Two Rachmaninoff Examples

This week's clip is of Rachmaninoff's Prelude in D, Op. 23 #4. This is one of my favorite pieces of Rachmaninoff's output. The melody should sing as much as possible, regardless of it being sometimes obscured by other voices. In working on this piece with one of my students, we frequently discuss the density of the music and how to approach the melody. My suggestion is always keep the melody in the foreground and study the work to discover the middleground and background voices. In a piece this complex, each voice should be played invidually to hear the contour of the line as well as the resolution of the phrases. In the forward to the Peters Edition of the Preludes, Editor Ruth Laredo says "The right hand must sing as if it were a human voice – accompanied by a cello in the left hand."

I have two recordings for you, one by John Ogdon and the other by Simon Trpceski. They are both remarkably different.

Ogdon Recording
Simon Trpceski Recording
Sheet music

Two Beethoven Recordings

For this week's clip I thought I would try something new. Beyond upgrading from email clips to web postings, I now have the ability to provide you all with mp3's and pdf's from my personal library. These are locked for student usage only.

In working with one of my students on a Beethoven sonata, the concept of interpretation, and liberties for performers came up. As an exercise, it is useful to juxtapose two recordings and listen to the differences in interpretation. I find it very helpful to follow along to sheet music as you listen to performances. I am providing you all with the two recordings of Beethoven's Op.31 #2 Sonata, "The Tempest". The first is a recording of one of my professors at the University of Washington, Craig Shepard. This is a live performance in 2004 in which he did a astonishing series of recitals encompassing all 32 Beethoven Sonatas. One of the remarkable things with this performance is his ability to create such dynamic range, resulting in clear and unique voicings. The second is a recording of Daniel Barenboim's 1969 studio recording. His rhythmic drive gives the sonata a sense of urgency and persistency. Please follow along to the pdf and feel free to give me your observations.

Sheppard Recording
Barenboim Recording
Sheet Music