Études-Tableaux

The Études-tableaux are two sets of piano études composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff, arranged under opus numbers 33 and 39.

These sets were supposed to be "picture pieces", though Rachmaninoff did not disclose what each piece suggests, stating, "I don't believe in the artist that discloses too much of his images. Let them paint for themselves what it most suggests." [http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-08262003-154535/unrestricted/09_Etudes_Tableaux.pdf Etudes-Tableaux book chapter] ]

Opus 33

The Op. 33 etudes were originally meant to comprise nine etudes when Rachmaninoff wrote them at Ivanovka. The composer decided to publish only six of them in 1911. Numbers three and five were published posthumously and are often inserted among the six etudes; number four was transferred to Op. 39, where it appears as number six of that set. (As a consequence, many recordings omit it from Op. 33).

* No. 1 in F minor:This piece is a study on alternating hands and syncopations. The piece shifts unsteadily throughout in time signature from 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 3/2. Some find parallels between this piece and Chopin's Etude Op. 25 No. 4, jestingly saying that Rachmaninoff played it while writing this etude. [Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings By Max Harrison pg. 178]
* No. 2 in C major
* No. 3 in C minor
* No. 4 in A minor
* No. 5 in D minor
* No. 6 (published as No. 3) in E-flat minor
* No. 7 (4) in E-flat major:Nicknamed "Scene at the Fair" as confessed by Rachmaninoff himself to Respighi, the piece conjures a playful and vibrant atmosphere, with its blaring fanfare opening thirds and wild alternating chords. The middle section poses a great pianistic problem with huge leaps of the hand that lead to chordal actions, which at points are 10th chords, rendering playing the figures at the correct tempo much more difficult. The piece requires strength, precision,endurance, rhythmic control, and dynamic and tonal balance.
* No. 8 (5) in G minor:A melancholy piece whose sixteenth note accompaniment interweaves between hands. The main difficulty of the piece is facilitating smooth alterations with the hands without affecting the fluency of the melody.
* No. 9 (6) in C-sharp minor:A big, loud piece with prevalent patterns of leaps in the left hand, creating a huge roar. The piece has grand dissonances but also contains a gorgeous romantic interlude. There are two references to the Prélude in C-sharp minor; could this piece be a venting of his anger and frustration at the public's fascination with and demand for him to play that early prélude?

Opus 39

Published in 1917, this is the last substantial composition written by Rachmaninoff while still in Russia and shows a marked departure from his previous work. Rachmaninoff had been listening keenly to his younger contemporaries Alexander Scriabin and Sergei Prokofiev, and had studied Scriabin’s works to preparae a memorial recital he played in Scriabin’s honor. Though he was roundly criticized for his overly-analytical approach in his playing and overall lack of capturing the free-flying spirit that Scriabin had summoned so well in his own pianism, the compositional seeds resulting from his studying Scriabin's work had been planted. A melodic angularity and harmonic pungency appeared in these etudes as well as in his Op. 38 songs, which were written concurrently. Those who think Rachmaninoff lost his way as a composer after he left Russia in 1917 would do well to hear or study these pieces. They show he was experimenting restlessly well before the Bolshevik revolution, and illustrate how his observation of musical trends around him helped mold and shape his future work.

* No. 1 in C minor:This agitated, passionate étude exploits some of the piano's resources almost unrelentingly, demanding a tireless right hand, an often daringly syncopated left hand and considerable dexterity to illuminate inner voices. Technically, the music is in an almost continual climax. [Harrison, 207.]
* No. 2 in A minor:Also known as "The Sea and the Seagulls". Though technically simple, the work contains many musical textures that make it a difficult study in touch. This melancholy piece requires much restraint from the performer to project the sedate mood of this etude. A sensitive performance is required to keep the performance from being monotonous. The technical workings of the etude is the 2 over 3 timing, the crossing hands, and large span of the arpeggiated figures for the left hand. The ending is tragic and poetic.
* No. 3 in F-sharp minor
* No. 4 in B minor
* No. 5 in E-flat minor
* No. 6 in A minor:This aggressive and daunting piece opens with threatening chromatic octave runs low on the keyboard, answered by quick, chattering treble figures that eventually transform themselves into a march. The music grows hectic and, having reached "presto", soundsw nearly out of control. The effect of the piece is seemingly mysterious yet fully unified.Harrison, 208.] Referred to as "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf" [Harrison pg. 180.] , the piece ends with the chromatic runs sounding as though the wolf swallowed Red Riding Hood whole. [Harrison, 208-209.] :This piece was originally the fourth etude of the Op. 33 set. Since it exhibits all the pianistic, rhythmic and harmonic features that characterize the Op, 39 set, we can assume Rachmaninoff revised this piece extensively before including it here.Harrison, 208.]
* No. 7 in C minor
* No. 8 in D minor:This piece is a lyrical and musical study of double notes. It requires precise pedaling, flexible and independent figures, and agility. The piece has very long, defined legato melodic lines that are contrasted by a staccato middle section.

* No. 9 in D major

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Arrangements

In 1929, condudctor and music publisher Serge Koussevitsky asked whether Rachmaninoff would select a group of etudes tableaux for Italian composer Ottorino Respighi to orchestrate. The commissioned orchestrations would be published by Koussevitsky's firm and Koussevitsky would conduct their premiere with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Rachmaninoff responded favorably, selecting five etudes from Opp. 33 and 39. Respeghi rearranged the order of etudes but was otherwise faithful to the composer's intent, giving each etude a distinct title from the programmic clues Rachmaninoff had given him: [Bertenssohn, 262-263.]

#"La Mer et Les Mouettes" (The Sea and the Seagulls)
#:(Op. 39 No. 2)
#"La Foire" (The Fair)
#:(Op. 33 No. 7)
#"Marche Funebre" (Funeral March)
#:(Op. 39 No. 7)
#"La Chaperon Rouge et Le Loupe" (Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf)
#:(Op. 39 No. 6)
#"Marche" (March)
#:(Op. 39 No. 9)

References

External links

* [http://www.piano.ru/rah.html Piano.ru - Sheet music download]

Performances

* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsrpCIj6qYE Performance of Op. 33 No. 2 and No. 1 (in that order) by Hélène Grimaud]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAb2nI2hVqk Performance of Op. 39 No. 6 "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf" by Valentina Lisitsa]

Recordings

* [http://classic.chubrik.ru/Rachmaninov/ Chubrik.ru - Audio download]
* Link to download music - [http://www.musopen.com/view.php?type=piece&id=152 Etudes Tableaux, Op. 39, No. 5] recording from Musopen.
* There is a well-received recording, including the originally excised numbers of Op. 33, by Vladimir Ovchinnikov on the EMI Classics label.
* Another well-received recording of the Op. 39 etudes is by Alexander Melnikov on the Harmonia Mundi label. Other works are the Op. 38 songs and the Variations on a Theme of Corelli.
*Jesús López-Cobos and the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra recorded the Respighi orchestratios for the Telarc label.