Week 3: Art, Character, and Imagination

Noel Nguyen Hey Noel, it's really interesting to hear your thought process as you work through this piece that is challenging you despite your advanced technique.  I can't wait to hear it, not just because I want to hear how you resolve some of these issues but also because I'm so curious about the arrangement, and I love these big expansive Rachmaninoff melodies with their beautiful unfolding harmonies. (and I'm curious about whether this arrangement is something I could consider playing).  I WONDER whether Rach's Eb Major Prelude, op. 23 No. 6 might be a better analogue for your piece than the D Major. It has the big melody over the evolving chord patterns, not withstanding the running 16th notes that wind through it.  It does kind of "wind down" rather than build up to a big climax at the end, which might separate it from your piece,  but the way the melody persists and predominates through a number of different iterations (9 or 10 or 11) over several different versions of harmonic support and interweaving counter melodies, sort of reminds me of that symphony movement. more of creating a similar impression on me, rather than following the same road map, but still, reminiscent of it nonetheless, to me, anyway.

Noel Nguyen And another possibility is the Ab Major Prelude (Op. 23 No. 8), which I'm working on at the present.  It replicates, on a smaller scale of course, the map of emotions in your Op. 27 movement.  I think of its arpeggiated 16ths as single units of a quarter note melody line (and I'm wrestling with whether the highest note of the arpeggio represents the melody or whether it's the first 16th, usually located somewhere in the middle of the chord and written as a held quarter note), that seems to build to an early peak, then ruminates through a couple of episodes, and then restates its theme , building up to a suddenly quiet climax before wrapping up with a compacted, ramped-down version of the theme.  

Peter Golemme I'd say my interpretation is definitely closer to Op.23 no.6!

Peter Golemme Thank you for your kind words! I'm planning to record it on Friday. But you know what they say about God and plans😅

Dustin Anderson Beautiful playing! 

Michelle R Oh thank you =) Yours as well; a delicate touch on the chords of that prelude is tricky to achieve. Your isolation practice is a great way to develop consistency! Thank you for sharing.

Dustin Anderson Thanks, Dustin. I'm excited to be learning my first Chopin. There's so much in it, so many new things that I've not worked on before! I'm having a lot of fun listening to and experimenting with this piece. 

Dustin Anderson you are certainly off to a great start!

Priya Viseskul 

Hi Priya, 

I recently had a student learn this piece. They had a similar take, especially with the very end of the piece which they felt was almost a scream of overwhelming rage and grief. Look forward to hearing it =) It is a special piece! 

Priya Viseskul Dear Priya, I can already feel all of these emotions built into your recording for Week 2, even as you are still working on the many technical aspects of playing the notes.  It's already extremely powerful even in this raw state.    it's interesting to compare the emotional map of this piece with the Funeral Marches in Beethoven's Op. 26 3rd Movement and Eroica, as well as Chopin's Op.35. They open in a state of grief, and then briefly visit  what might be happier memories of the beloved deceased person, but then the grief reasserts itself in a more punctuated way.  Beethoven's Op. 26 could be said to end in a similar fashion to your Elegie, albeit in a much abbreviated and understated fahion, where the unsettled minor sixths hint at a resigned sorrow (as opposed to a sorrowful outburst in your elegie) before a resolved (pun intended) positive resolution on his quiet Ab chord, which is in contrast to Rachmaninoff's insistent on a triumphant (your great description for it) 5th of his chord, which almost suggests to me that he's forcing out a positive ending, but kind of misses the mark of the tonic, indicating that the sorrow has not really departed but he's going to make himself persevere through it....... Can't wait to hear your further work on this!

Peter Golemme thank you for your thoughts and kind words! I should listen to those pieces you mentioned again for inspiration. And, yes, I feel the ending of the Elegie is like shouting to oneself "No, I will not succumb to this tragedy!" - in a way I welcome this fighting spirit - such a powerful message to end the piece with :)

End of week 3 progress - returning to the main theme bar 84 to the end https://youtu.be/LQW3NZJZEdE

Priya Viseskul 

Hi Priya,

Great job with the fingering and navigating how the RH plays inside the LH's field all the time. You look relaxed and effortless in your movements despite the challenge here. Your singing tone is already well developed as are your parallel thirds and a rhythmically secure finale. You have clearly worked very carefully!  Great to hear, thank you!

Dustin Anderson thank you for listening and the generous feedback! :)

Priya Viseskul sounding beautiful!

claudiadm73 

Some fine work! This is one of my favourite Rachmaninoff preludes. Thanks for sharing!

claudiadm73 Dear Claudia, much of what I said above in connection with Victoria's piece expresses my impressions about this piece as well, so I won't repeat them here.  In addition to that, I find it very interesting that you find an expression of joy here, as I find it very sad -(perhaps reflecting my bias, since I especially love music that's sad, nostalgic, and pulls at the heartstrings).  I hear the two voices as each not hearing what the other is saying, pouring their respective hearts out and then realizing they are not getting through to each other which bursts out in the climax; then they start to co ordinate in the descant section but don't quite connect, and end in resignation.  Now, to be clear,  I[m talking about my impressions of the music of this prelude, not your playing of it!  You are doing an excellent job of bringing out the distinctions of the 2 voices and yet coordinating them at the same time.  I love every one of these 24 Preludes and have many strong feelings aabout all of them, and love hearing the different interpretations that different pianists bring to them.  Keep up the good work!

Dustin Anderson Thank you so much, Dastin ! You are very kind😁

claudiadm73 I love the way you hold the tension and release in the chords.

Angela Fogg I appreciate your kind words, they are a great source of encouragement❤️.Thank you Angela.