24 Preludes for Piano

For solo piano

24 Preludes

for Piano

A cycle of twenty-four preludes covering the tonal spectrum through the circle of fifths.

Year 1999
Duration 39′
Scoring Solo
Piano
Publisher Boosey & Hawkes
/ Sikorski
Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski Purchase Score Abbreviations PDF

Dedication

Dedicated to Tom and Vivian Waldeck.

Commission

Co-commissioned by Tom and Vivian Waldeck. And the Caramoor International Music Festival.

Premiere

23 July 1999. New York · Lera Auerbach, piano.

Structure

Twenty-four short pieces conceived as one continuous composition. The cycle follows the circle of fifths and covers all major and minor tonalities.

Preludes

  • 1. C major

    Moderato

  • 2. A minor

    Presto

  • 3. G major

    Moderato

  • 4. E minor

    Appassionato · Nostalgico

  • 5. D major

    Andantino sognante

  • 6. B minor

    Chorale

  • 7. A major

    Andante

  • 8. F-sharp minor

    Presto

  • 9. E major

    Allegretto

  • 10. C-sharp minor

    Largo

  • 11. B major

    Misterioso

  • 12. G-sharp minor

    Allegro bruto

  • 13. F-sharp major

    Andante

  • 14. E-flat minor

    Allegretto

  • 15. D-flat major

    Moderato

  • 16. B-flat minor

    Allegro ma non troppo, tragico

  • 17. A-flat major

    Adagio tragico

  • 18. F minor

    Grave

  • 19. E-flat major

    Adagio religioso

  • 20. C minor

    Misterioso

  • 21. B-flat major

    Allegro moderato

  • 22. G minor

    Andante

  • 23. F major

    Allegretto

  • 24. D minor

    Grandioso

Work Information

Full Title
24 Preludes for Piano
Scoring
For solo piano.
Year
1999
Duration
39′
Form
Cycle of 24 preludes.
Instrumentation
Piano solo.
Abbreviations PDF
Dedication
Dedicated to Tom and Vivian Waldeck.
Commission
Co-commissioned by Tom and Vivian Waldeck and the Caramoor International Music Festival.
Premiere
23 July 1999 · New York; Lera Auerbach, piano.
Publisher
Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski .
Score
SIK 8536.
Availability
Score available for purchase through Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski.
Recording
BIS recording by Lera Auerbach, awarded “Choc de la Musique 2007.”

The Work

24 Preludes for Piano is a solo piano cycle written in 1999. The work follows the circle of fifths, moving through the entire tonal spectrum and treating the twenty-four preludes not merely as separate miniatures, but as parts of a single continuous composition.

“The Twenty-four preludes for piano represent one of several cycles of 24 preludes I have written over the years. Re-establishing the value and expressive possibilities of all major and minor tonalities is as valid at the beginning of the twenty-first century as it was during Bach’s time.” Lera Auerbach

The preludes are deliberately brief, yet the cycle depends on the order and relation between them. The familiar form of a prelude becomes unstable and re-seen: each piece can stand as a small complete world, while also serving as part of the larger arc.

“What we forget first of all are the small things, the details of everyday life behind which memories are concealed.” from Lera Auerbach’s novel The Mirror
  • Form Cycle of 24 preludes.
  • Tonal Plan Circle of fifths.
  • Forces Solo piano.

Context

The cycle belongs to Auerbach’s larger engagement with the twenty-four-prelude tradition. Rather than treating tonality as a historical artifact, the work returns to the major and minor tonalities as expressive territories that can still be inhabited from a contemporary point of view.

The pieces often turn familiar gestures aside, revealing another face beneath the surface. Their scale is compact, but the cycle’s meaning depends on continuity: the listener hears each prelude both as an individual fragment and as part of a larger memory-structure.

Online Materials

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Publisher and Materials

Published by Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski. The score is available through the official Boosey & Hawkes / Sikorski purchase page. Rental material has been intentionally omitted because this is a solo piano work available for purchase.