I was just in the mood to hear an unorthodox technical piano concerto. My most recent post wasn't asking for technical stuff.. just for any Russian concerto pieces basically.

I've pretty much only heard some of Tchaikovsky's symphonies.

And I do play piano (thought not all that well). It's my secondary instrument, next to Drums and other percussion instruments (xylophone, timpani, marimba etc).

For Russian piano or violin concertos, I would say that since you like Rachmaninoff, try Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, which is basically a piano concerto. The 2 most esteemed Russian concertos are probably Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto and Piano Concerto No. 1. After Tchaikovsky, I would look to Prokofiev, starting with Violin Concerto No. 2 and Piano Concerto No. 3. If you like these, try his Violin Concerto No. 1 and Piano Concerto No. 2. Of other Russian composers Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 2 is probably what I'd sample next. I don't know any flute concertos by Russian composers.

For technical stuff, I'm not the best person to ask, but Liszt has a reputation for technical difficulty in general, so chances are his 2 piano concertos would fit here.

Do you mean for Tchaikovsky? If so, Szell, Mravinsky, Jansons, and Abbado are all good. I haven't seen Kleiber recommended for Tchaikovsky.

My bad, I should've been more specific. I was talking about Brahms.

I've heard Abbado's version of Tchiakovsky and it was incredible.

For Brahms 4th, if I had to pick a most widely praised version, it probably would be Kleiber.

Cool, thanks.

For Brahms, Guilini does an incredible job with all four symphonies.

I'll have to check these out then, I've only heard the symphonies (all 6) with Karajan.

Petrushka - Stravinsky

Just fantastic.

Shostakovich - The Second Waltz as performed by André Rieu and his orchestra...while I try to decide if I go see him perform in the Odyssey Arena in April.

In the car these days I've been listening to Chopin's Nocturnes. They really do make beautiful driving music.

I especially love Classical and Jazz while driving in weather conditions. Jazz in the rain, and Classical in snow make for some really good drives

Yeah, I like classical for snow driving too. I like jazz for night driving.

Finlandia, I take it you've been listening to Sibelius too?

i would hardly call satie or jarrett technical

Now where did you get that idea from? haha.

yeah...although oddly enough not too much this last week or two but I had been.

I'm finding Prokofiev's Diabolical Suggestion an interesting piece.