Prelude Op. 45

[Jeff]

Hi, everyone.

I came across an old manuscript of Chopin's Prelude Op. 45 (C# minor). I'm a bit intrigued with this one because I only know of Op. 28. I searched the net but it seems that there's not much info on this prelude. Anything special with Prelude Op. 45? How's the technical/interpretative difficulty of this prelude compared with Chopin's other works?

[juufa72]

ever hear a recording of them? i never had. maybe you have an original manuscript by Chopin himself!? I'll give you $10 for it. afterall, Chopin is not that famous ...

You must play them, record them and submit them!

[Jeff]

I can't really say much from the first 60secs of Pollini's recording of that prelude (courtesy of Amazon.com).

What I actually came across was a digitized early edition of Chopin's sheet music at http://Chopin.lib.uchicago.edu/ , not an original manuscript as I may have implied.

Sheetmusicarchive also has Prelude Op. 45 but I prefer the digitized edition at http://Chopin.lib.uchicago.edu/. It's the closest thing to having the original, I guess.

Anyway, yes, I plan to study this prelude and who knows, maybe produce a decent recording. But right now, I'm barely through Beethoven's Pastoral Sonata, two Brahms Intermezzi, two Bach 2-part inventions, and two local compositions. I'm also preparing for a semi-public performance of a four-hand ensemble this October. And all of these on the side of a full time job.

[elvenpianist]

Hey Jeff,

The op. 45 is a fairly frequently performed piece, in that very large area of neither overplayed nor obscure works. I have a rec of Argerich playing it- got it from iTunes, I'm sure they still sell the recording.

It's a really, really lovely piece. I think the main difficulty lies (as a friend warned me, when I was playing through it and considering learning it a few weeks ago) in the cadenza- the cadenza is absolutely beautiful but you have to have JUST the right touch. Light and airy yet full of meaning.. the cadenza is like dewdrops struck through with moonbeams on a starry rose. It's sooooo beautiful. But amazingly hard to pull off, at least for me, on my (very heavy action) piano.

[PJF]

I strongly recommend fully learning the cadenza first. You'll thank me later!

[Jeff]

Thanks for the tip! I'll make time to learn this piece.

[PJF]

I think this worth repeating: Learn the cadenza first, and learn it well!

The rest of the piece is at an intermediate/advanced level. The Cadenza is better thought of as advanced.


Here's my two rules, always learn the hardest parts first and after that practice what you don't know.