Your Rachmaninoff Sucks

Sergei Rachmaninoff composed a varied and extensive repertoire, yet those with little exposure to his music aside from figure skating can be forgiven for thinking that the man wrote only a mere two pieces of music. Or, to be more accurate, a mere 1.67 pieces of music: the 18th variation of Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the first (Moderato) and second (Adagio Sostenuto) movements of Piano Concerto No. 2. Both works of music have been used ad nauseam in figure skating, and one can always count on one or both to be used by a skater/team every season.

In some ways, this is understandable. The first and second movements of Piano Concerto No. 2 are ravishingly beautiful pieces of music, their rich orchestration and lush lyricism sure to be pleasing to the judges' ears even if the skating is not quite on that level. Any skater would understandably want to harness the intoxicating blend of power and poetry of Piano Concerto No. 2, especially since a few enduring masterpieces have already resulted from this particular pairing of Rachmaninoff and skating:

A Tribute to Number Threes: Alexander Abt

Like sequins and illusion mesh fabric, reputation-based judging is a basic fact of life when it comes to figure skating.

In figure skating, it is generally agreed that it is usually more advantageous if one is from a larger, more powerful federation--e.g. the USFSA, Skate Canada, RSF or the JSF. With a larger federation usually comes the benefits of a more influential politicking machine, a higher likelihood of a friendly judge on the panel and of course, more cash to buy that $10,000 Lori Nichol choreography.

Unfortunately, this is not always the case for some skaters.