Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 [Lugansky]

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The Études-Tableaux ("study pictures"), Op. 33, is the first of two sets of piano études composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff. They were intended to be "picture pieces", essentially "musical evocations of external visual stimuli". But Rachmaninoff did not disclose what inspired each one, stating: "I do not believe in the artist that discloses too much of his images. Let [the listener] paint for themselves what it most suggests." However, he willingly shared sources for a few of these études with the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi when Respighi orchestrated them in 1930.

Rachmaninoff composed the Op. 33 Études-Tableaux at his Ivanovka estate in Tambov, Russia between August and September 1911, the year after completing his second set of preludes, Op. 32. While the Op. 33 Études-Tableaux share some stylistic points with the preludes, they are actually not very similar. Rachmaninoff concentrates on establishing well-defined moods and developing musical themes in the preludes. There is also an academic facet to the preludes, as he wrote 24 of them, one in each of the 24 major and minor keys.
Rachmaninoff initially wrote nine pieces for Op. 33 but published only six in 1914. One étude, in A minor, was subsequently revised and used in the Op. 39 set; the other two appeared posthumously and are now usually played with the other six. Performing these eight études together could be considered to run against the composer's intent, as the six originally published are unified through "melodic-cellular connections" in much the same way as in Robert Schumann's Symphonic Studies.

Rachmaninoff wrote nine études-tableaux at his Ivanovka estate in 1911. Six of them, the original Nos. 1–2 and 6–9, were published that year. The original No. 4 is lost; the piece was revised and published as Op. 39, No. 6. The original Nos. 3 and 5 were published posthumously within Op. 33. Probably best identified by their tempo markings and keys, the 1911 pieces are numbered by the IMSLP as follows, leaving aside the piece that is now part of Op. 39:

0:00 - No. 1: Allegro non troppo in F minor
This study has a martial character. Rachmaninoff admired the music of Frédéric Chopin, and there are often parallels between the music of the two composers. This study recalls the Étude Op. 25, No. 4 of Chopin.

3:00 - No. 2: Allegro in C major
This study is characterized by a marked lyricism and a very expressive melody. Notice the similarity to Rachmaninoff's Prelude Op. 32 No. 12, which was composed the year before, in 1910.

5:22 - No. 3: Grave in C minor (published posthumously)
This study was re-used in the Largo of Rachmaninoff's 4th Concerto, which was completed in 1926.

11:13 - No. 4 (orig. No. 5): Moderato in D minor (published posthumously)
This study is similar to the Prelude Op. 23 No. 3 composed by Rachmaninoff in 1903, both in tone and character. It is a simple march that grows into a thing of striking contrapuntal complexity.

14:50 - No. 5 (orig. No. 6): Non allegro—Presto in E♭ minor (published as No. 3)
This study ranks among the most difficult of the opus, to play. The right hand runs constantly throughout the whole keyboard with numerous octave leaps and chromatic scales. Note some similarity to the Prelude Op. 28 No. 16 and the Étude Op. 25 No. 6 by Chopin. In Russia, this piece is nicknamed "The Snow Storm".

16:30 - No. 6 (orig. No. 7): Allegro con fuoco in E♭ major (published as No. 4)
This study has primarily a military aspect. The study concludes with a particularly virtuosic coda. Its joyous, exuberant character earned it the nickname of "The Fair", according to Rachmaninoff in his correspondence with Ottorino Respighi.

18:21 - No. 7 (orig. No. 8): Moderato in G minor (published as No. 5)
This study parallels the finale of the First Ballade in G minor by Chopin.

22:26 - No. 8 (orig. No. 9): Grave in C♯ minor (published as No. 6)
This study is a thundering piece with violent wavering between minor and major, as well as a bravura display at the end featuring harmonic dips and turns, chromatic runs, huge left-hand leaps, and a countermelody that emerges apparently out of nowhere. This study was one of the three in this opus that were recorded in the Melodiya studios by Sviatoslav Richter, the other two being Moderato in D minor and Non allegro—Presto in E♭ minor.

Source: wikipedia.org

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