Rachmaninoff, Prelude Op. 23, No. 1 in F# minor

[rachfan]

Sergei Rachmaninov first performed his Preludes Op. 23 c. 1900 for the Prison Concerts, a charity event, arranged by Princess Lieven at the Moscow Nobility Hall.  Rachmaninov dedicated this volume to Alexander Siloti, his cousin and second piano teacher (Nikolai Zverev having been his first teacher).

The Prelude No. 1 in F#m is a very brooding and searching piece.  The atmosphere seems to be a dreary, rainy day.  This music has four levels of writing—the melody in the right hand, duets in the bass, background accompaniment, and cross-overs by the arms.  The left hand mostly plays a basso ostinato which is generally subdued unless it is playing the melody.  

I hope you’ll enjoy hearing this prelude.

Comments welcome.

Piano: Baldwin Model L Artist Grand (6’3”) with lid fully open
Recorder: Korg MR-1000
Microphones: Earthworks TC-20 matched pair of small diaphragm omni-directional condenser mics in A-B configuration    

David

[chapplin]

Hi David, thank you for sharing this with us.
I'm very fond of your playing, I hope you continue to record pieces for us to listen and be inspired by.

[rachfan]

Hi chapplin,

Believe it or not, I've been posting recordings here since early January, 2003.  So yes, I'll be here for the foreseeable future, I'm sure.

Thanks so much for your kind comments on my playing.  I appreciate it!

David

[costicina]

  The more I listen Scriabin's Preludes, the more I love them: your performance is, as always, superlative: thank you so much, David, and please please, keep on with this wonderful enterprise!
(You never thought to collect the set in a CD?)

[rachfan]

Hi Marg,

I think you meant Rachmaninoff, not Scriabin. 

Regarding Scriabin's preludes, while I love some of them, others leave me cold, so I would have a hard time playing those.  If I return to Scriabin again, I would likely pick out favorites.

I'm glad you liked the Rachmaninoff.  It's a beautiful piece.  Thanks for the nice compliment.

David

[costicina]

Sorry for the stupid mistake, of course, I meant Rachmaninov!  I tend to associate these composers you master so well....

[goldentone]

Hi David,

This is one great interpretation!  I like the faster tempo you take it compared to the very slow and ponderous Ashkenazy.  You have the music moving somewhere.  I hear a completely different piece, where otherwise it becomes a diffused wilderness.  And you so very well bring out its drama.

Looking forward to more Rach.      

[ted]

Beautifully played, as always David. I was intrigued by the figures in the third and fourth to last bars, a coda I suppose. I found that more interesting than the rest of the piece and wondered why he didn't take off with it - nothing to do with your playing of course, just my usual idle and tangential speculation. I don't think there are any recordings of him improvising freely are there ? Probably wasn't the done thing in public in those days, yet Cyril Smith tells us in his book that Rachmaninoff improvised for hours to the point where he had his piano quietened to avoid disturbing people.

[rachfan]

Hi Marg,

Don't worry about it.  Happens to me and just about everyone else too.

Rachmaninoff and Scriabin were classmates at the Moscow Conservatory and good friends too.  They knew Medtner too.  So yes, when we think of one, we recall the others too.  They were fabulous composers.

Again, thanks for listening.

David



  

[rachfan]

Hi goldentone,

Thanks for the compliments!  Yes, although marked largo, Rachmaninoff put a metronome marking of MM = 58 on it which borders on a slow andante.  I'm not known as a speed demon at the piano, but I did my best to honor the composer's wishes.  When I played this piece back in the 1980s, I think my tempo was a bit slower.  Along with Ashkenazy, I think Richter played it even slower!  Having done it this time at the faster tempo, I believe the piece holds together better.  It's more work though to make it expressive.

Thanks again for listening and commenting.

David

[rachfan]

Hi Ted,

The fifth and fourth measures are mirror figuration, but not a duet.  The left hand still plays accompaniment there.  Those figures are played with little to no pedal for clarity.  The last three three measures are F# minor chords in tonic position.  The tops of the treble staff chords are voiced, while in the bass they are  more like second inversions with the thumb voicing the tops.  Like some of the other composers like Catoire, Scriabin, and Glazunov, Rachmaninoff never neglected crafting a fine coda.  He's tops in my book.

I've never heard a recording of Rachmaninoff improvising; however, the fact that others heard him doing so in his day doesn't surprise me.  I'm sure that some of the greatest moments in his music originated in those improvisations.

I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the nice compliment.

David
 

[49410enrique]

i apologize for not being able to comment sooner. i did listen to this yesterday. wow. i was not familiar with this work till i heard it (as shocking as it might seem to some, there is a very big chunk of Rachmaninoff's works I have not heard, most of the piano solo literature actually). 

this is a moving piece. really. i wish i could say more but i am almost at a loss for words on how to describe how i see it and its effects on me. but i like it. a lot. i will be listening to this performance many more times!

thank you again for sharing your work and for 'raising the bar' and the standard of the audition room.

[rachfan]

Hi enrique,

Late last night I replaced the music file, as I had chosen the wrong "take"!  Got it rectified though.  This superseding rendition has far better clarity.  So if you haven't listened today, you'll hear the difference.

Thanks for your kind comments!  You hit the nail on the head regard standards.  I tend to be my own worst critic, which is actually a good thing in my opinion.  So I'll typically practice a piece, and when it comes time for recording, I "audition" the takes to select the best of the lot.  Then I invariably ask myself, "Does this 'best' one meet or even exceed my standard?"  If yes, it gets posted.  I was never taught that, it simply came to me as I became more involved in recording projects.  I'm not a great pianist, but having a standard at least inspires me to play at my best.

Thanks again.

David

[49410enrique]

david. thank you for letting me know! i am downloading it now and am eager to sit down and listen to it later this evening (when i'm distraction free, as i'm winding down for the night). i am certain i will enjoy it at least as much as yesterday's upload.

[rachfan]

Hi enrique,

I bet you find this download superior.

David

[emill]

hello David,

"very brooding and searching piece.  The atmosphere seems to be a dreary, rainy day".

For me it is a piece which one can easily like, but perhaps not so brooding and dreary. It feels like a transition to something like surrendering to one's fate or fighting for one's belief.  Perhaps my happy mood this morning is affecting me making the piece not so dreary. 

As always your playing is attractive and made more so by the excellent recording. 

[rachfan]

Hi emill,

Thanks for listening and commenting, and for your compliment on my playing.  I appreciate it!

David

[starstruck5]

It's hard sometimes to know what to say after listening to such beauty -I was certainly captivated by your playing as always -

I sometimes think that certain pieces sound unfinished, unresolved and work better grouped with other pieces -this being one of them -no refelection on your rendition of course -

[rachfan]

Hi starstruck,

I completely agree with you.  Probably never would you see this prelude in it's own place on a recital program; rather, it would more likely be one of a group of three preludes, all with contrasting moods.

Thanks for the compliment on my playing!

David

[49410enrique]

Hi enrique,

I bet you find this download superior.

David

yes indeed. oustanding.

[ariel12345]

Hi David
Great performance for a great music! I love the perpetum movement going forward endlessly until the climax.
Thanks!

[rachfan]

Hi ariel,

I'm glad you enjoyed this prelude. Thanks!  I believe that while everyone seems to gravitate in Op. 23 to No. 5 in Gm, there are many more gems in this collection, No. 1 being one of the lesser known, thus under-appreciated preludes.  So I was very glad to play it, and at proper tempo at that.

David