Vladimir Rebikov - 7 Morceaux, Op.5

Yes, a new early-Rebikov pieces collection! I can promise you, this video took really long to make. - the pieces were published 1899, so still in the 19th century. 0:00 Marche (D major) Pretty sure that I played this piece in some other set already. Rebikov reused (parts of) his compositions. Possibly it was in the Snow White cycle. But I remember it was like 6 minutes long, so this is a condensed version. Also, I played it terribly slow at that time, so I tried the 120bpm marking, and I think it fits well. Heroic piece, sounds like you just won something really great and the time starts to enjoy. 2:16 Mazurka Starts of with a very melody focused phrase (note the dry left hand, almost comical). Of course it was one of Rebikovs greatest strengths to write captivating melodies, I mean it sounds just convincing. After a short somewhat “reminiscent of Schumann“ passage, the theme reappears; the Middle part is not Prokofiev, no :) It features another typical rebikov phrase, the big punctuated descending octaves, which resolve in that juicy e flat 7 / 9 chord. Since the piece has a full ABACABA structure (notice the strict symmetry), this piece is an example of Rebikov’s dense writing style. I particularly like the end: Quite clever usage of the “e“. 5:31 Elégie Tragic piece, beautiful brightening in the middle section. Near the end there is a forte descending section, typical for Rebikov. I think of a question, the phrase ends unresolved. .. 8:21 Etude This is another piece where i think a recording exists already because it was contained in some other set... not exactly pp, but obviously the piece is very difficult, and playing presto pianissimo was never my strength, even more difficult it is on a digital piano. Don’t play full tempo in the beginning! He wants an even faster middle section, maybe reminding of beethoven a bit. Interesting that he characterizes this pieces as “ancient style“. 10:24 Valse Very long piece. Almost an etude where you practive overlapping hands and dividing melodic lines between hands and fingers. If you play the piece yourself, you’ll immediately know what I mean. Beautiful and creative middle section too. 16:33 Danse orientale Here also lots of different melodic lines where you could listen to (or focus on showing as performer). The B section is very dry, I was a bit surprised. But the end is so beautiful, with the chromatic descending bass line, and the pure joy in finding wonderful chords which contrast to the steadily reoccuring g major chord. At one point we hear c, b, e flat and f sharp at the same time :) 19:06 Marche (F♯ minor) Note the dedication to Tchaikowsky (it is in his memory, so not technically a dedication). ABA piece, where B is the parallel tonality. Like birds flying around, that horn motive. In the end it gets very dark and after one last rising up in the end it comes to rest.