A question about playing Rach2

I am an amateur with very good ability working on the Rach Piano Concerto #2. (MM in choral music). Are there any books, guides, websites that would suggest fingering, learning technique, magazine articles, good ways to speed mastering this challenging work? Good old Hannon is helping. Thanks much to whomever can point me!

I'm pretty certain that there is not any shortcut on this piece unless you have a remarkable sight-reading ability. Rachmaninoff is dense, with very many notes per 'square inch.' At least for me, it is therefore very difficult to sight-read, and I'm a very good reader. You really need to take your time, work out the fingering, and slowly learn it one bit at the time. Fingering is a very personal thing, and I find that fingering in standard editions is generally a good starting point. I have small hands, so I have to make adjustments in playing some pieces.

I'll leave it to you to decide whether it's worth the effort. I have done the same thing over the six months or so with the Schumann Symphonic Etudes, and I really enjoy slogging my way through them. Of course, I would never, ever, think of playing them in public.

Of course, if you're really gutsy, you could just learn the pretty parts (i.e., the big tunes in movements 1 and 3) and tell your friends that you just don't want to bore them with the rest of the piece.