Rachmaninov Op.3 No. 2

Hi Pianothor, well done !!! Very, very beautiful. Which library are you using ?

If you send me the completely dry file, I'll fix it for you. Adding or removing bass doesn't make much sense if you don't have good monitoring. Equalization is done on calibrated monitoring. On one system, you might hear too many low frequencies and few highs due to a problem with the monitors. In fact, you don't equalize on uncalibrated monitoring because when you go to remove or add [frequencies], you aren't doing it with informed knowledge. Post-producing on calibrated monitoring ensures that wherever you listen to the track, it sounds good.

If you send me a dry bounce without any effects, I'll fix it for you as soon as I have time to go down to the studio.

Compliments on the performance, truly very beautiful, and I really appreciated how you made the high end of the chords come out well, which represents the melodic line of the track. Well done !!

Thank you very much for the comment and for your availability!!

I don't use libraries.. this is the sound of my Kawai MP7 keyboard, it has two presets for Concert Grand piano, two presets for Studio Grand piano. I use Concert Grand piano no. 2.

I select the sound, connect the jack to the PC and record, or I can also record to a USB stick because I have a USB input right on the keyboard.

I will gladly send you one of my next recordings since the problem is the same (soon I will have to record the first movement of the Pathetique and re-record Chopin's Etude no. 24 because the first time I recorded it immediately after learning it and therefore it was imperfect).

Why do I see so many people using libraries instead of the sound of their digital pianos? (when it comes to recording digitally)

Hello Pianothor,

I am an extremely passionate listener of Rachmaninoff; I spend hours listening to his concertos for orchestra and piano (especially No. 2), his preludes, musical moments, etc. I can tell you that I liked your interpretation of this prelude very much. I also approached the study of this prelude, but at the current stage, I had to give it up to satisfy other more immediate priorities. The prelude, as simple as it may seem due to its initial slowness, is actually very complex. Firstly, because as is typical of Rachmaninoff, there are some chords that are somewhat impossible to reach; I have quite large hands and sometimes I find myself struggling with this composer. Secondly, because then comes the more "spicy" moment with the triplets. Regarding that specific moment, in my opinion, you managed to maintain excellent clarity; at times it seemed to me that I heard a few slips, but overall I was able to clearly distinguish the melodic part from the accompaniment. Even regarding some of the small muddiness I heard, I feel I can justify it with the fact that you recorded on a digital piano which, as reliable as it may be, will always have keyboard feedback completely different from that of an acoustic piano.

Anyway, if I am not mistaken, this was not one of the preludes most loved by the composer himself; then I don't know if what I read is true or just one of those usual myths that circulate about authors. Despite this, this prelude definitely has its charm, very lugubrious, but certainly touching and full of expression.

All this rambling just to tell you: well done, I liked it!

P.S. - Every judgment expressed is obviously a personal opinion; not being a teacher, I do not allow myself to delve too deeply into the technical details

@Lowseling

I also listen to early 20th-century composers a lot.

There are some small inaccuracies because, as I said, the fingers "slip," so it is quite difficult in certain parts to maintain a steady position at the keyboard... for the rest, don't be scared by the big chords; since I started up again in September after a two-year break, I learned this prelude in three weeks with normal practice rhythms, so don't get discouraged by the big notes—once you have understood the matter of weight on the highest note of the first part, it is a breeze.

Advice: the first part requires "interlocking" between the hands given the intertwined chords, so I advise you to learn it hands together, in order to memorize the movements of both hands. I learned it hands separate but regretted it immediately afterward because, precisely, the hands had to be interlocked with each other.

I heard the story that Rachmaninoff hated this prelude because people, after every one of his concerts in the USA, would ask for only this as an encore despite all the other beautiful pieces he had composed.

P.S: I think that the Agitato of this prelude "preludes" to the Etude-Tableau op. 39 no.1 (a study I will learn as soon as I have the time and ability).

pianothor wrote:

@Lowseling

I also listen to early 20th-century authors a lot.

There are some small inaccuracies because, as I said, the fingers "slip," so it is quite difficult in certain parts to maintain a firm position at the keyboard... for the rest, don't be scared by the big chords; having resumed in September after a two-year break, I learned this prelude in three weeks with normal practice rhythms, so don't get discouraged by the big notes—once you have understood the matter of weight on the highest note of the first part, it is a breeze.

Advice: the first part requires "interlocking" between the hands given the intertwined chords, so I advise you to learn it hands together, in order to memorize the movements of both hands. I learned it hands separate, but I regretted it immediately afterward because, precisely, the hands had to be interlocked with each other.

I heard the story that Rachmaninoff used to tell about how he hated this prelude because people, after every concert in the USA, would ask for only this as an encore despite all the other beautiful pieces he had composed.

P.S: I think that the Agitato of this prelude "preludes" to Etude-Tableau op. 39 no.1 (a study I will learn as soon as I have the time and ability).

As far as the big notes are concerned, they don't scare me much; I have studied and am studying other pieces by Rachmaninoff (or Rachmaninov? Enough, I give up, sooner or later I will learn to write it in Russian) such as the prelude op. 23 no. 5 and the elegy op. 3 no. 1, which have various technical complications; let's just say that he is anyway not one of the most "convenient" authors to play given that, from what I know, he could reach from C to G with one hand!

Surely Rachmaninoff might have hated this prelude due to the excessive demand from the public, but I have hypothesized that he hated it because of its heaviness. From what I have heard and according to a purely subjective judgment, this is perhaps Rachmaninoff's most lugubrious and heavy composition, which he composed, moreover, in his youth; so it wouldn't surprise me if, later on, with a relative change of opinion due to maturity, he came to hate this prelude.

Anyway, it is always a pleasure to talk about these authors; they have stories and mysteries behind them that lead one into their thoughts, something possible thanks to their compositions. When I play them, I almost get the impression of feeling their presence because of how great their body of work is!

Sergej Vasil'evič Rachmaninov ( Сергей Васильевич Рахманинов )

This is the version orchestrated by Stokowski and it... he too saw it as very dark, I would say!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91YHq-ayIvc

Open content (youtube)

Bravo! Very good Prelude! Only if I may suggest compacting the chordal part, perhaps by giving less emphasis to the inner part and more to the cantabile part. This way you will always be in p and the mf cantabile becomes more legato. But excellent! Bravo

Thank you very much Paolo, indeed the fingering appears very "mechanical" and it goes much better for me on the piano, but it is still the first recording after having just learned it. I am convinced that as more time passes, it will be perfected in its details.