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

[cherub_rocker1979]

Any suggestions and/or insights would be very much appreciated.

[rachfan]

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.   

[marchbank]

I would very much like to purchase a copy of the sheet music for this piece. Does anyone know if it is available and where it might be purchased?

[49410enrique]

I would very much like to purchase a copy of the sheet music for this piece. Does anyone know if it is available and where it might be purchased?

i would first try some of the larger sheet music sources, perhaps sheetmusicplus.com, or amazon.com , if neither of those is successful, i would look on ebay as well for a vintage score, if all else fails you can then start looking in the public domain sources but i really reccommend you purchase the score if you will study the work in any degree of detail.

this music deserves to be printed and supported and i think giving the folks ,who commit to making such treasures available to us in hard copy , our business is super important in making sure we as pianists continue to have access to such wonderful music

[cherub_rocker1979]

Hi Marchbank,

Try hutchinsandrea.com

That's where I got the score to the 10 Preludes Op. 33.  I also found other pieces such as the Elegy Op. 42, Ballade Op. 46, Etudes Op. 15 and Three Pieces, Op. 24.

There are ways of getting the scores for free online, but it's so much better to have the actual hard copies!

Best,

Cherub