Where It All Began

A little past noon today, I turned on the radio and caught the last movement of Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2, performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam and conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy. The music warmed my heart in a familiar way and interrupted the routine of my life.

I was introduced to Rachmaninov about eight years ago. If it were not for his Piano Concerto No. 2, Classical Music Breakfast probably would not exist. It was one night all of those years ago when, after listening to that concerto, I realized I had finally found confirmation that life could be as interesting as I had always thought it could be.

Over the next couple of years, I listened to Rachmaninov's music on a near daily basis, with a special emphasis on the piano concertos. Finally, I reached a point where I felt I had discovered in many of his works just about all I could possibly discover, and I noticed that I would get more from the music if I gave myself regular, lengthy breaks to help loosen my familiarity with it.

It was then that I started seriously exploring other composers, and I was able to gain an appreciation for Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, Saint-Saens, Elgar, Debussy, and others. For the most part, I now limit myself to chance encounters (such as today's) with Rachmaninov's music, and it is always interesting to hear his music on the radio or at the occasional concert.