# un poco meno mosso-Rachmaninoff



## trojan-rabbit

What is intended by _un poco meno mosso_ in the slow section of Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G minor, 23/5?

It means a little less motion, but does that apply to hand motion? Or the music itself?

Any help will be appreciated


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## thicks

Music itself


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## trojan-rabbit

Hmm... Well, how do you think it is intended to be played, then?

Liszt is a bit more concise with wordings


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## BuddhaBandit

It means be more gentle- the first section, if I recall correctly, is "alla marcha" or "as a march", and the right hand is fairly quick and pronounced. For meno mosso, keep everything "flowing" instead of "marching".

An analogous example would be in Chopin's A-flat Polonaise, in the RH part that is played on top of the LH descending octaves.

And yes, Liszt is more concise, but remember, Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist, so it is natural that he is more specific and thus verbose


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## Rachovsky

Mmmm, I love his Prelude in G. I think i'm going to try and learn it next. I think the hardest part IS the Un poco meno mosso part of the piece.


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## trojan-rabbit

BuddhaBandit said:


> It means be more gentle- the first section, if I recall correctly, is "alla marcha" or "as a march", and the right hand is fairly quick and pronounced. For meno mosso, keep everything "flowing" instead of "marching".
> 
> An analogous example would be in Chopin's A-flat Polonaise, in the RH part that is played on top of the LH descending octaves.
> 
> And yes, Liszt is more concise, but remember, Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist, so it is natural that he is more specific and thus verbose


Ok, thank you. 
By piano teacher also recommended that it was also regarded how you played it; staying closer to the keyboard."

Very helpful, I appreciate it


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## trojan-rabbit

BuddhaBandit said:


> It means be more gentle- the first section, if I recall correctly, is "alla marcha" or "as a march", and the right hand is fairly quick and pronounced. For meno mosso, keep everything "flowing" instead of "marching".
> 
> An analogous example would be in Chopin's A-flat Polonaise, in the RH part that is played on top of the LH descending octaves.
> 
> And yes, Liszt is more concise, but remember, Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist, so it is natural that he is more specific and thus verbose


Ok, thank you. 
My piano teacher also recommended that it was also regarded how you played it; staying closer to the keyboard."

Very helpful, I appreciate it


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## Edward Elgar

The literal translation of "un poco meno mosso" is a little less movement. 

Can anyone recomend a good edition of this peice - the fingering in mine is ridiculous! There should be an easy way of playing those bass notes and chords in the march section, it's too difficult to change hand positions all the time.


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## trojan-rabbit

Which version do you have?

I have the complete opus 23 from Alfred, and it works for me


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## fongpayman

Slow down...


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## Alaskansharon

*The sound of the piece*

I always played the piece with the emphasis on the top notes. Then I heard part of it played in a movie called "The Pianist" which was a weird, sadistic movie but when I heard this piece, I changed the way I played with and emphasis on the lower ba dee dom Dom Dom. And wow! What a beautiful difference. It really brought it to life. Hope this helps ba- de- Dom- Dom- Dom, pa, pa, pa. Quiet on the pa, pa, pa.


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## Delicious Manager

BuddhaBandit said:


> And yes, Liszt is more concise, but remember, Rachmaninoff was a virtuoso pianist, so it is natural that he is more specific and thus verbose


And Liszt WASN'T a virtuoso pianist??


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## Pugg

fongpayman said:


> Slow down...


Must be a fellow Dutch man / woman


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## Pat Fairlea

Rachovsky said:


> Mmmm, I love his Prelude in G. I think i'm going to try and learn it next. I think the hardest part IS the Un poco meno mosso part of the piece.


Agreed. The difficulty lies in getting the pedalling and LH articulation smooth enough to meet R' s specified meno mosso, whilst being able to transition back to the alla marcia closing section. Gorgeous piece. Donohoe's recording is particularly satisfying.


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