Serguéi Rajmaninov · Romanticism
1892
Piano · Moscow
Tonality
Do sustained minor.
From the atril
Rajmaninov was nineteen years old when he wrote, in 1892, the Prelude in a minor sustained, part of his Invented parts op. 3. He became so famous that he pursued him all his life: the public demanded him as a tip in all his recitals, and he ended up calling him, with a certain amount, «the prelude». In addition, he had sold it without copyright for a modest sum, so his global success reported almost nothing.
The piece begins with three descending notes in the very grave record, as solemn bells, which become the motive of the whole work. It follows a quiet, dark section, and then an agitated central episode, with fast three-ways, which grows to a huge climax. On returning, the initial theme sounds in large chords divided into four pentagrams, which require large hands and all body weight. The bells, so present in Russian music, resonate throughout the play. It is a short, very effective piece that remains one of the favorite of young pianist.
What to hear
- The three initial notes, like bells.
- The central episode agitated.
- The big chords of the theme's turn.
