Piano Concerto No. 3

Rachmaninoff's beloved third concerto presented as a piano solo by Peng-Peng Gong. Gong describes the work: "I have finally decided to re-create the already-daunting “Rach 3” into an even more horrifying but also emotionally satisfying project, which was to make such a large-scale arrangement for solo piano requesting the pianist to combine both the piano and the orchestral accompaniment of Rachmaninoff’s original crowning achievement, thus merging an 80-people orchestral sonority onto one person. The process of this project was one of the most artistically educational experiences for me, as I couldn’t just take the original score and copy and paste it onto the same instrument, which would’ve been meaningless and would simply sound like a mess. One has to really work as a sensitive composer to know the differences between the timbres and colors of the piano and that of the orchestra, which requires me to re-arrange registers, minor shifts of structural obstacles, avoidance of over-toned harmonies, and attempt to make it sound like as if it was conceived originally as a grand solo piano sonata instead of just some crazy transcription for showing off. I hope this new version of the “Rach 3” can achieve a different kind of in-depth virtuosity and emotional scope and that it may attract interest from my comtemporary and future pianists or musicians worldwide."