Rachmaninow: PIano Concerto No. 3 - Eric Lu live at the International German Piano Award 2017 

And he is such a sweet person on top of that. He wished me to get well after my hospitalization in January.

Yes, I noticed that too. When your fellow musicians become absorbed in what you are doing during the performance......

it's Chopin's Prelude, Op. 28, No. 15 ("Raindrop" prelude)

rosemaryphi Thank you!

You're correct. I heard that as well, towards the end of the last movement, soloist and orchestra were slightly off in closing passages. That said, still a remarkable performance by young Eric Lu, performing what most consider the most difficult concerto in the repertoire. Kudos to Eric, who just won the Leeds Piano competition 2018, with a beautiful reading of Beethoven No. 4 with the Halle Orchestra. There, both soloist and conductor were totally in synch.

Agree. The 3rd mvt is a pity. Both the conductor and the soloist could be blamed for the misconnection. I notice that the conductor seems to have a rather peculiar conducting technique. He even uses his heels of hands for the downbeat somewhere in the 3rd mvt - that's not a good way to make your tempo indication clear in the fast passages.. On several occasions he allowed the orchestra playing before his hand. A sign of lost control. But I also think Eric might be a little inexperienced in playing such a difficult concerto with the orchestra. I'm not making the judgement solely by his age, but also by places where I think his rubato puts the orchestra in a difficult position. 34:50 for example. His ritardando at the end of that phrase really makes the entry of flute very very awkward. He should let the orchestra lead the flow there.

Agreed. Nice comment.

Well..!!!!!!!!!

I heard that as well

Who wouldn't?

Because Steinway is american, and Bechstein was almost gone after WWII, leaving(alongside with other german brands such as Bluthner) free path for Steinway to dominate the scene(as they were already doing anyway). I'm a big fan of Bechsteins and I believe they are the greatest piano maker today. Vintage ones, newer ones... All of them are wonderful pieces of craftsmanship. Crystaline tone, clean and warm at the same time. Sparking treble, warm in the middle, rich and deep bass. That's the definition of perfection in piano for me. Steinway isn't the same anymore, and I find quite boring having a Steinway D in almost EVERY concert hall, when there are lots of other brands such as Bechstein, Fazioli, Blüthner, Bösendorfer, Grotrian, Steingraeber, Ed. Seiler, Shigeru Kawai... Steinway is NOT better than anyone of them. I would even place Steinway last nowadays.

@@Thiago-px9ev I think Steinway has the monopoly in the U.S. and bans other pianos in concert halls.

In the late 1800s there was a 35% import tax on imported pianos. This followed by the chaos in Europe from wars and depression did not help the likes of Bechstein, Bluthner and others to compete.

Yeah I didn't find anything special about this performance either, and at times it seemed like he was out of sync with the orchestra or the orchestra was out of sync with him? Look at 29:24, and 43:30 - 43:31 Argerich's Rachmaninoff 3 will forever be the best in my opinion ❤

IMHO the composer's works are deeply biographical--recalling his feeling for his mother land until they were shattered by World War II, his flight to the New World and life of yearning and memories of his lifeRussia. . Eric Lu is remarkably gifted in enchanting audiences with the feelings intended embedded in the music. It was clear that, in this case, many of the audience were enchanted by the depth, breadth, and power of the composers message as channeled so uniquely well by Eric Lu. ..