Bortkiewicz - Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 33 No. 6

Hi cherub-rocker,

Bravo! I think it's wonderful that you've posted a Sergei Bortkiewicz piece here! It helps to raise awareness of this repertoire that has been in obscurity for way too long.

I only had time to listen to your rendition of No. 6 once tonight, but believe that there is much to commend. You've captured the beautiful dark mood really well. You've got all the notes together and you pay attention to the expressive markings as well. I also like how you bring out the inner harmonic changes in the chords.

If I were to make a suggestion, you might want to see if you can get more dynamic contrast throughout the piece to bring about more variety. The dynamic markings range from pp to fff, so you've got a lot of room to maneuver there. (But sometimes the recording method can flatten out dynamics, so that might be contributing to the more limited range in your recording.)

As you discovered in working this piece up, there are very very few models to go by, and the performance practices disappeared about 50 years ago. You did really well to formulate your own interpretation of this piece. I believe it's entirely creditable. It's also obvious that you thoroughly enjoy playing the prelude.

Nice job! You've performed a valuable service to Bortkiewicz by helping to champion his music in our day. If enough of us try hard, we'll bring this music back into vogue where it belongs.