Advice on Rachmaninov starters

[kghayesh]

Hi,
I want to increase my repretoire and play of all styles of music. I've played everything but the modern late 19th/ early 20th century repretoire (Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Debussy,.....etc.) I would love to play something by Rachmaninov but the problem is that i don't know how to start, (Preludes, etudes-tableaux, moment-musicaux ,....etc.)

To give you an idea of my level, the pieces i am currently learning are:
- Pathetique Sonata (Done with the 1st and 2nd movements)
- Revolutionary Etude (Polishing it at speed)
- Chopin's First Ballade (Getting the coda up to speed)

I know there are some Rach-experts here who can help me.....

[lostinidlewonder]

Preludes first, then moment-musicaux, then etudes-tableaux in my opinion of the three you mentioned.

I think if you studied some of Scriabin very short Preludes and Etudes, this could do you no harm and only aid you to master arkward positions you find yourself in with Rachmaninov.

A good Rachmaninov prelude to maybe start with is Op32no5,11. Of course there is the standard Prelude in c sharp minor, Prelude in g minor.

[mcgillcomposer]

Hi,

That's a great response above, but I just want to add something regarding Scriabin's music.  I would play SEVERAL preludes before touching any of the etudes (except maybe his Op. 2 no.1).  For preludes, I would begin with some from his set of 2 preludes (I think Op. 11).  Then progress through some other sets of preludes.  Some of my favorites are in Op. 37 and 39 but choose for yourself.  Only after you have played several of these (in my opinion) do you have the tools to tackle a Scriabin étude.  And if you really love him, once you tackle and étude or two you can try one of his sonatas   I recommend no. 2 to begin with.

Enjoy...Scriabin is great!

[ravel]

I started with the famous prelude in c# minor.   The next rachmaninov compositions i played were  his preludes opus 32 no.10, opus 23 no.7, no.4 in that order .

[bernhard]

Have a look here:

https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,12061.msg126976.html#msg126976
(Rachmaninoff easier pieces)

Best wishes,
Bernhard.