MUSIC TRACK

I hope you'll indulge me with this.  But is it just me or does Rachmaninov evoke the same scenes of black and white European railway stations; belted gaberdine raincoats; trilby hats and cigarette smoke blending with the steam from the locomotive's wheels?

Possibly some of the most romantic music ever composed, Rachmaninov always looked intensely sad.  He had to leave Russia at the end of the revolution.  He earned his living as a concert pianist in the US, and died in 1943.  I had always thought he was buried in Beverly Hills, and intended to visit his grave.  I find out that he is actually buried in New York.  One interesting fact is that he had enormous hands and so his music is very hard for women to play.  This recording is by Vladimir Ashkenasi - One of the best ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mWOWb3xtfGE&feature=related