My First Chopin Piece: Prelude in E Minor

[@johnstangl256]

My teacher assigned this piece to me. As a 71 year old first year piano student, I was simply blown away by the genius of Chopin. Thank you for sharing your wonderful rendition. I will be looking forward to more of your childhood piano experiences- as I am a “child” in an elderly body. They resonate with me.

[@timstimbre9762]

That is awesome; you are an example, Sir.

[@YaelEylatTanaka]

Wow! You too? I'm also a beginner 71 year-old, and haven't yet gotten assigned Chopin! Bravo!!

[@lailaabdelhadi1410]

I am 70 and started a few months ago 👍good luck to us ❤️

[@zennabella1676]

@@lailaabdelhadi1410 I WILL BE 70 THIS YEAR. I QUIT PIANO LESSONS AFTER 5 YEARS OF LEARNING AS A CHILD THEN IN MY LATER ADULT LIFE STOPPED COMPLETELY PLAYING THE PIANO UNTIL MY LATE 50S AND IM STILL PLAYING THE PIANO NOW. ITS GREAT TO SEE SOME OLDIES LEARNING THE PIANO THOUGH.

[@mfurman]

I am a 71 YO beginner who is still getting ready to play Chopin. I play Little Prelude by J.S. Bach and I am now learning Gymnopedie No. 1

[@bradleystarcevich2758]

Love the direction that your videos of late have taken. Very much oriented towards TRUE music appreciation. Your enthusiasm draws one in. Your performances are first class. I am glad to hear that you will be doing more of these. Many thanks indeed.

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Thank you for the confirmation of this path I am taking with my KZbin channel - I am enjoying it immensely!

[@Mr850man]

@@LivingPianosVideos I love them too, some people won't tho. The important thing is that you, the content creator likes what he is doing. Some will come, some will go, but you will have a blast doing it! keep up the good honest work

[@AnhTrieu90]

I think Hans von Bülow named this piece “Suffocation” because it’s so mesmerizing, you’d forget to breathe.

[@julianadeau5797]

This was definitely one of my favorite Chopin pieces to play. I always played it with the idea of someone's final living moments, the harmony as the faltering heartbeat and the melody as the laboring breath. And as the heartbeat gradually slows, the breathing becomes more and more labored. Then as the final gasp for life is made, heartbeat and breathing alike slow rapidly until the final chords of the death rattle. Playing this piece is like simulating one's own death and in my opinion, should be played as such. Insta-like on this video and thanks for covering this relatively simple yet wonderfully expressive piece!

[@LivingPianosVideos]

That is such a powerful image of what this piece is about. Thanks for sharing!

[@darshjoshi1641]

My interpretation was very close to this, I was more inclined towards mourning or crying because of someone's death. But now that I read yours, I think that feels more like it. Chopin literally put death into music.

[@tenyako]

I played it a lot when my father died, so I belive I totally get the idea

[@Pythonaria]

@@darshjoshi1641 Perhaps because Chopin's health throughout his short life was very poor. I love listening to Chopin's music (not so much playing it) as it is very evocative. He has always been my favourite composer.

[@niravpandey4191]

Prelude in E Minor was also my first Chopin piece. I've been learning piano for 6 months and its my favorite piece. I really lovve your videos.

[@edwardgrabczewski]

Fascinating video. Coming from a Polish family, Chopin has a deep connection to me personally and this piece is one of his most beautiful. Thank you for a worthy performance on the acoustic piano. I'll try to erase the memory of that synth sound now ... :-)

[@hopesonmakokha5217]

This piece has always fascinated me. Striking very deep emotions. That last chord is such a relief

[@davidleyland3170]

Yet another inspiring video from Robert Estrin. Thank you for your enthusiasm, you are an excellent teacher, imparting your enthusiasm for the piano, for music.

[@ezraschwartz5201]

Thank you for the personal angle on this beautiful piece, and for your moving performance. I really enjoyed it.

[@yazanborhan8427]

Brilliant! Interpreting Chopin's pieces is always difficult, no matter how simple the melody is. Thank you for such a nice demonstration of how important the context is! Also, very fine performance of the prelude!

[@hannastaszak1684]

Chopin to najpiękniejsza spuścizna dla ludzkości ❤️

[@danaroland9971]

I'm just in love with this amazing piece for Chopin. Thank you so much for this great performance.

[@jimbaker4931]

What a beautiful piece of music. It almost sounds so simple that anyone could play it. But that’s the deception that Chopin integrates into some of his compositions. His Nocturnes are a good example of that. Outwardly, some of them seem so simple, but when one sits down to try to play a Nocturn, that is a different story. One then experiences how difficult it is to play a “Simple “ composition.

[@theroninpianist4443]

An interesting fact of this prelude is that Insensatez by Antonio Carlos Jobim is loosely based on it.

[@DAVE121063]

Beautiful performance that moved me into a different place and made me weep with feeling, thank you. Your enthusiasm and passion is so encouraging and not in the least patronising. Your description of how this piece works on the piano is interesting and enlightening. Listening to Chopin on my parents old record player, many years ago, was the inspiration for me wanting to learn to play the piano, the music just reached so deep into my soul. What a rich diffence playing the piano has made to my life. A Chopin waltz in E minor was the first piece I could play entirely from memory (a few years later!). It was used on Sparky's Magic Piano, to demonstrate to him what could be achieved if he kept practicing, for those old enough to remember that! I can't play to your level by any means, but I feel so blessed and its really good to watch your passionate videos.

[@eastudio-K]

Yes agree with everyone another great video. Thank you for sharing

[@RockerProf]

Absolutely beautiful performance. Love your rubato, which is the secret of playing this song.

[@kristinajohansson5099]

Lovely to hear you telling about this. I will start to learn this next week. Nice start to listen to you first.

[@cisium1184]

I find this piece really challenging. Hitting all the notes is easy enough, but getting the left and right hand to sound right together is a moving target for me. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. To me the piece sounds like a musical expression of sobbing with a brief moment of bawling near the end and then a regaining of some control. I hear it in my head but expressing it on the piano can be very difficult because there is a temptation to play too loudly or too dramatically, when really less is more.

[@Mixey360]

Thank you for the great analysis of this classic piece Robert. I’ve been studying piano for about two and a half years now and Chopin has become my favorite. I’m currently working on Prelude Op 28 No.15, aka Raindrops, and it’s one of my favorites - especially the Horowitz version. Would you consider a similar video on this piece? You also reminded me of something I wish I had done from the beginning - date your lessons and pieces! Not only for nostalgia but it’s a great way to look back at progress. I now scribble the month and date on the upper corner whenever I start something new.

[@Bogard2312]

Thanks for sharing that performance Robert. This is also the first Chopin piece I've learned. The only Chopin piece I've learned actually.

[@marymissmary]

This was my first Chopin too. I’m just a baby student, and this piece really changed my life 😊.

[@LivingPianosVideos]

It is an incredibly beautiful piece of music!

[@Joshua-dc1bs]

I am learning this now as a 6-month adult beginner. It is a *profound* piece!

[@TucsonBillD]

Robert, I just ran across this video, and was reintroduced to this piece from 25 or so years ago… didn’t learn it then but I think I can get through it today. One little Factoid I picked up back then was that this piece, and not his better known funeral march from his second concerto, was played at Chopin’s funeral.

[@pauljohnbodie5631]

I love this guy.

[@timstimbre9762]

A wonderful performance! I'm learning this one right now, and I agree that it is a piece that does not lose it's appeal even after hearing it many times. Great depth packed into small phrases.

[@Jerome616]

I don’t know why, but this piece makes my brain think of ennio morricone.

[@armani3234]

Everyday I learn something new from you. Thank you ever so much for what you do.

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Glad to hear it!

[@SoulfulSpinning]

Absolutley lovely. Yours is one of my favorite channels!

[@sammcbride2149]

Wonderful thanks for sharing that. Always enjoy hearing about your musical journey. I can't remember my first Chopin piece for sure it might have been this one or it might have been the "Raindrop" prelude.

[@MercuryK52]

Great video, great piece, and a really nice performance! Chopin was a true genius!

[@andrewspencer4843]

I’ve always loved this piece. Very much enjoyed your performance. It’s all about the contrast between the left and right hand just like you mention. The triads then ‘thickened’ for a very brief period in bar 18 then back to triads before that beautiful cadence of Bsus4 (?), B & Em.

[@jotajota6125]

Found this video when I googled "what is the right tempo for Prelude in E Minor" 😁 thank you!!! You're a good teacher

[@k0d0kushi73]

I’m currently recording this. I play the piano and my dad does the violin. Having this as a duo makes it kind of interesting ahah. Beautiful interpretation by the way!

[@PandolfiVincenzo]

What you say is very interesting to me, because my teacher said to play the Left hand a little softer, but I wanted to say to her that the R hand melody was only beautiful because of the harmony created in the L hand.. Unfortunately my teacher passed away recently so I never got to discuss it with her..

[@HWLee-vu4hv]

Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

[@davidtyler357]

Wonderful, your performance was a masterclass👏🏻💐

[@TomaszJegorow]

Boring melody? No no! This melody brings melancholy and mystery to me.

[@arthurrubishtime7260]

If you can´t steal an entire Steinway Spirio concert grand, go away with the mechanic, thanks for the tip ! :) More seriously, love your videos and your insight. Thenks to share such passion, it's more contagious than Covid !

[@k0d0kushi73]

Love your videos!

[@kovalanpachu]

Beautiful description of a piano at the end. Thank you

[@robertorodriguez2609]

after listening to your version i will try not to be constrained by how corcheas are supposed to be played, it is feeling and not worrying about the metronome 😅 thanks for your tutorial! I'm 67 and i bought my first piano last March , i hope to be playing satisfactorily the short student version of this prelude in three or four months 🤞

[@Chulamani]

It is always nice to listen to your performance and your explanations. Thank you

[@JoseVGavila]

Wonderful performance and great story. Thanks Robert!

[@ralphhyland8661]

Thank you for sharing this.

[@lindacobb9781]

Beautiful !!!!

[@arshiamoradi3998]

so good🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹🎹

[@sameldin2022]

I really enjoyed listening to your performances, thank you 🙏

[@ramonawalter29]

Love it !!

[@familysounds]

Wonderfully played.

[@stephanievelazquezdegarric3305]

What a treat 🤍

[@KaneBrown1]

I think your F# may need tuning in the middle octave. Am I right?

[@LivingPianosVideos]

You are absolutely right! I heard it after I got done recording. As I said, I never play this piece the same twice. And I liked the performance. So, I decided not to re-record it.

[@area49g12]

Great vid as always, keep this up and you're going to be able to afford the rest of that piano, lol

[@tjpj111]

I always thought this is one of the pieces that’s really difficult to play on a bad piano. I when I learnt this, my teacher had an instrument with a very uneven touch and it was a nightmare!

[@brianeheads]

True! I have a crappy old piano and I just can't play these slow/expressive pieces right. It just doesn't work. I miss the grands in our conservatory. :(

[@bettyberk9888]

Thank you Robert!!!!

[@ernie8117]

Where can I get that naked piano? Unique.

[@colinellicott9737]

This piece is rip your heart out, throw it on the floor, and jump all over it, pathos-ically awesome.

[@travisdt]

Thank you. Mine is posthumous A-minor waltz

[@x-force7961]

Where can I buy that painting of Chopin in the background?

[@bobg4657]

What exactly IS that Frankenpiano you're siting at? Looks interesting.

[@sanjaypoudel4394]

This is awesomw. Please make a tutorial on how to practise schubert D946 no3 allegro.

[@suhaibalkhaldi]

My first chopin was No 20 in C sharp minor

[@Stigggs]

Robert. Thank you for more great tips and teaching. I have a question about this prelude. I have seen the 2nd chord in the full fifth measure written out two different ways depending upon the sheet music publisher. One way shows the chord as C F(#) E# but most other sheet music shows it as C F(#) E. Could the E# be a typo in some sheet music. Have you ever seen that? Do you know which is correct? Frankly it sounds even more emotional and interesting with the E#. The "Classics to Moderns" book has it as an E#

[@JeremyRaden]

Are you performing on the Baldwin?

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Yes, that is my Baldwin SF-10 which I inherited from my father, Morton Estrin who was a Baldwin artist.

[@TommyOswinWilliams]

Hey Robert, I love your videos. The release of this video is very apt timing as I'm playing the piece for some people on Monday. I love the new look and setup of your video, may I ask what the midi keyboard you're using is? It seems to be the action of a grand piano?

[@LivingPianosVideos]

Yes, it is a concert grand action with optical sensors under the keys! It's the second prototype modular piano system I have developed.

[@Bengraziano]

Hey I was wondering if you had any tips for the 5 against 6 polyrhythm in bar 4 of Chopin’s Prelude no. 13 in F major. I can do 11v6 in the op. 9 nocturne no. 1 in Bb minor just fine but I can’t get the 5v6 right. It’s also kinda awkward fingering.

[@JHeidt-dt6ih]

Which Tempo do you play?

[@LivingPianosVideos]

The tempo is about 55 = quarter note.

[@toeless_ant7688]

my first chopin piece learned was the 3rd prelude

[@zennabella1676]

YOU PLAY IT VERY WELL. I PLAY IT TOO BUT DONT GET NEAR AS MANY LIKES AND VIEWS YOU GET BUT IM NOT A PROFESSIONAL EITHER. I JUST PLAY THE PIANO AS A HOBBY.

[@Tautropfenoase]

🥰🥰🥰amazing. Thanks

[@jismo7]

Excellent, loved it. I like your grand piano too. What piano software are you using on your digital setup?

[@LivingPianosVideos]

I use PianoTeq which utilizes physical modeling instead of just sampling. It is very expressive and uses extremely small system resources. So, it can run on just about any computer!

[@jismo7]

@@LivingPianosVideos Hi there. Thanks for your reply. I love your videos and passion you have and of course your vast knowledge. I've learnt so much. I have a Feurich 179 grand (nice but the treble is far too bright in the top 2 octaves) but I also have pianoteq pro and I use the Kawai VPC-1 midi controller. The issue I have with pianoteq is random clicking noises regardless of which external soundcard I use. Seems to be since Win10 update. The Blüthner Mod 1 is my favourite. I wish they'd make the Bosendorfer Imperial. I used to use Eastwest Quantum Leap software but the Bosendorfer bottom B1 played C1 at medium velocity with the sustain pedal depressed. I reported it but they refused to admit there was a problem so I looked elsewhere.

[@anchietacruz]

It was my first chopin too, I think it was the first to almost everyone.

[@ericrakestraw664]

Not me. I didn't learn to play this prelude until I was 21. My first Chopin piece, I believe, was the C minor Prelude at age 12 -- the same one Barry Manilow used for his song "Could It Be Magic." I remember having trouble playing some of the thick chords in the right hand because my hands were so small then.

[@johanna6050]

This was mine too! 🙂

[@domodepiano]

I always loved these more intimate preludes , this and the little A major and C minor are my favorites and the c minor was my first Chopin Prelude , as a matter of fact I recorded a little jazz version by Noritoshi Inamori of it in hommage to it the other day , kzbin.info/www/bejne/onXdh5R8oMSVh6s I love your Chopin insights , especially and even more so than the already high before after I managed to obtain an out of print performance notated score of a Prelude by pianist Ruth Slenczynska, which I believe you studied with so you have this amazing background with with your early development w family and your Father and then with her I believe in college! Great video Robert ! Love all the various content you're putting out

[@LivingPianosVideos]

I have been very fortunate having grown up in a musical household and studying with my father, Morton Estrin. My other teachers were also phenomenal including Ruth Slenczynska, Constance Keene and John Ogden.

[@norie3096]

I was like. Prelude in E minor from Chopin ?! Then you started to play the first note from RH and i was like. : Oh yes this one.of course!

[@brospore7897]

Sorry if you addressed this, but the most fascinating part of this video is you’re using a real piano ACTION to play digital music?!?!??!??! Please explain please!!!

[@LivingPianosVideos]

This is one of two prototype modular piano systems I developed which provide a virtual concert grand playing experience.

[@velcroman11]

Boring??? Are you “LISTENING” to what Chopin is telling you, are you “FEELING” the emotion coming from the right hand melody?

[@ksmkeys]

MINE AS WELL!!!!!!!

[@jopvanbreukelen522]

is that even considered a piano he’s playing

[@PianoUniverse]

One of my favorites too. Here on one of your SF 10s you sold: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nH6uYXSLmtdnj8k

[@mohongzhi]

Wooo, just after you intro on the software piano, your acoustic piano is so out of tune....

[@gingervytis]

I'm a big fan of your videos and have learned a great deal of things to improve my own playing. I have owned and used many synthesizes professionally in the recording studio in nashville. I sure hope you don't gravitate into using synthesizer too much in your fine videos please stick to the acoustic pianos! Thank you!

[@LivingPianosVideos]

I've been into music technology as well as historical instruments my whole life. Piano will always remain central to me.