Description
Written in 1903, this prelude shares with No. 4 the gentlest character in Op. 23. Framed by fast pieces on either side, it is one of the few places where the tension lets go when the set is heard complete.
In E-flat major and common time, marked Andante. The left-hand accompaniment rocks like a barcarolle while the right sings a long-breathed melody above it. The line widens its range as it goes, taking on ornaments; the harmony turns chromatic and shadowed in the middle, before the opening calm returns to close the piece.
An advanced prelude. There is little that is technically treacherous, yet holding the melody's tempo over a rocking accompaniment is not as easy as it looks. Let the melody be dragged by the accompaniment and the song is swallowed by the waves. Keeping the left-hand figure constant while allowing the right hand alone a little freedom is the heart of playing this piece.
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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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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