'Amateur' tackles Shine concerto

The piece was at the centre of the film Shine

A notoriously difficult piano concerto, routinely avoided by even the most accomplished musicians, was tackled by a dedicated amateur on Saturday.

Rachmaninov's number three, considered among the most difficult pieces ever written, was performed by video conferencing salesman Jonathon Phillips.

He was so determined to make a success of the recital that he mortgaged his house to fund a public concert in Harrow, north west London.

The piece was brought to popular attention by the Oscar-winning film Shine, which showed the true story of the mental collapse of virtuoso David Helfgott after he performed it in London.

'Knuckling down'

Explaining his decision to perform the music, Mr Phillips said: "I was a professional pianist up until about 1995-96 and music is something that defines anybody who's done it professionally.

Rachmaninov died in Beverly Hills after leaving Russia

"Even though I have taken the title away, as it were, it's still something that's very close to my heart and I always wanted to play Rachmaninov's third."

Mr Phillips said he has had the score for the piece since May 1983, but that it was only now that he felt ready to perform it in public.

"I started seriously knuckling down to it about 18 months ago," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"I was just driving along in the car and I just felt 'I've got to do this'.

"There are some things one has to do before one dies and this is one of them as far as I'm concerned.

"I have done lots of the other Rachmaninov concertos, lots of the other big repertoire but this is something that I had always wanted to play."

Abusive childhood

Russian-born piano virtuoso Sergey Rachmaninov worked for years to develop a musical style of his own.

He achieved fame as a composer and conductor, but struggled to write music after emigrating to the USA.

For years there was a Soviet ban on his music and he died in Beverley Hills in 1943.

The popularity of his music - and the lengths musicians would go to to master it - inspired the 1996 film Shine.

Geoffrey Rush won an Oscar for his portrayal of Australian pianist David Helfgott, whose abusive childhood and intensive study contributed to his breakdown after performing Rachmaninov's third.