VIDEO--Rachmaninoff Prelude Op. 32 No. 10

[beethovenfan01]

Hi guys,

Here is my video of Rachmaninoff's Prelude in B minor. It's not perfect yet, but I am preparing it for an audition in about two months, so any kind of feedback would be greatly appreciated. I am particularly curious as to whether or not my chosen tempos work well for the piece, and tips with increasing clarity and retention (memory slips are always a bit of an issue for me).

Thanks!

[tnan123]

Great stuff. This is quite a hard piece, I find it requires some very awkward stretches and needs a lot of work in terms of expression to pull off well. As for tempo, I think its a bit fast, especially with your issues with clarity later on. I would say that you need to work to increase clarity for sure. The passage starting at 3:04 could use some work. Play without the pedal and play at a much slower tempo. Perhaps work on shorter groupings within the fast passages and try different rhythms, or accents to make sure the movements are effortless and easy among really small groups of notes. Then try to connect them. I'm not sure what else to suggest.

As for retention I find it quite hard to memorize Rachmaninoff, so great job and getting the notes. It'll probably just take more time working with the piece. Hope that helps and good luck!

[beethovenfan01]

Great stuff. This is quite a hard piece, I find it requires some very awkward stretches and needs a lot of work in terms of expression to pull off well. As for tempo, I think its a bit fast, especially with your issues with clarity later on. I would say that you need to work to increase clarity for sure. The passage starting at 3:04 could use some work. Play without the pedal and play at a much slower tempo. Perhaps work on shorter groupings within the fast passages and try different rhythms, or accents to make sure the movements are effortless and easy among really small groups of notes. Then try to connect them. I'm not sure what else to suggest.

As for retention I find it quite hard to memorize Rachmaninoff, so great job and getting the notes. It'll probably just take more time working with the piece. Hope that helps and good luck!

Okay I see that. Thank you for your feedback! I was wondering if the marked tempo was working, but now I see it doesn't, not really. So back to what I had originally (more like quarter note = 48 rather than 56 or so, which was marked by the editor).

I'll probably post a better recording sometime over the next few weeks that fixes these issues. Thanks!

[justpianoplayer]

I absolutely agree @tnan123 .Considering that i'm working on this piece too,i can say few things.Clarity is the MOST important component of playing this piece.Especially in ,,pesante" part.Rach loves fat chords.If you drop a single note,the concept of particular part fully changes.I've been working on ,,pesante" section really hard to polish it and i guess i'm reaching the desired clarity

As for tempo,it needs to be played definetly slow,i'd say triple times slow.Especially in the middle part.Pesante means ,,heavy",so it should be played as if you are lazy to take the hands off the chords.The melody becomes more beautiful and listenable and,of course,clarity comes naturally.

And the last thing,lower chords in the first part,after the main movements,would be better to be played as if you were caressing them or transforming the ,,bell ringing" echo into playable piano notes.

Good job ! And waiting for your later recording of this piece  

[beethovenfan01]

I absolutely agree @tnan123 .Considering that i'm working on this piece too, i can say few things. Clarity is the MOST important component of playing this piece. Especially in ,, pesante" part. Rach loves fat chords.If you drop a single note, the concept of particular part fully changes.I've been working on ,,pesante" section really hard to polish it and i guess i'm reaching the desired clarity Cheesy

As for tempo, it needs to be played definetly slow, i'd say triple times slow. Especially in the middle part. Pesante means ,,heavy", so it should be played as if you are lazy to take the hands off the chords. The melody becomes more beautiful and listenable and, of course, clarity comes naturally.

And the last thing, lower chords in the first part, after the main movements, would be better to be played as if you were caressing them or transforming the ,,bell ringing" echo into playable piano notes.

Good job ! And waiting for your later recording of this piece  Wink

Thanks for your feedback!