Classical Music | Piano Music

Sergei Rachmaninov

Prelude No. 12 in g-sharp minor, Op.32  Play

Grace Nikae Piano

Recorded on 09/28/2004, uploaded on 01/19/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Three Preludes, Op.32 - No. 12        Sergei Rachmaninoff

A fellow student of Scriabin's at the Moscow Conservatory, Sergei Rachmaninoff's eclectic individual style, his harmonic colorations, the emotional flavor of Russian nationalism and melancholic nostalgia in his music, all serve to illustrate his mastery of the piano idiom. Perhaps there is no better example of this than his 24 preludes written for solo piano.  Rachmaninoff patterned his key relationships after Chopin and wrote one prelude in each major and minor key. These three preludes from Op.32 are the epitome of Rachmaninoff's original compositional style. No. 5 in G Major possesses his grand architectural structure with a lovely melodic theme, variations, bridges, and coda; No.10 in b minor is the essence of his imaginative poetic eloquence; and No.12 in g-sharp minor evokes the haunting Siberian winds of his native Russia.  Grace Nikae