Description
Written in 1903, this counts among the most technically demanding pieces in Op. 23. It runs only a little over two minutes, but from beginning to end there is nothing that amounts to a rest, and it asks for extreme concentration.
In E-flat minor and common time, marked Presto. Fine figuration runs unbroken in the right hand, much of it written in double notes, while the left moves at the same speed. With both hands racing together, the harmonic changes can only be shown within the rush of notes. The piece holds its momentum to the last, falling into the bass register to finish.
An advanced prelude. Sounding a chain of double notes evenly at speed is the central problem. Fix the hand as a chord shape to reduce how much the fingers must move independently. The faster it goes the more release matters: forcing it through with a tense arm will not last two minutes. Take evenness in a relaxed state as the standard from the earliest stage of practice.
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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