Taught by renowned pianist
Boris Giltburg
The name “Rachmaninoff” has become synonymous with the passion, pathos, and power of the composer’s music. Nowhere are these qualities more on display than in Rachmaninoff’s music for piano and orchestra. In this series, Ben Laude sits down at the piano with one of today’s leading Rachmaninoff exponents Boris Giltburg for an engrossing deep dive into Rachmaninoff’s breathtaking tetralogy of piano concertos.
Comparing Openings and First Themes
In this video, Boris Giltburg and Ben Laude juxtapose the opening statement of each of Rachmaninoff’s four piano concerti, considering their rhetorical and dramatic devices and comparing the melodic content and function of their primary themes.
Interpreting Second Themes
The second themes of Rach 2 and Rach 3 are iconic expressions of love, tenderness, and mounting passion. Boris Giltburg and Ben Laude search for the appropriate restraint to bring to these themes in performance, but first begin by considering the elusive beauty of Rach 4’s second theme.
Exploring 1st and 2nd Movement Climaxes
The climactic development passages of Rach 2 and Rach 3 have served to convert many a young pianist to lifelong Rachmaninoff fandom. Yet it’s in the second movements of Rachmaninoff’s piano concertos that many of the rapturous and tender moments occur, as Boris Giltburg and Ben Laude find especially in Rach 1 and 3.
Practicing 3rd Movement Technical Passagework
No Rachmaninoff concerto would be complete without an athletic, high-flying trapeze act to open its finale. In this video, Boris Giltburg and Ben Laude break down these technical challenges, switching seats so that Giltburg can give Laude a master class on the virtuosic march in the 3rd movement of Rach 2.
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Unlock Course →One of the leading pianists of his generation, Boris Giltburg is a prolific recording artist who can be heard on the greatest stages with the leading orchestras around the world.
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