March 10. Op. 34 No. 10. Gorgeousness wrapped in trills the likes of which I haven’t encountered since learning the first movement of Beethoven’s Concerto No. 3. Or, as Celia might remind us, 109, the last movement.
Here are your excellent comments about No. 7:
CELIA 3/10: I thought No. 7 was beautiful, too! I played it twice this morning and it made much more sense the second time. I would like to play it a few more times. Honestly, I have been kind of non-responsive because I am already several days behind, but I am working on catching up. I am finding that I definitely need to play each of these pieces at least twice to get a sense of what is going on – the music and harmonies don’t intuitively make sense the first time I am playing each piece (although that may be partly due to playing a lot of wrong notes.) I’ve been really tired at the end of the day lately, but I have been finding that playing these pieces first thing in the morning is really wonderful and refreshing – the music makes more sense to my brain at that time of day.
HELEN 3/10: Can’t imagine why you are tired. (Oh, yes I can.) I’m so glad you are taking time to play these pieces twice, and I understand wanting to play each a few more times! And for all of us, how about that discipline of playing Shostakovich in the morning!
GRACE 3/10: I am, indeed, processing. My favorite so far should be no surprise – no 4. I’ve been playing, then listening to a recording, then playing again if I feel so inclined. So often the harmonies really elude my understanding, especially because of their gradual unfolding as Steven mentioned. I found that these preludes had me thinking of my old Prokofiev Capriccio, so much so that I have been playing it again.
HELEN 3/10: No surprise on your favorite, indeed. I’m glad you are listening to these as well as playing. Who are you listening to? Steven, who are you listening to? (To whom are you listening . . .) I’ll post your answers.
GRACE 3/10: Listening to these:https://youtu.be/FqCy3vCGUNU
Yeah those trills are something else!
STEVEN 3/10 (PST): I’ve been listening to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gtoFtPAfes&list=PLvZDNzW5XwavKPa2mZDUBn9rDZnV8Tzwb
I agree with Grace, #4 has been my favorite so far. I was starting to feel like I had the hang of these preludes, at least enough to hear what they should sound like, but then these last two (9 & 10) were really rough for me. I’m looking forward to the later pieces. Listening, at least, I’ve found I generally prefer the second half to the first.
HELEN 3/11: Interesting comments about Grace and Steven liking No. 4 (Fugue Nerds R Us). I like the pianists the two of you chose. Grace’s pianist has a humorous sound, to me, and Steven’s is quite gentle and lyrical. Great stuff.