17 Etudes-tableaux op.33 & 39 (Rachmaninoff)

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The études-tableaux (picture etudes ) are a genre created by Sergei Rachmaninov , which is about the fusion of the concert etude with technical and virtuoso-effective components with the tone poem for piano. The composer did not include any programmatic notes or subtitles, perhaps out of a desire to test the imagination of performers and listeners forever, but when Sergei Kusevitsky suggested leaving some of the pieces to Respighi for orchestration, Rachmaninoff was happy to agree and revealed some of his inspirational secrets to Respighi in a letter:

“Will you allow me, Maître, to give you your composer's secret statements? They will certainly make the character of these pieces more understandable and help you to find the necessary colors for the orchestration ... The first etude in A minor [op 39/1] depicts the sea and seagulls. The second A minor- Etude [op 39/6] was inspired by the story of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. The etude in D major [meaning E flat major op 33/7] is a fairground scene [op 39/9] resembling an oriental march ... "

Respighi headed the works accordingly "The Sea and the Seagulls" (op 39/2), "The Fair" (op 33/7), "Funeral March" (op 39/7), "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf" (op 39 / 6), “March” (op 39/9). In 2017 these were arranged for piano quartet by Dirk Mommertz .

The total of 17 etudes are divided into two cycles:

  • 8 Etudes Tableaux op.33 . Originally, 9 studies were planned to be published individually. Numbers 3 to 5 did not appear when it was first published in 1914 by Gutheil Verlag. Number 4 was then used by Rachmaninoff as op. 39/6. Numbers 3 and 5 were found in 1947 and published by the Russian State Publishing House in 1948. Boosey & Hawkes, as Gutheil's successor, has been publishing the Etudes op. 33 including numbers 3 and 5 since 1969. The number of the publisher corresponds to the originally planned number of 9 etudes, so that the 8 etudes are designated as op 33 / 1–3 and 5–9. Because op. 33/4 was already published as op. 39/6. Occasionally, contrary to the publisher's counting, the gap is closed in the information on the opus number, so that nos. 5–9 move up to 4–8. The count after the first publication as No. 1–6 (corresponds to No. 1–2 and 6–9 of the official count) can still be found sporadically, the two missing Etudes No. 3 and 5 are then listed as op. Posth . The etude op. 33/3, withdrawn during Rachmaninov's lifetime, contains a 9-bar passage from bar 20, which Rachmaninoff reused in the orchestral movement of the slow movement of the 4th piano concerto, number 39.
    • No. 1 in F minor: Allegro non troppo
    • No. 2 in C major: Allegro
    • No. 3 in C minor: Grave
    • No. 4 in D minor: Moderato
    • No. 5 in E flat minor: Non Allegro - Presto
    • No. 6 in E flat major: Allegro con fuoco
    • No. 7 in G minor: Moderato
    • No. 8 in C sharp minor: Grave
  • 9 Études Tableaux op.39
    • No. 1 in C minor: Allegro agitato
    • No. 2 in A minor: Lento assai
    • No. 3 in F sharp minor: Allegro molto
    • No. 4 in B minor: Allegro assai
    • No. 5 in E flat minor: Appassionato
    • No. 6 in A minor: Allegro
    • No. 7 in C minor: Lento
    • No. 8 in D minor: Allegro moderato
    • No. 9 in D major: Allegro moderato, Tempo di Marcia

Selection discography

See also

Web links