Rachmaninov’s formidable piano technique was notable for its precision, rhythmic drive, refined legato, crystalline clarity and sensitivity to melodic line. While avoiding sentimentality, he sought and expressed music’s emotional essence. Though fleet fingered, he had, in Arthur Rubinstein’s words, “the secret of the golden, living tone which comes from the heart”, awing listeners with the aristocratic quality of his playing. This is particularly evident in his interpretations of Chopin, Schumann and Liszt, whose great Romantic spirit matched his own. Even today, his recordings remain classics.