Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C Minor Op. 23 #7

[mattkay]

Hi, has anyone played/taught this piece? I could really do with some tips on getting it up to speed and on keeping the quiet passages quiet at speed, particularly bar 13, or any tips in general!

Thankyou  

[mattkay]

Take that as a no then.

[janice]

Give people time to answer before you assume that they wont!  Alot of people don't even check this board every day!  I looked at measure 13 and this is a TOTALLY spontaneous answer.  I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that most of the notes in this measure are black keys, MEANING that maybe your hand/fingers are just a tad closer to the black keys than the white keys, MEANING that perhaps there would be a difference in volume because there is a decreased distance.  This is a completely made up answer (but I didn't really answer your question--lol--maybe I just created another problem--lol    )  I highly doubt that my made-up "theory" has any merit to it, but at least I found my Rachmaninoff Preludes (I thought I had lost them )

[Spatula]

I'll say this like I say to every piece of music everyone practices.  

Three words:

DO SLOW PRACTICE

It will help, trust me.

[sharonlovespiano]

hey I played that piece, not a long time ago.. You can listen my version on my website:
www.sharonniessen.nl
It's also in English, so please click on 'English' and then on 'Recordings'
What do you think?

[eViLben]

very nice ...

[a romantic]

I have another question about this piece:  how should I use the pedals in places such as measures 17-18, measure 45, and measure 47?

[futureconcertpianist]

Hello,
I play this piece and am able to get a sparkling pp.
How I do this is very easy and simple to do but difficult to explain but here goes lol...
You need to keep the wrist low and the fingers must touch the keys before playing the note, the muscles must feel the resistance of the keys and aim for the release of the hopper by actually feeling and listening for when the hopper releases with each note.
Play the key very slowly down and it will stop at a point, that is where the hopper releases.
if you can feel the weight of the key then you will be able to resist that just enough using your own weight to give a very true pp.
Not only that, the pp will not be sparkling unless your fingertips are firm and sharp like the blade of ice skates, you must have a pulling action with the last joint of the finger, even though the finger is going straight down because of the upward feeling at the knuckle.
You must use rotational pressures for each note if you want this to be effortless.
generally rotate at the direction you are travelling except for the starting note (which is a rotation opposite to the direction you are travelling) and except when you pass under the thumb or over a finger (which would be in the direction of the side of the hand, the finger side or the hand side). That is a complex way of finding the right direction to rotate, the easy way is to simply experiment in both ways for each note, one way will be comfortable and the other way will be uncomfortable. Like you can when standing lean on one leg or the other without an actual movement, this is what you must do with a piece like this with such speed, it is the secret to a crystal clear tone.
So in a word, no weight in the hand (by being close to keys, wrist low, touch notes before playing them) and feeling the upward pressure at the wrist and knuckles of the weight that must be released in order to just break through the actual weight of the key in order to produce the quietest pianissimo, aiming this weight for the release of the hopper which you can feel with your muscles and you can hear which is when the sound starts.

Sorry I cannot be more simple than that in explaining but it is something that once you understand is very easy, great pianists do this naturally with their great piano instinct, others have analyzed this and it seems complex but is really as simple as a heart beating. (which anatomy books make seem complex)
FCP

[a romantic]

The question about playing softly was asked and answered in 2004.  I wanted to avoid posting another thread; please take a look at my question.

[gerry]

I remember when I first encountered this piece, I wondered how to sustain the low C and other notes without creating a complete wash of indisinguishable notes. I even tried pre-sustaining the low C with the middle pedal before beginning. That was fun and sounded really interesting but of course not a realistic solution past the first few pages. The only advice I have is that when this piece is played up to speed (half = 80) or near that, it is possible to full-pedal for about 1 beat after punching the low C octaves then let up slightly to a half-pedal which serves to sustain them long enough to create the effect that was intended without muddling the sixteenths - also by giving enough punch and clarity to the upper octaves that melodic line will be apparent with the same half-pedal technique. I realize that this advice may not work as well on some pianos, but just the same, pedal technique is an art in itself and deserves practice and experimentation. It's always a bit frustrating trying to analyze one's own technique or what works for them and convey it to others. This is the best I can do - hope it helps a little.