What makes a good interpretation of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s prelude in G minor?

Question by : What makes a good interpretation of Rachmaninoff’s prelude in G minor?
I’ve been playing this prelude for years, and I still don’t feel like I am able to get to the heart of what the piece is about.

Also, I have trouble making all of the inner voices audible in the B section.

Can any pianists help me?
Also, how much sustain pedal should be used?

Answers and Views:

Answer by fierydog
Please listen to the way Prokofiev plays it and model your own interpretation from it. It will put you miles ahead of all the other pianists who just shoot for cacophony. If you listen to Rakhmaninov himself play it, he plays it with even more staccato than Prokofiev! As little pedal as possible in the beginning and end sections, and quite liberally in the middle section to bring out the voices properly. Don’t feel like you have to play it exactly like Prokofiev does but please listen to how he and Rakhmaninov play it.

http://goo.gl/G6BNiS – Prokofiev

http://goo.gl/MVVqX – Rakhmaninov

Please listen to the way Rakhmaninov plays the middle section especially and also the ending. You should be able to get to the heart of what the piece is about.

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(: says

Aah, the g minor prelude… one of my favorites. Gilels’ interpretation is my most preferred by far. Prokofiev also plays it very well. Rachmaninov himself takes a very interesting approach… despite the fact that he’s the composer, I really wouldn’t recommend copying from his recording, but it is definitely a must-listen.

I’m no professional or teacher; merely a piano student with a huge passion for piano, but I’ll give my two cents nonetheless since I happened to have studied this prelude for a long time as well.

Let’s start off with the tempo marking: Alla Marcia, quarter note = 108. I feel that the starting tempo should be slower at 104 or even 100 to keep it more suspenseful. The march-like and tense mood of the theme is brought out in the repeated sixteenths, which should be played sharply and close to the keys. I keep everything up until bar 12 at a pianissimo-piano level, save for bar 5, to create a more dramatic contrast between the theme and the forte chords later in the exposition.

I feel that pedal isn’t very necessary until you reach the forte section, to prevent weighing things down. I also use practically no rubato in the first statement of the theme. Past measure 16 and into the B section, you can get away with using more pedal for emphasis, just be sure to change it frequently to prevent things from clouding things together.

The second coming of the theme in bar 25 is heavy and menacing. As stated before, this should be made a clear contrast to the light and suspenseful beginning. Here, I like to use a bit of rubato and delay the accented octave at the start of each measure to really bring out the character of this section. Bar 31 marks the transition to the B section and the volume finally starts to die down, but don’t relax! Common mistake — the intensity should be kept the same as the before. It’s widely accepted to take a rit here — personally, I like to wait until the last measure before the B section to prevent the line from dragging too much.

Bringing out the inner voices in the B section was a problem for me as well. How I approached this was first isolating the inner melody and playing it alone. Then, try singing it while you play it — singing really helps in phrasing lines and it makes you listen to the tone of each note. After, try playing the inner melody and “airing” all of the other notes. Get it as smooth and high-quality as when you were playing it by itself. Finally, play the entire section as-written; you should be crystal clear about the inner voices now. If you still have trouble bringing them out, another exercise to try is to exaggerate the melody and play everything else pp.

Bridge into recapitulation — despite the fact that it’s making a return to the main theme, I take this section SIGNIFICANTLY slower than any other part of the piece. My preferred tempo is eight note = 116, and then accel gradually to marked Tempo I. I don’t actually take the original speed where it’s marked Tempo I; instead, I go down to 96 to give it some more room to build up, and THEN play at original tempo at measure 64 with the return of the descending chords.

Everything else is pretty self-explanatory. Only other thing I would add is to watch your tempo with the dim.s towards the ending because it makes my pet peeve alarm go off when I hear pianists drag this part. :p

And that concludes my very long answer. Once again, this is only my personal interpretation of the piece, and I don’t blame you if you don’t agree with me 100%. Hopefully it does give you some ideas on what to do though!

Good luck!

Comments ( 1 )

(: says

Aah, the g minor prelude… one of my favorites. Gilels’ interpretation is my most preferred by far. Prokofiev also plays it very well. Rachmaninov himself takes a very interesting approach… despite the fact that he’s the composer, I really wouldn’t recommend copying from his recording, but it is definitely a must-listen.

I’m no professional or teacher; merely a piano student with a huge passion for piano, but I’ll give my two cents nonetheless since I happened to have studied this prelude for a long time as well.

Let’s start off with the tempo marking: Alla Marcia, quarter note = 108. I feel that the starting tempo should be slower at 104 or even 100 to keep it more suspenseful. The march-like and tense mood of the theme is brought out in the repeated sixteenths, which should be played sharply and close to the keys. I keep everything up until bar 12 at a pianissimo-piano level, save for bar 5, to create a more dramatic contrast between the theme and the forte chords later in the exposition.

I feel that pedal isn’t very necessary until you reach the forte section, to prevent weighing things down. I also use practically no rubato in the first statement of the theme. Past measure 16 and into the B section, you can get away with using more pedal for emphasis, just be sure to change it frequently to prevent things from clouding things together.

The second coming of the theme in bar 25 is heavy and menacing. As stated before, this should be made a clear contrast to the light and suspenseful beginning. Here, I like to use a bit of rubato and delay the accented octave at the start of each measure to really bring out the character of this section. Bar 31 marks the transition to the B section and the volume finally starts to die down, but don’t relax! Common mistake — the intensity should be kept the same as the before. It’s widely accepted to take a rit here — personally, I like to wait until the last measure before the B section to prevent the line from dragging too much.

Bringing out the inner voices in the B section was a problem for me as well. How I approached this was first isolating the inner melody and playing it alone. Then, try singing it while you play it — singing really helps in phrasing lines and it makes you listen to the tone of each note. After, try playing the inner melody and “airing” all of the other notes. Get it as smooth and high-quality as when you were playing it by itself. Finally, play the entire section as-written; you should be crystal clear about the inner voices now. If you still have trouble bringing them out, another exercise to try is to exaggerate the melody and play everything else pp.

Bridge into recapitulation — despite the fact that it’s making a return to the main theme, I take this section SIGNIFICANTLY slower than any other part of the piece. My preferred tempo is eight note = 116, and then accel gradually to marked Tempo I. I don’t actually take the original speed where it’s marked Tempo I; instead, I go down to 96 to give it some more room to build up, and THEN play at original tempo at measure 64 with the return of the descending chords.

Everything else is pretty self-explanatory. Only other thing I would add is to watch your tempo with the dim.s towards the ending because it makes my pet peeve alarm go off when I hear pianists drag this part. :p

And that concludes my very long answer. Once again, this is only my personal interpretation of the piece, and I don’t blame you if you don’t agree with me 100%. Hopefully it does give you some ideas on what to do though!

Good luck!

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