Although in the field of classical music it is symphonies that often get the lion’s share of attention, I was always more inclined towards piano concertos and sonatas; such as this sonata by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It is not because this particular gentleman moves me more than any other composer, but because he never seizes to surprise me. In this case he is addressing death, and he does so through the lens of a love for life that I have never come across before. And it is especially in the second part of this sonata that I have found myself returning in times of sorrow, as well as in times of joy. The following version is by Hélène Grimaud, one of the best contemporary pianists who has also not seized to surprise me. Listen to this piece particularly if you are not on the best terms with classical music – as with all things important, conventions are unnecessary, to say the least.
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