Piano Forum

Piano Street Magazine:
Rachmaninoff’s Complete Piano Works – Now on Piano Street
Piano Street celebrates Rachmaninoff’s 150-year anniversary by providing digital sheet music for his complete piano works. Browse the new scores and immerse yourself in a world of technical fireworks, profound emotion, and a uniquely rich harmonic language! Read more
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Topic: Tips for easy Rachmaninoff pieces that sound good?  (Read 3419 times)

Offline slurred_beat

  • PS Silver Member
  • Jr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 61
Tips for easy Rachmaninoff pieces that sound good?
on: January 29, 2021, 01:27:46 PM
I want to play more Rachmaninoff but some of his pieces are very difficult. Do you have some tips for easy Rachmaninoff pieces that sound good? Maybe intermediate level, I have played the C sharp minor prelude. But I also want to know what are some of his easiest pieces?
Logged
Sign up for a Piano Street membership to download this piano score.
Sign up for FREE! >>

Offline slurred_beat

  • PS Silver Member
  • Jr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 61
Re: Tips for easy Rachmaninoff pieces that sound good?
Reply #1 on: February 01, 2021, 12:33:15 PM
Ok maybe there arent easy Rachmaninoff pieces? It is also ok with intermediate level pieces. I'm just asking for something of Rachmaninoff that isnt too hard. Is there any good suggestions?
Logged

Offline nw746

  • PS Silver Member
  • Jr. Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 92
Re: Tips for easy Rachmaninoff pieces that sound good?
Reply #2 on: February 01, 2021, 01:18:23 PM
The first one that came to mind is the B minor prelude, his personal favourite from the set. But I don't really know if it qualifies as "easy" just because I can play it; I have significant idiosyncrasies (e.g. a 98th percentile hand span and very relaxed wrists).
Logged

Offline angelmorph

  • Newbie
  • *
  • Posts: 5
Re: Tips for easy Rachmaninoff pieces that sound good?
Reply #3 on: February 02, 2021, 03:35:19 AM
His own transcription of his Lilac has a lovely tone and is quite manageable technically, and if you can deal with odd polyrhythm 3 against 5, I would suggest Prelude Op 32 No. 5

To some extent, if you don't mind playing a non original Rach piece, you might also want to try a transcription of the 18th variation from his "Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini", there are a few transcriptions out there provided for free and also the commercial version by Robert Schultz, which is the favorite one of many pianists
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
For more information about this topic, click search below!

Piano Street Magazine:
The Many Voices of Alfred Brendel
Alfred Brendel, the Czech-born Austrian pianist, essayist and poet, died peacefully at age 94 on June 17, 2025, in London. Celebrated for his deeply intellectual interpretations of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and Liszt, he reshaped classical performance with clarity, wit and literary flair. His legacy endures through recordings, writings and mentorship. Read more
 

Logo light pianostreet.com - the website for classical pianists, piano teachers, students and piano music enthusiasts.

Subscribe for unlimited access

Sign up

Follow us

Piano Street Digicert
Customer Reviews