[7] Rachmaninoff later described the rehearsal to Riesemann: At that time Mahler was the only conductor whom I considered worthy to be classed with Nikisch.

On November 30, 1909, two days after the premiere, a critic for the New York Sun wrote "Sound, reasonable music this, though not a great nor memorable proclamation."

The New York Times, a few months later, included a review of Rachmaninoff's work: "On this occasion the favorable impression it had made when it was played before was deepened.

It is more mature, more finished, more interesting in its structure, and more effective than Rachmaninoff's other compositions in this form…but it was felt by many yesterday…that many another pianist could play it better than the composer.

[9] In a 1930 letter, Rachmaninoff's brother-in-law Vladimir Satin expressed a feeling of nostalgia for a "lost Russia", thanking him for allowing listeners to live in the "good past" and forget the "bad future".

[11] Vladimir Horowitz's 1930 studio recording of the concerto brought immense popularity to the piece around the world.

By receiving feedback from the composer, Horowitz's interpretation of the concerto "most closely resembled Rachmaninoff's performance in its finely chiseled, almost steely delivery."

Ruby Cheng writes, "With these expansions of musical expression and pianism, Horowitz brought the Third Concerto into a prominence that broke through any listener resistance.

Russian critic Grigory Prokofiev wrote "The new concerto mirrored the best sides of [Rachmaninoff's] creative power - sincerity, simplicity and clarity of musical thought.

In addition, the three movements of the Third Concerto, in terms of motives and theme, resemble the cyclic form of the classical symphony, unlike his Second.

It is generally agreed that the melodic density and complexity found in the concerto, namely the ossia cadenza of the first movement, is among the most challenging in all of Rachmaninoff's works.

Rachmaninoff wrote two versions of this cadenza: the chordal original, which is commonly notated as the ossia, and a second one with a lighter, toccata-like style.

Both cadenzas lead into a quiet solo section where the flute, oboe, clarinet and horn individually restate the first theme of the exposition, accompanied by delicate arpeggios in the piano.

There is no conventional development; that segment is replaced by a lengthy digression in E♭ major, which leads to the two themes from the first movement.

Rachmaninoff, under pressure, and hoping to make his work more popular, authorized several cuts in the score, to be made at the performer's discretion.

The concerto plays the role of a leitmotif in the 1996 film Shine, based on the life of pianist David Helfgott.