The 13 Preludes op. 32 are a piano cycle composed by Sergei Rachmaninov in 1910 and his last contribution to the prelude genre.

With the previous collection of 10 preludes and the famous C sharp minor prelude from the Morceaux de fantaisie, he was now able to present 24 pieces with which he continued the line of tradition from Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier to Chopin's Préludes op. 28, even if he did not complete the originally planned closed cycle through all major and minor keys.

Compared to the previous collection, many of the pieces are even more complicated in terms of compositional technique and musically more demanding. While the lyrical episodes are increasingly tragically tinged, the sound world becomes more differentiated and exquisite.

The Préludes are a significant part of his piano oeuvre which, with its melancholic and pathetic tonal language, dramatic upswings and dynamic intensifications, represents a final highlight of late Romantic piano music and continues to be a challenge for great pianists.

Works

The weighty contributions are mainly found at the end of the cycle. They include the sombre, three-part B minor Prelude in tenth place with its majestic middle section, a profound work that the composer himself greatly appreciated, the 12th piece in G sharp minor, which stands out with a glittering semiquaver figure in the right hand, under which the left hand sounds a mournful melody, and the symphonic sound painting at the end of the collection, which rises to an apotheosis of piano sound with its powerful chords.

Pieces

Opus 32 contains 13 preludes:

• No. 1 in C major (Allegro vivace)

• No. 2 in B♭ minor (Allegretto)

• No. 3 in E major (Allegro vivace)

• No. 4 in E minor (Allegro con brio)

• No. 5 in G major (Moderato)

• No. 6 in F minor (Allegro appassionato)

• No. 7 in F major (Moderato)

• No. 8 in A minor (Vivo)

• No. 9 in A major (Allegro moderato)

• No. 10 in B minor (Lento)

• No. 11 in B major (Allegretto)

• No. 12 in G♯ minor (Allegro)

• No. 13 in D♭ major (Grave – Allegro)

Prelude No. 10

Prelude in B minor, Op. 32, No. 10, was written in 1910 along with the other twelve pieces. Rachmaninoff was inspired by Arnold Böcklin's painting "Die Heimkehr" ("The Homecoming" or "The Return"). Rachmaninoff also stated to pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch that this was his personal favourite among his preludes. This is the second work of Rachmaninoff's to be inspired by one of Böcklin's paintings; the other being Isle of the Dead.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preludes,_Op._32_(Rachmaninoff) / License: CC BY-SA 4.0