Rachmaninov's prelude in E Flat Minor Op 23, No 9.

[pytheamateur]

Has anyone played or learned this piece?  In your opinion, how does it compare in difficulty with Chopin's Op 25, No 6?

[magnificientako]

I have learned, but I can not play.

[nanabush]

It's absurd.  I think as far as his preludes go, that one is probably tied with the E minor for most difficult...

This one reminds me a lot of Feux Follets by Liszt (it's much shorter, but damn those motions are not cozy for anyone).

It's a completely different technique than the Chopin, but I'd say it's probably on par with technical difficulty.  They both require excellent finger independence... the Rachmaninoff has more 'explosive' moments, but again it's a little shorter and I personally find the alternating notes in that piece are more comfortable than some of the thirds in the Chopin (although thirds passages come up in the Rach).

Either way, its an extremely difficult piece! (if anyone says its "easy", then they have either been playing it for several years, or they have also 'played' Rach 2,3, Prok 3, Petroushka, Gaspard, etc, etc, but refuse to post recordings )

[cabbynum]

Oh man, easiest piece ever, I have the repertoire said above, my mic is just broken...
Lying is bad

[pytheamateur]

After about 6 months work on and off,  I have got the piece under the fingers.  It's 80% memorised.  Although not as fast as Ashkenazy's recording, it is in a performance tempo and my teacher is quite happy with it.
I'm relearning Beethoven's first Sonata, which I first played 15 years ago. It is still not at a performable standard.
So I could now probably say that the Rachmaninov piece is easier!

[michaeljames]

Has anyone played or learned this piece?  In your opinion, how does it compare in difficulty with Chopin's Op 25, No 6?

I think that is one of the most difficult Preludes by Rachmaninoff, if not the most difficult.

Although Chopin's Etude is not by any means easy, either. 

IMHO, the Prelude is more difficult, at least it is for me.

[pytheamateur]

After about 6 months work on and off,  I have got the piece under the fingers.  It's 80% memorised.  Although not as fast as Ashkenazy's recording, it is in a performance tempo and my teacher is quite happy with it.

Just a quick update.  I have been playing this piece on and off since.  The piece is 95% memorised now.  But it looks like my technique has dropped so I cannot play it very well.  This is a piece that needs a lot of practice to keep it under the fingers.  It will never be anywhere as fast as Ashkenazy's but other pianists like John Lill, Dmitri Alexeev and Boris Berozovsky take the piece at a slower tempo, and theirs are not inferior interpretations.

Talking about the E minor prelude, I really want to learn it as the next prelude.  It has one of the most dramatic build-ups to a climax.

These neglected Rachmaninov preludes are really gems.