Three Preludes (Gershwin)

Three Preludes is a collection of short piano pieces by George Gershwin, which were first performed by the composer at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1926.

The first prelude, in B-flat major, begins with a five-note blues motif; virtually all the melodic material in the piece is based on this theme.

Syncopated rhythms based on the Brazilian baião and chords containing flattened sevenths occur throughout; these give the piece a strong jazz feel.

This effect is achieved by using snippets of various virtuoso techniques, such as repeated notes, octaves, scales, and crossed hands, each of which is used for only a moment before the piece catches a flicker of some new idea.

After a brief, highly syncopated middle section, the melodic pair returns assertively in octaves, causing a battle between major and minor.