An astonishing unleashing of notes

Fasten your seatbelt as Alessio Bax tackles Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, a creation of massive power and drive and one of the hardest-to-master works in the repertoire. After its premiere in New York City, a critic wrote that “its great length and extreme difficulties bar it from performances by any but pianists of exceptional technical powers.” Its quiet start leads into an astonishing unleashing of notes and hurtles to a riveting conclusion. Copland’s Third Symphony also was first presented in the U.S. Its spirit is undeniably “American”—vital, optimistic, and big-hearted—triumphantly exclaimed in the finale’s stirring “Fanfare for the Common Man.”