Description
One of the preludes written in 1903, marked Tempo di minuetto. With this set Rachmaninoff was carrying forward a plan that, together with the C-sharp minor Prelude Op. 3 No. 2 and the later Op. 32, would cover all twenty-four keys — and Op. 23 is its core.
In D minor and triple meter. For all the minuet tempo there is no courtly grace here: a hard, dotted rhythm marches instead. The middle section turns inward, the harmony thinning until little but the melody is left, before the opening tread returns and the piece withdraws quietly at the close.
An advanced prelude that asks for rhythmic strictness more than technique. Softening the dotted figures costs the piece its backbone. The middle section, on the other hand, needs a song released from the beat — two different senses of time within one piece. As an exercise in changing character without changing tempo, it is hard to better.
A collection of preludes not tied to a specific set, featuring short, evocative works by composers from Bach to more modern voices.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer and pianist who represents the late Romantic era, later emigrating to Europe and the United States after the Russian Revolution. His music is marked by lush melody, dense harmony, and sonorities evoking Russian church bells, with his Piano Concerto No. 2 among his best-known works. His many Preludes are also cherished masterworks. This site includes nine of the Preludes from Op. 23 along with the C-sharp minor Prelude, Op. 3 No. 2, that made his name.
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