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I will be performing this piece in a number of competitions in a few months and i would appreciate any comments that will help me refine and perfect it.

Prelude in G minor

Well done. To don my critical hat, I think it sounds a little too 'dry' in general, though this could be the acoustic and recording. However a little more pedal, especially in the middle section (where you also missed out a whole phrase at one point, I believe), and perhaps on the accompaniment chords in the main sections, wouldn't go amiss, together with a more staccato approach to the main theme where marked. You seem to avoid any tension build-up pretty well, and keep relaxed, but accuracy in those leaps between the melody and the accompaniment figures are of course key to the overall effect, and a few of them went west here and there. That nasty LH wide arpeggio at 1:48-1:49 is where a lot of pianists (e.g. Ashkenazy) hold back the tempo quite a lot, before commencing the next phrase, and personally I think it is excusable/effective. Also one can redistribute between the hands a bit there as well if I recall correctly...

Keep up the good work

Best regards,


Michael B.

I like very much what you are doing here. I agree largely with what Michael B. says, and will add the following:

In the eighth measure after the Un poco meno mosso indication, I would like to hear more of the counter melody in the alto, particularly I would like to hear it move right through to the G in the next measure and then continue F#, G, A - very hard to do, I know.

On the last page, particularly starting at measure 72, the "melody" - if we can call it that - seems to get a little lost in the sixteenth-note chords that follow. I know that the score is marked ff at this point, but I do think that the melody should continue to be the main focus, and not the repeated chords.

I particularly like your tempo for the opening section. You don't rush it and, for the most part, you keep it fairly steady which is much to your credit. I also like your tempo for the middle section but - and here it's just a matter of personal taste - I would linger a little more on the two note phrases at the end of measures 36 and 38 (F#, A): note the tenuto mark on the F# each time. Later where that idea is repeated in a three-note phrase (measures 43 and 45: F# G, A), I would also "linger" a fraction on the F#. This is Rachmaninov and this lush writing can be milked for all it's worth, I think. Again, that's just a personal thought; you may not agree.

Apart from your skipping two measures in the middle section, this Prelude certainly seems to be competition ready. Very well done! Congratulations!

Regards,

Question: How long did it take you to get it to that point? I've been slaving over that piece to the point that my family is ready to kill me and I just wondered.

When I saw what you were posting, I said, "NO, That's my piece!" like it matters - LOL.

Good luck. I need to listen to it in its entirety when my husband isn't watching TV in the same room.

Amy

I didn't either of the A sections were too dry, but the B section was a little too dry/fingery for my taste. The arpeggios weren't flowing very well and that really took away from the melody. I think you could sing and shape the melody better in the middle section. Overall very good performance!

Also, you should take a little time at the end of your phrases at a few places.

I will be posting a new version soon, I hope. I will include the two skipped measures :rolleyes: .
It was just a fluke that won't be repeated.

I just had a lesson and I am going to be making more of a wave sound in the left hand in the middle section, starting softer at the beginning of each up and down arpeggio, then getting softer again after reaching the high point. Also, I'm going to cut out a little of the rubato I have added into the middle. So that the flow of the sound isn't changed as much.

In the beginning of the third section when it's PPP, I'm not going to increase speed and volume as fast as I did in the recording.

Thank you for the comments.