This weekend's Honolulu Symphony Masterworks concert will be unprecedented in featuring not one, not two, but three virtuoso pianists. This trio—Joyce Yang, Jie Chen and Peng Peng—will perform works by 19th-century composers Liszt, Grieg and Rachmaninoff.

The 19th century was a pioneering time for individual self-expression. In a concerto, the soloist woos the audience with an impressive technical display. This, coupled with hauntingly beautiful melodies, will leave you humming these unforgettable pieces long afterward.

These concertos help bridge the gap between classical and popular music. They were the pop music of their day.

The most famous opening of any concerto can be found in Grieg's Piano Concerto in A minor. Classical aficionado or not, you will recognize it. Go to the concert and prove me wrong, I dare you. I'll surely end up saying, “;I told you so!”;

The powerful opening is a cascade of feverishly arpeggiated chords and octaves spanning the length of the keyboard. Grieg's work features elements of Norwegian folk melodies and dance rhythms. The cadenza challenges the pianist with sweeping scales, trills, arpeggios, chords and octaves. It is a personal favorite of mine as it was the first concerto I performed with an orchestra when I was a teenager.

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor was composed during a personal crisis for the composer. The negative reviews received by his First Symphony caused him to slip into depression. Through hypnotic suggestion, Rachmaninoff's psychiatrist was able to convince the composer that he would recapture his glory by composing a beautiful piano concerto. And he did just that.

The second movement, the focal point of the piece, has worked its way into pop culture. As a college freshman, I popped into a pharmacy in Canada one week before performing this concerto with an orchestra. Piped through the speakers was “;All by Myself,”; the emotionally charged ballad by Eric Carmen, later adopted by Celine Dion, among others, and part of the soundtrack for “;Bridget Jones' Diary.”; I found myself wandering up and down the aisles, listening to what I consider the No. 1 break-up song of all time.

The melody seemed familiar, but I could not identify it in this completely different context. Frustrated, I asked myself to “;name that tune,”; and finally a light bulb flashed in my head. Of course! I'd been madly practicing this piece—the slow movement of Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto.

Clearly, Eric and Celine know a great tune when they hear one.

If heartbreak is not your cup of tea, but powerful technical displays in the form of blood, sweat and tears are, that's what you get in Liszt's Piano Concerto No. 1 in E-flat major. In fact, one cannot discuss 19th-century virtuosity without Franz Liszt in the conversation—the difficulty for the pianist is borderline diabolical.

I grew up listening to these melodies through my addiction to cartoons. I didn't know the proper titles, but they functioned as emotional triggers connected to specific moods or characterizations. Remember Gargamel, the sorcerer, villain and sworn enemy of the Smurfs? His character is personified by the opening of this concerto. As a child, when I heard that tune, I knew the evil Gargamel was fast approaching.

This demonic theme is the basis of the entire concerto. Liszt transforms or varies it using different rhythms, registrations, tempos and instrumental colors of the orchestra. His compositional style, thematic transformation and characterizations would strongly influence Richard Wagner, his future son-in-law, in his operas.