VIDEO: Prelude No. 7 (Paganini meets Joplin)

[lateromantic]

My first instrument was the violin.  In Prelude No. 7 I sought to replicate on the keyboard the figurations, rapid string crossings, etc., that you hear in a violin cadenza or in a Bach partita for unaccompanied violin--along with the motoric drive of pieces like Paganini's Moto Perpetuo.  Here and there, especially in the B sections of this rondo form, you also catch suggestions of ragtime.  

It's a fun piece, but if you want to play it, first make sure your Corpus Callosum is in good working order.  The CC is the part of the brain that coordinates the left and right sides, and...well, you can see what I mean in the score video:

The score for the whole nine-prelude set is available through AJ Long's website:  https://ajlongspiano.com/store

One more thing:  If Rubinstein was correct that the damper pedal is "the soul of the piano," then this is the only piano piece I ever wrote that has no soul.