Music and Time Annotation << Back Secrets of Piano Mastery: Immersion Into the World of S. Rachmaninov. Review of the Monograph by S. Vartanov «Rachmaninov’s Lessons: Concept in Piano Interpretation» I.Yu. Onoshko The review is dedicated to the first Russian monograph by the pianist, Doctor of Arts, professor of the Saratov State Conservatory named after L.V. Sobinov Sergey Yakovlevich Vartanov «Rachmaninov’s Lessons: Concept in Piano Interpretation», entirely devoted to the problems of performing Rachmaninov’s piano works. It asserts the decisive role of the concept – the immanent internal program of the composition – and outlines the path of constructing an interpretation, regardless of the presence or absence of the author’s program. In the book, structured as a dialogue with his favorite composer, the author traces the concepts of many of Rachmaninoff’s works and examines, using extensive piano material, the «ten signs» of a pianist’s mastery, as named by the great musician. Keywords: S. Rachmaninoff; interpretation; concept; pianism; mastery. DOI: 10.25791/music.10.2025.1381 Pp. 35-38.