Yefim Bronfman: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30

November 21, 2004.
Conductor: Valery Gergiev
Weiner Philharmoniker
Tokyo, Japan

Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
Composition completed September 23, 1909 by Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (at the age of 36).

I. Allegro ma non tanto 0:28
II. Intermezzo: Adagio 16:20
III. Finale: Alla breve 26:02

*Interview with Mr. Bronfman here:

[eduardorios]

I heard-saw him live with the CSO in Chicago''s Symphony Center and it was overwhelming. My wife asked if I was sick at the end because I was crying and couldn't join the standing ovation. She had never seen me cry in 40 years of marriage...

[luluume]

もう何回聴いたかわからない。
生きててよかったとすら思える。
奇跡の演奏だと思います。感謝

[globalc]

This is a monster of a performance. 10/10. Brofman is a genius and a consummate professional to play it this perfectly live. Inspiring and sensational. Bravo a thousand times.

[youngactorsplayhouse]

It gives me hope in humanity that this video gets almost 75, 000 views per year.

[kaya]

I listened to this on my headphones at work and literally 40 minutes passed without me pressing a single key on my keyboard. 15 goose-bump attacks, and 3 tissue boxes later I am contemplating that if the entire purpose of my life was just to have heard this piece, it was a life worth living.

[Chaz]

People give so much credit to the first movement, but from 21:30 -22:30 is in my opinion one of the most breathtaking passages in all of classical music

[Zamzummin]

Everyone knows the Rach Piano Concerto No. 3 is hard, but this isn't just about hard work... Yefim Bronfman is a genius. His piano is on a level above anyone else, so exceptional in his mastery of this piece that nobody can touch him.

The lucky audience in Tokyo that evening didn't realize they had just heard the greatest version of this piece that will probably ever be recorded.

[vulcan]

 Let's give a shout out to that magnificent Steinway AND the tuner. What an outstanding  job.

[joerossm]

I saw Bronfman play the Rach 3 just last night with the Madison Symphony Orchestra. Astonishing! Have not yet returned to earth. I also saw him play Prokofiev's 3rd back in 2008 -- the greatest concert I ever saw. It feels great to be alive.

[sergeirachmaninoff]

Whoever wrote this must have been a genius...

[wholzman]

The ending sounds like a old movie as if to say, "I now have found happiness". Mr. Bronfman is brilliant .

[robertoa.m.]

In this performance you realize music and talent are God's gift to humanity.
This is towering, gigantic greatness. All three, Yefim, Valeri and the Viennese, come together to give us an unsurpassable performance.
Makes one wonder what Rachmaninov's and Mahler's performance in New York must've sounded like!!
This is Heaven on

[IvanBunny]

Months later, I come back to this.  He didn't wimp out on the Ossia Cadenza, he dominated it! This Rach 3 performance is perfection. 

[annaradin]

absolutely the best rendition of this outstanding concert!
both Bronfman and Gergiev are superb!

[GMihua]

without doubt one of the best performances in 21 century

[marlyharris]

My drug of choice = Bronfman and Rach 3. Once a week at least. No side effects but a sustained musical high.

[ivanmills]

I have not heard a finer reading of this concerto - including Ms. Argerich whose performance is phenomonal and more feral than Mr. Bronfman.  Mr. Bronfman does not leave the orchestra in the dust even though his tempi are quite fast.  The ensemble between orchestra and piano, which is extraordinarily tricky in this work, is unequaled in all the recordings and performances I've heard.  And this is LIVE!  I had the privilege to turn pages for Mr. Bronfman in St. Paul MN when he and Hugh Wolf, then conductor of the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, performed Stravinsky's "Rite of Spring" on 2 pianos.  That was a nerve racking experience.  Mr. Bronfman was most gracious and I got to see up close just what a phenomonal pianist and musician (musician first, then pianist) he is!

[alexandergroot]

Umistakably the best performance nowadays of this concerto which was written as a challenge for pianists. Yefim has everything !! Technical skills, rubato and all very honest and genuine. He has the magic to give you goosebumps and only a handful of pianists have this amazing ability. For me this is "THE" interpretation of Rach 3

[armstrong]

This is among the very greatest performances of Rachmaninoffs 3rd piano Concerto.Bronfman has the technique, vivid imagination, power and sweep, and a deep understanding of every note. He also allows the music to speak for itself rather than infect it with an abundance of mannerisms as most pianists do.

[owengette]

11:20

a famous stormy passage in the piano literature— I’ve heard it countless times by dozens of pianists, but none with such impeccable clarity and such force.