I don't know if any of you will be interested, but I saw Olga Kern perform at my local community college (why she came, I have NO idea, my piano teacher was wondering also, lol), and she played Rachmaninov's second piano concerto with a symphony that resides about an hour and a half north of me. My teacher got me a free ticket, and I had a couple of friends come along, but why, I have no idea:
I was completely and utterly spellbound the whole way through. Her intensity and (obvious) deep understanding of the music in its essence made me tremble. As a matter of fact, (just a funny side note, lol), I was so entranced with her performance that I was absolutely obsessed with her for the following week or two, and dreamt about meeting her in some coffee shop, lol, and she would know English fluently, and we would be happily married. blah, blah, blah.
FACT IS, I was amazed and still admire her intensity and perfection... it was amazing because during the performance when there was no piano going, she would sit there and nonchalantly look around the auditorium (it was a small one, about a 2,000 seater, and I was in the second row center [!!!]) and maybe examine her fingernails, sigh a bit, but when it was her time to come in, MY GOD, she would just RIP it!
It was abounding throughout the whole performance. During the opening chords (you know, that bridge into the magical world of the concerto), she was so powerful that the tendons in her neck clenched and tightened when she hit the chords. It was truly a spectacular performance, one of the best I have seen (though I guess that's not saying much, because I haven't seen many at all).
I'd like to know if anyone else here at the forum has seen her perform.

I recommend that you get the Van Cliburn DVD (Or VHS) of the 11th competition, besides being an interesting documentary, they have Mrs. Kern playing the Rachmaninoff Concerto #3 fully(I think only the DVD version has this). She played well (Maybe a little bit too bangy) and its worth it getting it, of course, being the fan you are, you probably already have it!

Thanks, Crash! I didn't know about this, but now I will actively seek out the DVD!

"Thanks, Crash! I didn't know about this, but now I will actively seek out the DVD! "

Likewise! Wish Olga Kern would come over to England. I heard Stanislav loudenitch at the Brighton Festival in May playing Liszt Spanish Rhapsody, Mozart Sonata K310 and Stravinsky Three movts from Petrouchka. Brilliant playing - yet unfortunately his playing made very little impression on me. Perhaps I wasn't in a receptive mood?
Two days later, at the same venue, I heard Simon Trpceski from Macedonia playing Brahms Schumann Variations, Chopin Sonata No. 2 and Chopin Scherzi nos 3 & 4. I was completely bowled over and have just bought his debut CD containing magical performances, incl. Pletnev's transcription of the Tchaikovsky Concert Suite from The Nutcracker. Who would have thought that Trpceski's performance is even better than Pletnev's own! What a pianist!

I saw her perform Rachmaninoff's 3rd concerto at the last Cliburn competition and you're correct about the energy she let's out. She's a very exciting pianist and I think she'll be around for a long time. I have the DVD version of the competition and it does have her whole performance on there, as well as Ioudenitch's. It's a really good DVD, you should check it out.

Olga is coming by my school on Tuesday, that will be a treat. Program consists of Rach Sonata #2, Carnival, some other goodies.

Pleasant surprise today: I dropped in local piano shop, and as I was leaving, owner asked, 'you want to play the 9'er Olga Kern is using on Tuesday?' Awesome Saturday.