First of all, I think the music is beautiful. Majestic is a perfect word to describe. It's the kind of rare piece that could even bring tears to my eyes. Secondly, the recording I have is over 5 minutes long, which is plenty to find enough music for a long program. Thirdly, and this is something that no one has mentioned, is the story behind this music that I found rather intriguing. According to the liner notes of the cd I have, Prelude was Rachmaninov's fans' most loved piece. It was said to bring the house down when he played it. The people loved it so much that they would not leave concerts until he played it. I think that could be a good omen.