Prelude no. 10 in G flat major, Op.23, by Sergei Rachmaninoff:
Tender and wistful, with a hint of that Russian romanticism only really shining through towards the end, this piece makes quite a contrast to some of the more bombastic preludes in the cycle. And the cadence at the end, the final two chords, are beautiful, like a book being closed at the end of a bedtime story.
The prelude is performed here, as were previous examples of Rachmaninoff preludes on this blog, by pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Semi-Partisan Politics 