both- gay and Jew'. 

I can listen Horowitz's performance of Sergei Rachmaninov's piano concerto #3 for hours, it is inspirational... It is spectacular, unbelievable, fantastically structured concerto  in such a brilliant implementation. That particular concerto makes pianists lose their minds, that's how complicated the structure of concerto is.

Horowitz was born in a Jewish family, family of musicians. During the WWII his family was captured in concentration camp, but he moved to the US. Leaving his father's house, he got the following parental advice 'you need to keep playing Tchaikovskiy's Concerto #1, this one will make you famous'. And he was playing it first when he got to Europe, in France... He was playing it so that masses were getting crazy, they were ruining and crashing concerto hall, that's how excited people were because of what they've experienced. A real master, that could lead masses with the piano play. 

Then he moved to the US, and after the WWII he was trying to get his sister out of the post- war USSR, but they didn't allow him to do this. That's how he lost all of his family.

As far as I know, in the US he married a daughter of great Italian composer Toscanini. Later his wife was telling journalists, that couldn't get any interview of maestro, she was saying 'you need to wait for him, as I did, for almost 15 years'. 

After a long silence, for quite a while he wasn't giving concerts in the US, because of what was happening in the USSR to his family members, he gave the first concert in 70's. He was treated for severe depression, for many years... Talented people, really blessed with talent, they can see how tragical this life is. 

One of my colleagues bf (he worked in La Scala for quite a while) was telling me, that today there's a new school of really talented piano performers- chinese school of pianists. I've never heard about Lang Lang before that conversation, and I was very interested to see if this one is true.He is quite technical, but it is not about passion, or deep understanding of Rachmaninov's sould when playing one of his concertos, it is about doing show from what he is doing. Classical music can not be popular, it can not be intellectually affordable for masses... I am not trying to be arrogant in my thoughts, but this is true... When I was in Italy, I was surprised that local people don't go to opera theatres, they just don't value what they're having in there. It is not that you were born in the homecountry of opera and you so very got used with it, so now you just don't give a dime about it. This is different, this is... something about your inner hunger for something really beautiful and real. Real... Have you ever felt empty so that you were crazy about getting something to fulfill the emptiness? If yes, then you probably know the 'hunger' for real music..

So if you want to listen really great performance of Rachmaninov's concertos, listen to the author's performances, or Horowitz's, cause ,once again, he is a great pianist.Or book a tickets to the nearest concert of Denis Matsuev, this guy is also great, so called 'piano demolisher' from Syberia :) 

I would like to write about my passion to Beethoven's music, but I will do it a bit later... 

That's about it for now.