Poignant and dramatic! Rachmaninoff's Élégie in E-flat Minor from Morceaux de fantaisie
Rachmaninoff was born 150 years ago (April 1, 1873). When he was only 19, he composed this beautiful Élégie in E-flat minor, Opus 3, No. 1, from Morceaux de fantaisie Fantasy Pieces.
Notes from pianist Dr. Duane Hulbert
"At the opening, listen for the sprawling left hand accompaniment notes from (0:00-0:10), followed by the opening theme in E-flat minor. (0:11--0:31) (Yes, there are 6 sharps in that key signature!) Here are some of the other moods found in this work: Pathos is heard from (0:38-0:47), while drama and a romantic climax builds at (1:21-1:40).
A lovely contrasting melody arrives in the flowing G flat major middle section where the left hand takes over a rich melody at a slightly faster tempo marked Piu vivo(more lively).(2:15-2:39)
Listen for the sudden key change at the end of the middle section marked "Fortississimo Appassionato," (3:26), followed by a quiet mini-cadenza (4:00)).
The return of the gorgeous opening theme occurs at (4:20.) Finally, a powerful ascending passage in thirds builds to a climax at (5:27), followed by a brilliant left hand descent in thirds caps off this fabulous Elegie with a virtuoso passage marked Fortississimo, that crashes down at the ending. (5:37). The left hand gets to shine in this ending!"
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Пікірлер: 11
Thank you very much. that you play and love russian Rachmaninoff music.
Beautiful! Learning this atm and your video is an inspiration 😊
@LearnLoveMusic
Жыл бұрын
It's a great piece. Good luck with it!
Beautifully played 👏👏👏
@LearnLoveMusic
Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much, stephenbruce!
Great - Tchaikovsky listened to this and approved.
@LearnLoveMusic
Жыл бұрын
Your comment inspired me to look up Rachmaninoff's relationship with Tchaikovsky. Interesting!
@militaryandemergencyservic3286
Жыл бұрын
@@LearnLoveMusic yes - he apparently listened to all of the 6 works or so in this set (one of which was also the famous c sharp minor prelude). Max Harrison has an excellent book. Apparently Rachmaninoff couldn't benefit from copyright from that prelude,as Russia was not part of the copyright agreement throughout Europe at that time. Fascinating book of Harrisons - includes a lot about the various recordings rachmaninoff made, too...
Thanks. It's beautiful. On another note, this year marks his 150th birthday and I feel there's not much activities and if there is, it's quite underwhelmed.
@LearnLoveMusic
Жыл бұрын
You're right. I haven't heard much about his birthday either, and he deserves to be celebrated. What a composer!
@hoareg2
Жыл бұрын
@@LearnLoveMusic not only his music is beautiful but also his life was full of events as well. Even a festival dedicated to him is not enough. What a pity and a lost opportunity.