**S. Rachmaninoff, Piano Concerto no. 2, III. Allegro Scherzando (Excerpt)**

As you heard at the recital this weekend, we performed an excerpt of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto no. 2 on two pianos. However, a concerto is written for soloist and orchestra. As you can imagine, the sound of a full orchestra is very different from a piano. Listen to the same excerpt from Saturday played by the incredible world class pianist, Evgeny Kissin. Notice the differences as all the instruments of the orchestra come together to create a magical sound world.

(31:55-37:50)

Questions

Which version do you prefer (2 piano vs orchestra/piano) and why?
There is a beautiful melody played multiple times in this excerpt. The first time (32:58-33:53), it is played by the piano with the orchestra accompanying. The second time (36:20-37:24), the theme is played by the orchestra with piano accompanying. Which one did you like more and why?
What do you imagine when listening to this melody? Is it different with the piano playing it vs the orchestra?