If I had to pick one Chopin piece to dislike, it's this one. I can't stand it! Thank God it's only so long. I can't memorize it soon enough, so I can record it and never have to think about it or play it ever again!

Just had to get that off my chest.

Pete

Hehe. That prelude along with no.2 is perhaps the most disliked compositions by Chopin. No.14 is simply an octave game in a tempo and melody that is not far from the Sonata Op.35's last presto movement. It can be used as an octave exericise for either left or right hand (but for the absolute last chord which is 2 octaves apart).

I love all three of those!

I used to dislike the 28/2, but I really like it now. I've always loved the 28/14 and the Sonata 2-4. Just the fact that something monophonic can convey harmonic complexity is cool, to me. I don't know that I would say it's 'simply' an octave game, either. That's kinda like saying a good fugue is 'simply' an imitation game.

But yeah, it's stuff like this that caused Chopin's contemporaries to sometimes refer to his music as 'atonal', for sure.

No. 14 is really amazing. Listen to the performance of Claudio Arrau of it...It is like - leave me alone or I will kill you. ....so inspirational

Guess I'll just have to show you guys how it's done.

(aw, Pete - I thought you were going to post yourself playing this)

Yeah, I'm getting to it! I shall call it, as Robert put it, "Octave Game" a fitting moniker for this ill-fitting piece.

I really like the 28/2 and yes, I even "like" to hear SOMEONE OTHER THAN ME play the 28/14.

Look on the bright side, Gould disliked most of Chopin, the poor sod.

If I had to say that I disliked anything by Chopin, it would be something seriously overplayed and lacking Chopin's usual profundity, like the 9/2 nocturne in E-flat. I don't even truly dislike that one, though....I just never play it or listen to it. The 9/1 nocturne is awesome, though.