Theres more notes on this paper than there is paper - Rachmaninoff's Etude-Tableaux, Corelli Variations, bm Prelude

There is no denying the virtuosity required to play any of the works of Rachmaninoff being examined here.  The incredibly thick textures that underscore rather simple melodies require skill and artistry to maneuver through.  Without those two things, so much of these works would either be unexecutable, or executed in extremely poor taste.  Who hasn't heard a pianist decide to really bang the snot out of any one of these?  (And by any of these, I of course mean the prelude...)

I would give my opinion on Rachmaninoff, but I'm pretty sure it's similar to so many other people.  I don't have particularly intellectual reason for liking his works, but I do anyway.  I haven't played anything of his, really, so the joy of playing is not within my reasons.  But, there is a reason that he was popular with audiences.  Although virtuosic, his music is mostly accessible to the average listener.  I find this to be true even with the Corelli theme and variations, which falls into a genre that I admittedly don't particularly care for.  Perhaps it is because of the raw emotional content, and the variations of 'background noise' that he creates, that endears his music to the listener.  These pieces bring into sharp focus the idea of 'composing against a backdrop' discussed - and those backdrops are pianistic masterwork.