These are a mixture of what should definitely be there and my personal interpretation, it's in no way any sort of a Definitive Guide to Rach 23/5. Feel free to disagree.
To the first section:
Ad 1 - Rhythm is imperative. I don't mean no rubato (will come to that later on...), I mean that the rhythm should feel like a steel skeleton. The pinnacle of performance with this prelude (At least the outer parts...) is when you have the audience nailed in their seats, then come to a rubato (like, possibly, last eigth of bar 9), they want to sigh with relief - and whoa, the steel snaps back in.
Ad 2 - As has been already said, observe the dynamics carefully - be stingy with your fortissimo. Also, even though for example bars 17-22 are marked forte, keep the strong dynamics in the accents, make a crescendo with the four legato sixteenths from somewhere around mf or so. The rest can be kept piano and the thing will still sound strong and resolute, just as it should.
Same principle applies to the ff bars 22-29, all that needs to be ff are the notes with the stem down, the chords can be kept at a piano.
Ad 3 - A very, very slight belating of the accentuaded chords in bars 22 and 23 sounds very, very good.
Ad 4 - Avoid jumping in early ANYWHERE like death! It sounds as if you're tripping over the keys...
Ad 5 - Think in larger portions, not in beats but in shorter phrases (A bar, or, better, two... This applies to middle section as well.)
The middle section is, I'm sure you've noticed, a complete contrast to the outer ones. Everyone, even the most musically and intellectualy ignorat person in the audience, should notice that from the first chord. Or even before that. Therefore:
Ad 1 - Breathe. Temporarily no steel skeleton.
As if you were singing a picture... (Interdiciplinary art...
)
Ad 2 - LH sixteenths are to be kept subdued at all times. They're something like the cornfield rustling in the wind, if you get the drift... (I don't want to interfere with your imagination, I just think it's a fitting image.
) Bass should, however, be always there (Optional exception: replace the low D in bar 41 by the f sharp on the 2nd beat.). In some places stronger than elsewhere (I tend to bring out the lovely G-F-E flat-D-C sharp-D progression in bars 39-41 a bit more...).
Ad 3 - Note how the dynamics of the topmost melody and the middle voice in bars 42-45 interwine. While the middle voice is pointed towards the a1, the melody had its peak already. While we're speaking about the middle voice - sure have it there, but don't bang it out! That's one of the best ways to spoil the entire prelude. There's a long note in the RH as the middle voice comes in with the d1-e1..., so you can afford starting pp and it will still be clearly audible.
Ad 4 - Again, observe the dynamic marking well. The most you get here is mf. (See? Another contrast. The whole range of expressions in this part has to fit within half the dynamics of the outer parts. That's one of the many things which make these several bars probably the most difficult section. At least for me, anyway.
) It is also a very good idea to observe the decrescendos in those mf-marked bars.
To the 3rd part: It's almost the same as the first one, with a few changes:
Ad 1 - The accelerando starts at bar 52 and ends at bar 58, which is already a tempo, and should have a steady rate throughout (to avoid that damned stumbling feel...). One of the biggest interpretational problems I encountered was that I overshot and, in order to keep the accelerando fluent, ended up around 120 bpm, which is almost unplayable.
Ad 2 - The skeleton is back right from bar 50. Make them feel it, even though it's slow! (There's a ritardando in bar 49 which should mark the end of the middle section and therefore be quite pronounced, but nowhere is said that bar 50 and 51 should be faster than how you end bar 45. If you can keep your nerves calm in these bars and not rush them, it really sounds like waking from a dream...
) )
Ad 3 - A deviation from interpretation of bars 22-29: There's a new melody from bar 72, which keeps going at least until bar 80, in the RH upper voice. Bring it all out, not just the 5-chord figures. The chromatic progressions in bars 74-75 and 78-79, as they go in opposite directions, are simply wonderful. It's a pity to hide them from the audience!
Ad 4 - I must disagree with walking_encyclopedia about the last line, if you rush it, it sounds as if from some other piece - it makes the prelude fall apart. Of course, keep it as pianissimo as possible, but very straight.
With the following practice tips and some rather intensive work, I was able to get this prelude on the stage in three weeks. However, it does requires great discipline (as does everything...).
How to practice:
The middle part is not a big problem technically (At least not for us Revolutionarists...
:D). The jump in bar 40 is annoying, but you can afford a slight ritenuto in that part... I wouldn't object to using 5-2-
1-5-3-2-1-3-2-
5-1-2 fingering for the run in the first half of bar 36 and similar runs, it's quite comfortable for me, but I don't know how will it work for you.
The outer parts are more challenging, since they require some very fast wrist work and uncomfortable jumps. Metronome is a key tool here. Practice the jumps always with preparation, think forward (where will I go after I play the next note...). Start at some 40-60 bpm and be fanatically rhythmical. Don't let a single note slip. Make sure you depress all the keys to the fullest, with firm fingertips but relaxed wrists. That's difficult!
It's usefull to think of the two hands as of one hand vertically - e. g. they should always be in the same height above the keyboard (which generally shouldn't be very high - I don't really like the way some pianinsts play it as if they had springs on their fingertips...).
It's getting late here, I might remember something useful I forgot now tomorrow...
I hope this helps.
Topic: Rachmaninoff Prelude in Gminor