Novellette, Op.11 No.2

Description

One of the few solo piano pieces Rimsky-Korsakov left, this Novelette is the second of the four pieces of Op. 11. Novelette, a little story, is a genre name popularised by Schumann in a set of his own piano pieces, and refers to a short piece in which episodes of different character follow one another like scenes in a story. It moves from the B major of the preceding Impromptu to B minor on the same tonic.

It is in B minor and 2/4. It lasts about three and a half minutes, yet has 1,978 notes, the most in Op. 11, at a density of more than nine a second. The range covers just under five octaves, from F-sharp 1 to D-sharp 6, and the writing packs thick chords and fast figures together while reaching deep into the bass.

It is the only piece in Op. 11 rated advanced. It demands the stamina to sustain that density over three and a half minutes and an ear that keeps hold of the melodic line amid so many notes. Start with the playback speed well down, and use the hand colours to see which hand has the melody. Cut the difficult spots into short A-B loops and raise the speed gradually towards full tempo. The lowest note, F-sharp 1, needs 76 keys or more.

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