The premiere of this concert took place on November 28, 1909, with Rachmaninoff as soloist with the New York Symphony Orchestra.
Some weeks later, it would be heard in New York again, this time with the New York Philharmonic conducted by no less a figure than Gustav Mahler.
Of the new piece, New York’s music critics had much to say, some of it favourable. The music writer for the New York Herald declared it to be one of “the most interesting piano concertos of recent years,” whereas the New York Tribune writer praised the work for its “essential dignity and beauty.”
Here is Yuja Wang to play this great music for you:
