If you believe what you see in the movies, this is the most difficult piano concerto ever written, dubbed “Rach III” by the intimidated piano students in the movie “Shine.” You’d think, since this was Hollywood, the characters in that popular movie of the ‘90s would have called Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto “Rocky III”—ah, but that’s show biz!

The Russian composer and dazzling piano virtuoso Sergei Rachmaninoff composed this concerto for his 1909 North American tour, and played the first performance himself with the New York Symphony on today’s date that year. Walter Damrosch conducted that performance, and shortly afterward played it again that season, with the rival New York Philharmonic under the baton of Gustav Mahler.

Beyond the technical difficulties of the solo part, it’s a question of sheer stamina that makes Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto so difficult. It seems that the soloist is always “on,” always playing.

Rachmaninoff’s own interpretation is preserved on a vintage Philadelphia Orchestra recording conducted by Eugene Ormandy, and subsequent Russian virtuosos like Vladimir Horowitz and Vladimir Ashkenazy also made fantastic recordings of “Rach III”.