Rachmaninoff, Prelude Op. 32, No. 1 in C

[rachfan]

Rachmaninoff composed this first prelude of his Opus 32 in August of 1910, and it was first performed in Moscow. This prelude is a brilliant piece with a subdued ending. The best recording I’ve ever heard was Richter's; but not being a Richter, I formed my own interpretation within my capabilities which resulted in a different sound.  When asked, Rachmaninoff freely admitted to having “programs” for many of his preludes, but refused to divulge them, instead leaving listeners to derive their own programs. This prelude reminds me of incoming ocean waves gathering strength, crashing against a rocky shore, swirling in violent turbulence as the foaming water retreats, only to roll in again to thunder and explode against the steadfast rocks while tossing sea spray high into the air. I hope you like it.

Piano: Baldwin Model L Artist Grand.

Comments welcome.

[rachfan]

Duplicate post.

[prongated]

...I think it sounds more like Star Trek...does that mean I live near...

Nice effort btw...not the kind that you normally post here ^^

[rallestar]

I love the ending of this piece. Reminds me of a particular beautiful place of his 3rd concerto.

I like your playing too - Clear and articulated. I don't have the score with me, but I think you could do well in making more clear to the listener what's going on in the middle section - Try to emphasize something particular there, so it doesn't seem to become all too big of a blur.

[rachfan]

Hey prongated,

Thanks for the compliment on this effort... but...  ARRRGGG!  Do you mean that I've never posted another good recording before?      But please don't misunderstand.  I put a lot of stock in your feedback, even when it's rather critical.  (It's a good thing I have a thick hide, ha-ha!)  Thanks again!

[gruffalo]

you have a nice idea with this page. to make that crashing effect of the waves (quite a nice description, i think), it would be nice to hear more sudden crescendos through those octaves. it may not be that you have to play louder, but simply start a bit more quiter and really put some energy into it. also, you need to sort out the fiddly bits. overall, good effort 


oh yea, and i like the ending. maybe a bit quiter though? the way you play it gives a really nice peaceful effect at the end, so it may be better suited to a quiter sound.

[rachfan]

Hi gruffalo,

I appreciate the point on the crescendos.  To put it differently, this could be treated as "contour dynamics"--on the rise of the phrase, more crescendo, and on the wane,  diminuendos.

On the quietness of the ending, I totally agree with you that it could be more subdued.  The problem is that the action on my Baldwin grand is on the heavier side, which for me is a good thing as it assists me in playing more evenly. The bad news is that it's more difficult to play pianissimo with a firmer action.  When I rebuilt the piano this past April (it's a 1983), it received new strings and hammers.   Samples of the original Baldwin hammers went to Ronsen Wurzen (suggested by Del Fandrich, a former long-time Baldwin design engineer) so that they could be replicated in shape and density, which they were.  So the touch weight of the piano did not need any adjustment, as there was no change in hammer weight.  So it's still a firm action.  I am working now more conscientiously on ways to better achieve softer dynamics, and am succeeding.  I'll be putting up some never-before-heard new recordings in the near future.  You can then judge for yourself.

Thanks again for the feedback!

[rachfan]

Hi rallestar,

Thanks for your compliment!

The middle section is very busy to say the least.  I did, in fact, try to bring out three separate descending chromatic "hidden" scales as points of interest.  The reason is that musically, historically and culturally, the ear attaches importance to scales occurring in passagework.  The first one occurs in measure 18, being the second note of each RH triplet: B flat, A, A flat, G, F# and E.  The next one appears in measure 20 but in the first note of each triplet: E, E flat, D, C#, C, B, B flat and A.  The third one in 22 appears in the LH, but still in the treble register: A, A flat, G and F#, echoed by the second notes in those duples, C, B and B flat.  I probably didn't succeed as well nearly as I had hoped to etch those scales for the listener.  As I say, that section is quite wild! 

[prongated]

Do you mean that I've never posted another good recording before?   

...oh ROFL I meant, normally the ones you post are not particularly technically challenging...but just now I remember that you did put up Vallee d'Obermann...hahaha the recs you put on here aren't bad!

[rachfan]

Whew!  I thought I had to sign up for lessons again, ha-ha!  FYI, I'll be posting Bortkiewicz's Impromptu Op. 24, No.3, "Eros" in the near future.  Although I'm admittedly more of a miniaturist (I love character pieces and can get better results with them given my very limited practice time), I sense that members expect me to occasionally post a bigger piece to keep up my end of the forum--my amateur status notwithstanding.  Hopefully "Eros" will fit the bill.      Thanks for the clarification!

[mfwettlaufer]

Hi Rachfan, great recording!  I had a question--I'm working on this Prelude myself and there are a couple of moments in the middle section where I am not exactly sure about the accidentals--in one case, measure 20, the left hand is in the treble clef and has a D# then has another D# but it doesn't sound right--it sounds like it should be a D natural because it's an ascending line from the C#.  Also in measure 23 there is an E flat in the left hand but the one that follows sounds like it should be E natural (because it's followed by another E which marked as a flat--as if the one that preceded it was natural).  Sorry for the technical questions but your insight would be appreciated!