Sets of Preludes

[kypiano]

Hi all,
         My name is Ky, and I'm relatively new to this forum. My teacher wants me to set a long-term goal (about 2 years) of learning a set of Preludes. She recommended me Chopin's Preludes Op. 28, Scriabiin's Preludes Op. 11, Scriabin's Preludes Op. 16, Rach's Preludes, and Schostakovich's Preludes & Fugues.  I'm not a big fan of dissonant music, and I'm not a big fan of fugues, either, so I crossed out Schostakovich. Also, I think Rachmaninoff's Preludes are better as "individual" pieces, not as a whole set. So that's out of the question, too.

        The problem is, both Scriabin & Chopin have their own values. The Scriabin Op. 11 is about 10 minutes shorter than Chopin's Op. 28. Also, Scriabin has some poetic qualities that Chopin doesn't have. However, I LOVE many of the Chopin Preludes, I. e. #4, 6, 8, 11, 17, 18, & 24. Also, they offer more variety, some are very showy, and some very tender.

         If anyone has any other recommendations of sets of Preludes by not-too-obscure composers, please feel free to speak up!

           Thanks,
                Ky

EDIT: Also, I don't like much the Debussy Preludes played all at once... it's a bit tedious

[outin]

That's like asking whether I prefer pizza or cake...I'll rather have both 

[dogperson]

Out of curiosity, because I like them, why are Faure preludes seldom mentioned or played?

[ahinton]

Out of curiosity, because I like them, why are Faure preludes seldom mentioned or played?

I don't know, but why dismiss Shostakovich when he has a set of 24 Preludes for piano? Then there's Debussy's 24, Alkan's 25, York Bowen's 24, Alan Bush's 24 and so many more...

Best,

Alistair

[pencilart3]

There's some lesser known preludes, known as "Preludes, opus 28" by Frederic Chopin. I'd suggest you look into them.

Haha just kidding sorry it's really late

[visitor]

there's this guy, named Bach. Wrote some pretty good preludes....


too bad about Shosty, it's the best set of the lot you mentioned.

dissonance is where the magic happens, i don't know any music worth listening to that doesn't have dissonance.  the Fred and Alex sets you mentioned are littered with them.

Obscure is a moving target, what's obscure to some is mainstream/bread and butter for others.
ie love these
ie here are 6 from op 30 (25 Preludes)

Not sure how you can talk about Sergei's set and not mention York or Reinhold in the the same vein. I like these much better, were i to play an entire cycle with the limits you impose, these would  be my top two contenders
*shout out to Hints for mentioning YB before I could chime in!

* think 13-16 are out there somewhere

[visitor]

flip side to the Rachmaninoff preludes over in Latvia, Janis Medin's uber groovy 24 Dainas ("preludes"), these are an all time fav of mine and on a pending to play list in next couple years on my end. LIke a spicier Rachmaninoff

[rubinsteinmad]

there's this guy, named Bach. Wrote some pretty good preludes....


too bad about Shosty, it's the best set of the lot you mentioned.

dissonance is where the magic happens, i don't know any music worth listening to that doesn't have dissonance.  the Fred and Alex sets you mentioned are littered with them.

Obscure is a moving target, what's obscure to some is mainstream/bread and butter for others.
ie love these
ie here are 6 from op 30 (25 Preludes)

Not sure how you can talk about Sergei's set and not mention York or Reinhold in the the same vein. I like these much better, were i to play an entire cycle with the limits you impose, these would  be my top two contenders
*shout out to Hints for mentioning YB before I could chime in!

* think 13-16 are out there somewhere

Wow! York Bowen's preludes are so cool! (YOLO)
I guess maybe I'll do a few of his preludes first, because I am unsure of moving to the whole set.

[kypiano]

Wow! York Bowen's preludes are so cool! (YOLO)
I guess maybe I'll do a few of his preludes first, because I am unsure of moving to the whole set.

I was thinking the same thing!

[mjames]

You don't like dissonance right? Then why do you like Chopin, Scriabim, and Rach? I mean I'm no prodigy but they're music is filled dissonance. I mean that's part of the whole basic romantic era composition schema, no? Create and then resolve tension.


Anyways Visitor already gave pretty much my main recommendations but I will add this: why stop at op. 11, and 16 for Scriabin? He has dozens of opuses dedicated to prelude sets. Op. 13, 15, 17, 22, 27, 33, 35 37, 39, 45, 48, 51, 56, 67, 74...

That's around over 70 preludes for just Scriabin alone. I know he's quite popular and all, but he's no doubt the most versatile and diverse when it comes to preludes. From late romantic to borderline serialism. I agree that Chopin's op. 28 is far more diverse than Scriabin's op. 11, but Scriabin offered much more to the prelude genre than Chopin did. You can create your OWN selection of Scriabin preludes ranging from his op. 2 to his last set, op. 74. I mean just selecting a few from each set will easily give you over 40 minutes worth of music.

Kapustin's 24 preludes op. 53 is also a good choice. Like Ahinton said, there are loads and loads and loads of options to choose from and honestly, you're just gonna have to dig in yourself.

[pencilart3]

I know this isn't a set, but this is one of my favorite preludes ever written.

[mjames]

Good choice, Liadov's a doll.  Wish he wrote more. I also enjoy his op. 46 preludes.

[kypiano]

You don't like dissonance right? Then why do you like Chopin, Scriabim, and Rach? I mean I'm no prodigy but they're music is filled dissonance. I mean that's part of the whole basic romantic era composition schema, no? Create and then resolve tension.


Anyways Visitor already gave pretty much my main recommendations but I will add this: why stop at op. 11, and 16 for Scriabin? He has dozens of opuses dedicated to prelude sets. Op. 13, 15, 17, 22, 27, 33, 35 37, 39, 45, 48, 51, 56, 67, 74...

That's around over 70 preludes for just Scriabin alone. I know he's quite popular and all, but he's no doubt the most versatile and diverse when it comes to preludes. From late romantic to borderline serialism. I agree that Chopin's op. 28 is far more diverse than Scriabin's op. 11, but Scriabin offered much more to the prelude genre than Chopin did. You can create your OWN selection of Scriabin preludes ranging from his op. 2 to his last set, op. 74. I mean just selecting a few from each set will easily give you over 40 minutes worth of music.

Kapustin's 24 preludes op. 53 is also a good choice. Like Ahinton said, there are loads and loads and loads of options to choose from and honestly, you're just gonna have to dig in yourself.

Oh, haha, wow, I can't believe I missed those I'm STUNNED that there's so many purty preludes out there. I shouldm't have asked for suggestions

[dogperson]

Out of curiosity, because I like them, why are Faure preludes seldom mentioned or played?

Hello All,

Are  Faure preludes not respected?  Never see discussion on these

[kypiano]

Hello All,

Are  Faure preludes not respected?  Never see discussion on these

Hmm... I haven't heard any of them yet. Let me go on YT to check some out. Are there any you'd recommend I listen to?

[pencilart3]

Hmm... I haven't heard any of them yet. Let me go on YT to check some out. Are there any you'd recommend I listen to?

Skip to 30 seconds in this video, it's where the first prelude starts. Dumb uploaded put 30 seconds of silent pics/credits at the beginning. These are my favorites.

[rubinsteinmad]

If you can't find out any preludes except for Chopin or Scriabin, then I overestimated you. BTW,  ik your real name, KYLE.  REMEMBER ME? ITS EMILY

[pencilart3]

If you can't find out any preludes except for Chopin or Scriabin, then I overestimated you. BTW,  ik your real name, KYLE.  REMEMBER ME? ITS EMILY

*"emily" comes flying into the thread with guns blazing*

[rubinsteinmad]

*"emily" comes flying into the thread with guns blazing*

Right on!

[kypiano]

If you can't find out any preludes except for Chopin or Scriabin, then I overestimated you. BTW,  ik your real name, KYLE.  REMEMBER ME? ITS EMILY

Well, the thing is... THE "EMILY" GOES DOWN THE DRAIN

[pencilart3]

Kyle loads up his bazooka. Ready... Aim...

Well, the thing is... THE "EMILY" GOES DOWN THE DRAIN

[kevonthegreatpianist]

Kyle loads up his bazooka. Ready... Aim...

and they start world war 3

[kypiano]

and they start world war 3

So.... who's on my side?

EDDIT: Seems like Emily'es already dead