F. Chopin - Prelude in c sharp minor, Op. 45

[doxy]

F. Chopin - Prelude in c sharp minor, Op. 45

[rachfan]

Hi doxy,

That was a deeply felt rendition of the Prelude Op. 45 you played.  Very nice indeed!  I like that prelude as well as any in Op. 28, and, in fact, better than many of them.  I'm glad you selected it, because it is not heard as frequently as the others.  In your performance you had some challenges to overcome: the upright piano, the very live/hard reflective accoustics in the church, children playing in the background, and an audience not all of which was familiar with classical music.  Nevertheless, you maintained your concentration and handled the ending with the premature applause with good humor.  A very good job!

You know, it's a coincidence that both Chopin and Rachmaninoff wrote preludes in C#m, but outside of their opus numbers dedicated to that genre (Op. 28 for Chopin and Op. 23 and 32 for Rachmaninoff).  For the exceptions, Chopin's prelude, of course was Op. 45 and Rachmaninoff's is part of Op. 3.  I'd been playing these preludes of both composers for years and had never noticed that oddity before now!