Italian Polka

Sergueï Rachmaninov · Level 5 (Advanced) · Romantic · Piano

Written for piano duet in 1906 after a street tune heard in Italy: a catchy polka in E-flat minor, arranged here for a single pianist. A piece by Rachmaninoff, the virtuoso pianist and last great Russian Romantic. E♭ minor, 2/4, 122 bars (about 3 minutes), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Keep the left-hand chords short and light, like a barrel-organ accompaniment; the melody well articulated, with humour. Key signature with 6 flats: name them aloud before playing and spot the places where accidentals cancel them. The piece starts with a pickup: count the incomplete bar before coming in. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment.

More pieces by Sergueï Rachmaninov

• Prelude in E-flat major Op. 23 No. 6
• Prelude in C-sharp minor Op. 3 No. 2
• Prelude Op. 23, No. 9
• Prelude in G-flat major Op. 23 No. 10
• Prelude in G minor Op. 23 No. 5

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0