and, before you ask the question, yes - the best way to see rachmaninov is shit-faced drunk.

...because he was one himself.

that said, i am fully aware that americans tend to ruin rachmaninov by converting his angry, drunken russian romps into posh bourgeois slop, but we'll see how well they do soon enough.

ideally, you want to listen to rachmaninov in a bar full of rowdy people, and not in a concert hall full of snobs. but, i can behave for a few hours. promise.