There are several published editions of this piece where the notes are reassigned to the hands, but WHY? I never did figure out WHY.
Been working on this beauty for a bit now and have some technique questions:Measure 3 (and throughout): Is it a requirement to play the notes in the bass cleff only in with the left hand or can I rearrange the notes to making for less tangle in the hands? For example, on the first chord play E G# C# in the LH and E G# C# in the right hand. I'm thinking that I shouldn't do that, that it would change the balance of the notes but just wanted to make sure).
Measures 7-8: Fingering suggestions? Do I need to make the slurs perfectly connected? If so, how do I do that?
YES, can anyone explain why Rachmaninov placed the fingering in such a way and why it would make any difference if you reassigned it? Any theories or do we just explain it by saying "well, he MUST have wanted it that way for SOME reason". I suspect there is a reason but personally can't figure it out. In listening to it I can hear a slight difference in the balance of tones.
That's just it. Rachmaninoff was still a pianist of the old school, even though he lived in the recording era. He considered music a visual as well aural experience, because the only you could hear music was at a live performance. Many great composers write passages for visual effects. Those interlocking hands in that prelude just LOOK really cool. Take also, for example, instances of hand crossing in Liszt which are somewhat unnecessary. If you look at Rachmaninoff's prelude op. 23 #4, you'll maybe see what I mean. It begins with a sort of accompanying figuration in the left hand, and after two bars the right hand (melody) enters. It's an awkward, leaping accompaniment, so naturally many people cheat and use both hands. However, IMO this detracts from the visual effect of the right hand entrance. When preparing music for a performance, we might do well to think how we look beyond wearing fancy clothes.
I would recommend that you learn the last page FIRST. Why? Because you have the same chords, only this time the are spaced an octave apart—no overlapping—and the missing notes in the chords (in the beginning) are now filled in. So if you master the last page (the return of the theme), you bascially have the same chords in the beginning, with a note left out ine the LH and RH.
When he overheard me saying how much I liked this piece, a mentor of mine commented, "Yes, everyone does." He went on to give me his advice on playing it, but he feels that the piece is trite. Do you feel the same way?
IMO the word that best describes this piece is hackneyed. It almost means the same as trite but seems to be a more fitting description.
Why do you think it's hackneyed?