help - fingerings - rach 2

[zalmanesd]

hello.
I am an amateur pianist.  Recently, I heard the Rachmaninoff Concerto No 2 on the radio and decided to give it a shot.  After acquiring the music, I started to sight read.  The first parts with the chords and the broken chords and arpeggios were pretty intuitive.  However, I came upon this part. 

I am confused.  There seems to be no good fingerings.  Can someone help me out?

[SteinwayTony]

Good fingering is a privilege, not a right.  It is almost always added in the editing process; Rachmaninoff never added fingering to his own works, and since the compositions are relatively new, most of his editions (98% Boosey & Hawkes) do not have fingering.  Moreover, if you truly cannot figure out efficient fingering to a piece, it is generally a sign that it is beyond your level of playing.

[zalmanesd]

I know.  Well, I can play that part pretty fast with my own fingerings
(from the second note) 1-2-3-1-2-3 jump 1-2-3-2-3-1-5-2-1- jump - 1- 2-1- jump (etc)
But I think the jumps are a bit strange.

Oh well.  Thanks for replying anyways.

[SteinwayTony]

I would play 1-2-3-4-1-2-1-2-3-1-2-1-5.

[jlh]

Here's the fingering I use for this passage:

[from second note] 1-2-3-1-2-3--1-2-3-2-3-1-5-3-2-1-4-3--1-2-3-2-3-1-5-3-2-1-4-3-- etc...

That fingering worked best for me to keep a good, consistent legato line.  There's no reason to jump from 1 to 1 -- it's just too fast to even try doing that.

I still have my marked up score, so if you need any more advice, let me know.

[LVB op.57]

I'm sorry to say this, but if you need to go on a message board to get fingering for a piece, you're probably not ready for Rachmaninoff's second.