Rachmaninoff - Polichinelle in F Sharp Minor Op. 3 No. 4

[pianoperformer]

Hi,

This is the piece I’m learning right now.

I’ve never done something like this before. What is a Polichinelle (and how do you pronounce it?) Can you tell me a bit about how it is supposed to be played?

I bought a CD with it on it, called Rachmaninov Plays Rachmaninov (The Ampico Piano Recordings). The piece on this CD sounds like he is rather free with the tempo. Sometimes it is really fast, sometimes he takes his time.

Anyway, I’ve not done much Rachmaninoff, or any piece such as this, so I am just looking for some pointers for interpretation.

[pianoperformer]

OK, here's the recording I was talking about:

Is Polichinelle a type of piece, or just the name of this piece? I can't find any other piece by that name.

[communist]

as far as i know Polichinelle is just the name of the piece and it is pronounced (Poll-ich-i-nella)

[fast_forward]

Polichinelle (in French or Pulicinella in Italian) is one of the characters of the Commedia dell'arte. I don't know what his character is or what his personality is, but you could easily look it up somewhere (ie Wikipedia)
I'm guessing the piece is a character piece, reflecting the personality of Pulichinella.

[pianoperformer]

Polichinelle (in French or Pulicinella in Italian) is one of the characters of the Commedia dell'arte. I don't know what his character is or what his personality is, but you could easily look it up somewhere (ie Wikipedia)
I'm guessing the piece is a character piece, reflecting the personality of Pulichinella.

Thanks, that really helps.

[pianoperformer]

I have another question about this piece.

There are some rather large spans in this piece in the left hand. On page 7-8 I think, the left hand has a few 10ths. I can't reach this, obviously. Should I bounce off the bottom note and get to the top as fast as possible? The piece is rather fast so I don't know if it'd be noticed.

[communist]

I have another question about this piece.

There are some rather large spans in this piece in the left hand. On page 7-8 I think, the left hand has a few 10ths. I can't reach this, obviously. Should I bounce off the bottom note and get to the top as fast as possible? The piece is rather fast so I don't know if it'd be noticed.

just roll it you will be fine.

[kitty on the keys]

This is a great piece to learn---play and teach . A simple translation meaning the clown---Villo-Lobos also has one in his Dolls Suite.  Keep the arms--wrist--shoulders relaxed  lets the martellato chords be easier to play---roll off the fingers for the grace note sections----follow the dynamics!!!! it really shapes the piece----the middle section is very lyrical and most use a good rubato for the phrasing---make sure you jump the hand for the broken chords so the arm is not flapping about like a bird---practice the ending in groups---slowly---working from the last measure to where the leaps begin---you want this solid so it will sound like one long phrase and POPS at the end----have fun!!!!

Kitty on the Keys

[pianoperformer]

kitty on the keys,

Thank you very much for the suggestions.

My biggest problem right now is the speed of those jumps. For instance measures 11 and 12 jumps down about two octaves, and then immediately back up. I'm not able to get past 88-92 bpm right now. Same goes for measures 18-19, 23-24, etc.

I love that middle section.

I'm trying to keep relaxed. I'm noticing my left shoulder is a little tight while playing the beginning section I was talking about above.

What do you mean "jump the hand" in the broken chords?

[kitty on the keys]

As you play the broken RH chords---take the thumb to the first note of each group--you dont have to do a thumb tuck for these arpeggios---this will improve your speed--keep the arm in position---and not make any accents with the thumb--and keeps the wrist alligned with every group. 

Kitty on the keys

[learner of liszt]

On measure 11-12/102-103, you will notice that Rachmaninoff plays fairly slowly, then on the third measure of the set (13/104), he accelerates to something close to presto. That makes it easier to handle the large jumps, and adds excitement to the piece.

[pianoperformer]

On measure 11-12/102-103, you will notice that Rachmaninoff plays fairly slowly, then on the third measure of the set (13/104), he accelerates to something close to presto. That makes it easier to handle the large jumps, and adds excitement to the piece.

That's very true. That's what I meant by being free with the tempo. I didn't know if it was OK to do that, though I guess if Rachmaninoff does it, it must be ok.
Also, what's he do with that section starting at measure 30-35? It doesn't sound like smooth 16th notes.

[learner of liszt]

As far as I can tell, he's simply playing very fast with accents on the first note of each set of 4 16ths.