I listen to the music of Rachmaninoff. It comes from a Russian. The Russian mind is ruled by three concepts. Pravda, Ne Pravda, and Ezdeena. Pravada is truth. Something that happens in common. Ne Pravda is something a person does that is extra ordinary. Ezdeena is the Will of God. Rachmaninoff is Ne Pravda with his sights on Ezdeena. It would be an amazing thing if more Russians did as Rachmaninoff did.
It was somewhat common at the time but culture was changing so it was starting to be less acceptable. The local church at the time forbade it. Wasn't til after he finished his 2nd piano concerto that they got married
Achingly beautiful. Brilliantly played. Some of the resolutions are immensely satisfying, but short-lived, and the waves rise again. Genius composition. The ending brings tears to my eyes.
I find that most performers play this piece fairly fast having no time to savour the harmonies and nuances that the composition goes through; to them it is a quite easy piece to play, to be dealt with as a minor diversion to some much more demanding works! I recall that, after giving a recital, Rachmaninoff would often unwind by visiting a jazz venue where he could soak upl some interesting idioms which he could re-use in his own compositions. The melody of this piece is so perfectly suited for the voice of a singer, such as Bette Midler, who could portray a song in a theatrical way: perhaps this melody is a re-imagining of a singer's performance at such a jazz club?! I agree with you that this is a genius composition: the accompaniment meanders around the melody, but is an equal partner and commentator to the superb song. It would be a great dis-service to relegate the left hand to a background rumble!! I could imagine the piano-player, backing the singer, would make his own pointers to the changes in harmonies. A bad accompanist can make or break a great composition by treating it as a mere trifle, no matter how good the singer is. Similarly, a pianist can kill this piece by negating every twist and turn in the changes of mood. I may suggest that you hear the few other preludes of Rachmaninoff on my channel, if you so wish.
The photo of Rachmaninoff is to remind everybody that, if it was not for the composer, there would be very little, if any, music of quality to play. Give tribute to the instigator for creating art which improves the quality of life for all of us on this pitiful planet!!
@@sylviemencarelli2668 To make it absolutely clear, the photo is of Rachmaninoff, but the player is GlynGlynn, as indicated at the bottom of the writing!
I loved this interpretation! It was certainly different from any I've ever listened to, specially in terms of tempo (the beginning was slower and full of rubato) and articulation (the sparse use of the pedal). Although it feels more like a romantic piece than a classical one with these decisions (especially the tempo), it certainly feels justified and consistent with the period being that of a transition and it was so refreshing to hear sections like the arpeggios and the "bell" chords in the 3rd movement with every note heard clearly because of the restrained use of pedal (or lack thereof). Indeed, the interpretation itself prizes clarity above all and it was a monumental achievement in its accomplishment. Overall, a very eccentric interpretation, but in a consistent and justified way. The ending was marvelous as well. Bravo!!
Thank you very much for your very discerning ear! Yes, I do lean towards less pedal as a reaction against a great many pianists who over-pedal, causing a muddy sound as would be more appropriate with composers such as Debussy. Since this is Op.110, the penultimate piano sonata composed in 1821 I would imagine that Beethoven would have kept abreast of the times and read through some of the compositions of other composers' works of the time. This would have made him veer towards greater personal expression in his own compositions, such as the sadness of his plight in the aria of the third movement. It is such a wonderful end, suggesting that Beethoven has managed to break out of his gloom with a feeling of triumphant exultation!!
Great performance. The way you played the C section was especially great and matched the piu lento marking. Because rubato tempo is kind of Chopin's thing, his pieces can be interpreted in many ways, but I personally feel that a slightly faster tempo suits this piece better, with more contrast in tempo between the A and B section. Something I would change about this performance is, when you play the final note of the B sections, after the chromatic run, it feels too accented when it should be followed by a decrescendo, finishing with it as the quietest note. But it's always good to experiment with pieces (especially Chopin) and find what sounds best to you.
Thank you for your critical, constructive comments. Yes, you are correct about making a diminuendo going to the top note, but, I think, only on the second time at 1' 44''before going into the Db section. The speed I chose happened to be only for this performance; on other occasions I may have played faster. I tend to play a piece differently as and when the mood takes me. The speed of a piece determines how the shape of phrases may turn out, and, therefore, give a totally different mood to the piece. Your comments show that you have listened with a discerning ear. It makes me happy when a 'real music' lover has the ability to see why he/she liked a particular performance, and how a few places could need more enhancement. Please feel free to leave any comments on other performances as you may wish.
Thank you! Yes, I notice that a lot of pianists seem to want to get through the waltzes as fast as they can. I suppose they think they are beneath them since they are more concerned with going faster than other pianists in the show-off pieces and cannot reduce the onslaught in less flamboyant pieces!!!
Thank you for your confirmation. As I have often said before, these are not Johann Strauss waltzes where you are whisked around the room. Chopin has simply taken the idiom and moulded them to his own creation.@@powderedwiglouis1238
Glad to be of service! I am delighted that someone, such as yourself, has actually read the information!! I don't think many do, but the blurb gives insight as to why, what , where and how these compositions arise. They certainly don't come magically from the spiritual ether!!!
Someone once said that you can't fail with pieces written by Chopin. However, in the hands of some pianists a piece can be ruined if played in a boring way. I am curious to know what, in this performance, caused you to love this particular piece?@@tanjanovicic2926
The phrasing at the beginning is not meant to be staccato (even tho the slur ends on the first C# and the other 2 have dots). The slur over dot means to be played not legato but with pedal. You can find that writing in a lot of Chopin, hopefully this helps! You can also check out a lot of great pianists recordings to get an idea of how the phrasing is usually done, I personally love S. Neuhaus recording of this. Anyways have a great day and keep playing! Cheers.
Phrasing: legato is indicated with a curved line over 2, or more, notes; staccato by a dot above or below a note or notes; a curved line plus staccato dots is known as portamento where the notes are not meant to be released immediately but slightly held over, but still detached from the next note. My copy, by Henle-Verlag, shows the latter. The publisher has now been able to obtain the copy of the first edition made after Chopin had sold it to them. Copyright ends after 150 years, so this is the most authentiic of what actually Choin wrore before too many publishers had to alter their edition to avoid down-right copying! Notice that, in my offering, the left hand IS legato while the right hand C sharps are sightly detached. IF I had played them purely staccato there would have been too much 'air' between them. If I had used pedal, the notes would have been joined (legato) no matter how much I let the notes go. The trouble with many of the main-stream pianists is that, since their memories are so good, after 1 or 2 play-throughs they have got the music in their memory-banks and do not need to refer the music ever again! Therefore, many of their recordings have pedalling for every note or whole bar making for very boring or non-existent phrasing. If, as you suggest, one uses the pedal, the hand would appear to be detaching the notes, but the sound would be to link the notes together. This reply is very long-winded, but I hope it clarifies why I do not follow the main-stream.
@@grumpyoldpianistplus Thank you for the time put into the reply! However, legato in piano is not a matter of purely finger legato, but harmonics production, which is obtained by weight playing. The armonics produced by each note then glue the phrase together, resulting into the illusion of a singing voice. I'm sorry for not having been clear in my previous comment, what i meant was pretty much the same as what you replied, the curved line (slur) over the dot is exacly what you said, to be played portato. Staccato is actually *always* what you've said about portamento, as in the note has to be released slighty before the whole duration of a note, and not as many people think, just be played very fast. So while for fast notes (as in a lot of Mozart) you could just use staccato like that, in early romantic and romantic authors its very often to find long notes with the staccato and/or portamento notations (ps: the very fast release would be called pizzicato). I hope that was clear enough, I'm not native and it could be pretty messy. Chopin here uses that same notation, and you're right in saying that the notes have to be released earlier, but the pedal has to be used here. Playing without pedal ruins the tension of the phrase completely, creating an abrupt interrruption. I'm aware that Chopin hardly ever notes pedal in this Nocturne, however that doesnt mean he wants you to play without pedal! That was simply Chopin's way of annotating a manuscript, he would only notate pedal where he wanted it to be very clear and not misinterpreted! We can analyse so many of Chopin's manuscripts to find the same things over and over, and then if we listen to the great interpreters of Chopin (Koczalski, de Pachmann...) they all play it with pedal. In fact, if we were to strictly follow the exact pedal notations of Chopin's manuscripts, his music would have to be played almost with no pedal at all! Sorry for the even longer reply xD! I think it may be very messy as I'm writing this in a hurry, but hopefully it makes some sense!
@@bartoldo5898 I thank you for your even-more detailed reply. True, applying the sustaining pedal does release the harmonies of the note or notes played giving a richer sonority. But one must avoid using the pedal when the harmony of one chord is obliterated by more notes not in keeping with that particular chord. I do use pedal when playing Chopin, but I prefer to make the notes clear rather than with a general blur. In my performances I try to make disinction between the right and left hand, the right hand being the voice and the left hand being the accompanist. To that end, sometimes a singer is taking a breath between notes or phrases while the accompaniment continues to play legato. This is the case about the C#s: the singer is 'panting' while the left hand plays legato, which is how it shows on my copy of the piece. To my mind, this makes the melody more interesting, instead of always being legato. Whether what is on my copy is Chopin's direction, or added there by the original editor (with or without consultation with Chopin), or being played legato by most pianists, all is possibly irrelevent to me: what is more of concern is that, not only does it make the phrase more interesting but it is written that way on my copy, which is the first printed version of the manuscript. It also does make it a unique interpretation if every other pianist is going to use the pedal right through the passage!
@@grumpyoldpianistplus I see! Personally I believe it's better to play that part with pedal but everyone is free to give it their own personal interpretation!
