Two masterpieces from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s repertoire, two true cornerstones of their genre, are presented on the new GENUIN CD by pianist Pietro Massa, the Orchestra Bruno Maderna, and conductor Daniele Giorgi. The combination of the Piano Concerto No. 3 and the rarely performed Symphonic Dances could not be more perfectly chosen: it reveals to the listener the greatest imaginable contrasts in just eighty minutes—breathtaking virtuosity and poetic magic, sky-storming enthusiasm and ghostly stillness. With the Piano Concerto, the centerpiece of Rachmaninoff’s “Russian phase,” and the Dances, his final orchestral work, the performers offer a brilliant “Rachmaninoff compact” in the most stunning way. It is almost impossible to imagine these two pieces being played more soulfully, sensitively, and beautifully.