Don't know if this is the right topic for this post,but as it's composing related,I'm posting it in here.A comparison of snippets out of two great works by two major composers,which sound pretty much similar-A short melody out of Rachmaninov's 1-st Piano Concerto,the 3-rd part,and Tchaikovsky's 6-th Symphony,the 1-st part.Just am wondering which of the two composers got inspired by this pretty little tune and nicked it from the other?Rachmaninov's 1-st Piano Concerto was finished earlier,in 1892,Tchaikovsky's 6-th Symphony was written and finished in 1893,so Tchaikovsky must have heard it and included it in his Symphony,or,because Rachmaninov revised his 1-st Piano Concerto in 1917,the version we know nowadays,he could have taken this little melody and included it in the 3-rd part of his 1-st Piano Concerto?What do you think?Who sampled who?Here's the clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u0XtVHYVso

To me they sound too different to think that one might have inspired the other.
The similarity ends after the first three notes.

I have to agree with rainer. Anyway, they both got it from the start of Beethoven's Sonata in Eb, Op.81a, start of 1st movement: Le-be-whol
But I do like you picking up on the similar start.

There must be many more compositions starting with an upbeat of 3 descending notes. A bit far-fetched to assume this is something one composer would imitate from another. Also I am not sure why Tchaikovsky "must have heard" Rach's first concerto - it may be just as likely that he didn't.