# Rachmaninov's Preludes



## tahnak

Today I was listening to solo pianoforte music. After a long time, I played the vinyl of Rubinstein playing Beethoven's 'Appassionata' sonata(RCA). No matter how many times you listen to this, it still comes fresh as a spring maiden waiting to be romanced.

Then I heard Svjatoslav Richter playing Racmaninov's Preludes(Melodiya). My God! It was quite a recital.
Sergei Rachmaninov's preludes are among his best piano compositions. There is one isolated early prelude in C sharp minor .Op.3 No.2 - I call it the Death Bell Prelude.
There are ten preludes of Op.23 and thirteen preludes of Op.32. Altogether, they are a big cycle of twenty four preludes that cover a fair expression of Rachmaninov's most characteristic images and moods in all major and minor tonalities. Both the preludes of Op.23 and Op.32 were written within a short period of time. The first cycle was done in less than a month in the spring of 1902 and the second cycle in just eighteen days in the summer of 1910 in one uninterrupted bout of inspiration.
Svjatoslav Richter was in his element playing these preludes. He was born in 1915. In his earlier years, he was a composer and a conductor as well. He dabbled in painting and the theatre and readily accompanied singers. But after 1937, he dropped his aspirations and concentrated on his activities as a concert pianist on a large scale. He has a wide repertoire ranging from Bach and Mozart o Bartok, Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Rachmaninov preludes were first played by him in 1943 and since then have remained among his best artistic achievements.


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## YsayeOp.27#6

tahnak said:


> There is one isolated early prelude in C sharp minor .Op.3 No.2 - I call it the Death Bell Prelude.


Ahh, the "buried alive" prelude. I use it to impress friends.


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## JAKE WYB

i cant be doing with the C# minor prelude - tried to play it but quickly lost interest - urghh - 

the greatest in the cycle i find are G# minor for its extraordinarily translucent watery textures , G major for its indescribable tranquil but disturbing undertones - one of the most subtle pieces of piano music i know of - and Bminor - very personal and imtense - those repeating dark chords send shivers up my spine always - 

- shame not every prelude is of such depth and interest - but thats the attraction of the set - its variety and potential for creating and dissolving darkness and atmosphere


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## Guest

i have a collection of rachmaninoff's old old photos. i always thumb through the photo album while listening to Rachmaninoff's complete recording. and this prelude gives me goosebumps. 

one night i threw the photo album-just got scared because of this dark prelude.


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## 13hm13

Hyperion/Osborne seems to be recommend often ...









I own this RCA release (Weissenberg; recorded in late 1960s)









Some of the BBC Proms videos with Kissin are very good, too. Any other?


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## DeepR

I love the Preludes, my favorites of the bunch are Op. 23 No. 2 and Op. 32 No. 10.
Richter is incomparable.


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## Rogerx

Strong new contender.


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## EdwardBast

DeepR said:


> I love the Preludes, my favorites of the bunch are Op. 23 No. 2 and Op. 32 No. 10.
> Richter is incomparable.


He didn't record them all though, did he?

Ashkenazy's complete set is worth a listen. And I will likely order the Giltburg unheard based on his Prokofiev performances.


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## Strange Magic

DeepR said:


> I love the Preludes, my favorites of the bunch are Op. 23 No. 2 and Op. 32 No. 10.
> Richter is incomparable.


I too love the Preludes. Besides your noted Op.23 No.2, I dote on Nos. 3,5, and 7 also. And the Op.32, Nos. 3,4,5,8,9 and 13 in addition to your noted No.10. The C-sharp minor, of course, helped enormously to "make" R's reputation in the West--his Boléro, as it were. Love it too.

Études Tableaux, anyone? The Op.33, Nos.1,2 and 5 please, especially the 5, but it is very dependent upon the interpreter--I've heard No.5 by Ashkenazy that I found almost intolerable, much preferring John Lill's reading. Of the Op.39 Études, Nos.2 through 6 are my favorites.


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## EdwardBast

Strange Magic said:


> I too love the Preludes. Besides your noted Op.23 No.2, I dote on Nos. 3,5, and 7 also. And the Op.32, Nos. 3,4,5,8,9 and 13 in addition to your noted No.10. The C-sharp minor, of course, helped enormously to "make" R's reputation in the West--his Boléro, as it were. Love it too.
> 
> Études Tableaux, anyone? The Op.33, Nos.1,2 and 5 please, especially the 5, but it is very dependent upon the interpreter--I've heard No.5 by Ashkenazy that I found almost intolerable, much preferring John Lill's reading. Of the Op.39 Études, Nos.2 through 6 are my favorites.


These two performances of the Etudes Op. 39, by Gryaznov and Giltburg, are superb:

Gryaznov:






Giltburg


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## Pat Fairlea

13hm13 said:


> Hyperion/Osborne seems to be recommend often ...
> 
> View attachment 125972
> 
> 
> I own this RCA release (Weissenberg; recorded in late 1960s)
> 
> View attachment 125973
> 
> 
> Some of the BBC Proms videos with Kissin are very good, too. Any other?


I would certainly recommend Osborne's recording of R's Preludes. 
Interesting to see people nominating their favourites. I love the B minor Op32/10, but also some of the more neglected pieces such as F# minor Op23/1 and D minor Op23/3.


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## Norse

I've always thought the E major was really cool. It's not the "deepest" of the preludes, but chock full of energy (and with a surprisingly "sweet" ending.)


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## Pat Fairlea

Norse said:


> I've always thought the E major was really cool. It's not the "deepest" of the preludes, but chock full of energy (and with a surprisingly "sweet" ending.)


Yes! And despite R's reputation, that prelude always seems to me to be joyful, even fun. As you say, the ending is unexpected and charming.


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