Bortkiewicz, Prelude, Op. 33, No. 3 in D

[rachfan]

I’ve posted here Sergei Bortkiewicz’s Prelude, Op. 33, No. 3 in D from Ten Preludes published in 1926.  Compared to the previous preludes I’ve posted to date, this one-page prelude is a trifle, and a bit difficult to characterize at that.  Nonetheless, it is a pleasant little piece.  It always amazes me how composers like Chopin, Scriabin and Bortkiewicz can get so much music into a composition as short as this one!

Piano: Baldwin Model L Artist Grand (6’3”)

Recording: Digital (Korg MR-1000 DSD)

Comments welcome.

[0range]

Very nice, keep them coming!

[rachfan]

Hi Orange,

I'm glad that you like Bortkiewicz's music so much.  Great!  Yes, I am already working on another of the ten preludes in Op. 33 (I've already posted six of them so far along with three of the seven from Op. 40.)  I hope to have it up on the forum fairly soon.  Thanks for listening. 

[pianistimo]

This is enjoyable to listen to.  Relaxing.  Maybe a bit stilted with the straightforwardness.  Try a bit of sneakiness.  The ending was cool -though - because you gave equal loudness to the last two notes played together and didn't favor one over the other.  Guess what i mean about sneakiness is that when you have those 'echos' - that they be further away and take a bit more time (slower) than the nearer stuff.

[rachfan]

Hi pianistimo,

Thanks for listening.  In the first two measures, both are to be played pp.  Plus, the second measure has an appogiatura in it, such that the two measures are not identical, therefore the second cannot really be an echo as such.  The middle part of the piece that has a repeating figuration but successively a third higher for each iteration, is actually a long, sustained crescendo.  So there again, there's no opportunity for an echo effect as the volume continually builds.  Immediately thereafter, there are two similar measures, the same as to the two opening measures, but there again, the second has an appogiatura, whereas the first does not.  So without exact mirroring, I didn't consider it a real echo.  There are two successive measures that are indeed identical right after the halfway point in the piece.  The problem is that the first one is already pp.  I believe I indeed tried for ppp in the following measure to attain an echo, but the subtle variation in dynamic probably was diminished in the recording process and further blunted by the mp3 conversion.  Sorry about that!

If you haven't already listened to it, you might much more enjoy the prelude farther down on this page, Op. 40, No. 2.  It's a more substantial piece and more truly characteristic of the composer's style and idiom.