This piece is divided into two sections, both occupying almost exactly half of the recording. The first section, in C minor (but actually quite ambiguous in its tonality), resembles ringing church bells in the distance, although with a distinctly melancholic feeling. The second section is in C major, and while it retains the immense melancholy of the first section, it flows more like a song than its predecessor's plodding chords. It climaxes in a passionate outpouring that pulls the tonality back to the minor key of the first section, but ultimately completes with 2 major bell-like chords.

Performed by Alex Brombal, recorded in 2011.

Rachmaninoff Etude in C minor, Op. 33 No. 3

This first prelude strikes me as a sweeping, although somewhat agitated expression of joy. Heard sometimes titled as a "lover's reunion", I prefer the description I heard from a friend as "a scene from a Disney film."

Chopin's preludes are a set of 24 short pieces (one in every major and minor key), each with distinct moods, musical styles, and melodic and rhythmic themes. The pieces range in complexity from poignantly simple to devilishly finger-twisting, but all demonstrate Chopin's mastery of the piano and of musical thematic development.

Chopin Prelude No. 1 in C Major (Op. 28, No. 1)

Already demonstrating a clear stylistic departure from its predecessor, this second prelude is slow and lugubrious with awkward dissonances and an unclear tonal center. In fact, the piece only reveals its true key of A minor rather hesitantly in the last few measures.

Chopin's preludes are a set of 24 short pieces (one in every major and minor key), each with distinct moods, musical styles, and melodic and rhythmic themes. The pieces range in complexity from poignantly simple to devilishly finger-twisting, but all demonstrate Chopin's mastery of the piano and of musical thematic development.

Chopin Prelude No. 2 in A Minor (Op. 28, No. 2)

The light but rapid left hand figure that combines uncomfortably tight scalar passages with awkward leaps nudges the difficulty of this prelude into the realm of "étude." But the simple airiness of the right hand melody means that only one hand needs to suffer cramps after performing this piece.

Chopin's preludes are a set of 24 short pieces (one in every major and minor key), each with distinct moods, musical styles, and melodic and rhythmic themes. The pieces range in complexity from poignantly simple to devilishly finger-twisting, but all demonstrate Chopin's mastery of the piano and of musical thematic development.

alexbrombal