In 1909, on his isolated estate in south-west Russia, Sergei Rachmaninov finished work on a new piano concerto he had conceived and written entirely in secret. The new piece was designed to showcase not just his talents as a composer, but also as a pianist. It would be more challenging to play than any other concerto in the repertoire.

These days, Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No 3 remains the greatest test of a pianist’s skills in regular performance. For audiences, it’s a thrilling emotional rollercoaster ride in which a lone virtuoso thunders against a surging orchestra in a heart-stopping musical narrative. For pianists, it’s an Everest – containing some of the most physically testing and emotionally draining music found in any concerto written for the instrument.

And let’s not forget the orchestra, for which Rachmaninov writes some of the most electrifying, dazzling music of his career. Join Sir Mark Elder, pianist Pavel Kolesnikov and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra for a closer look at what many consider the greatest piano concerto ever written.