The other night my friend Naomi Stine and I performed the 2nd piano concerto at this gorgeous church near Twin Peaks in San Francisco. One of the reasons i decided to learn this concerto was because it spoke to the “Venusian” part of me so clearly. For the past 8 years I had played the 3rd Concerto, which is the masculine, demanding, and most vigorous of Rachmaninoff’s 4 concerti. The 2nd Concerto was more sensitive, feminine, and Venusian. There was a deep, lasting beauty to it that was elegantly sewn into the notes and motion…almost like the notes were water droplets forming waves…and the two piano parts would weave in and out…kind of like waves that push and pull on the beach. There was such a fluidity and sacred dance between the two parts. I will need to marinate in this piece for a while to really absorb all its nutrients on a deep soul level,