Rachmaninoff in front of a giant Redwood tree in California, 1919
Written in 1917, the Études-Tableaux ("study pictures"), Op. 39 is the second set of piano études composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Structure
The Op. 39 set comprises nine études:
Allegro agitato in C minor
This quick-paced étude demands a tireless right hand, a syncopated left hand and considerable dexterity. Technically, the music is in an almost continual climax.[1] It bears a resemblance to Chopin's Prelude in E♭ minor.
Lento assai in A minor
Also known as "The Sea and the Seagulls", this work contains many musical textures that make it a difficult study in touch. It requires performers to restrain themselves and at the same time not sound monotonous. The technical workings of the étude are the 2-over-3 timing, the crossing hands, and large span of the arpeggiated figures for the left hand. This left-hand figure quotes the Dies Irae plainchant, one of the many works by the composer to do so.
Allegro molto in F♯ minor
An incredibly complex étude, tone-wise. While it starts off with an angry, frenetic feel, there are moments of violent sublimity scattered throughout the piece.
Allegro assai in B minor
A charming gavotte, this étude contains a lot of harmonic color.
Possibly the dramatic peak of both the Op. 33 and Op. 39 sets, it turns passionate, tumultuous, despairing, and somber. It ends on a glimmer of hope, in the parallel major of E♭ major.
Allegro 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, sounds nearly out of control. The effect of the piece is seemingly mysterious yet fully unified.[2] Referred to as "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf",[3] the piece ends with the chromatic runs sounding as though the wolf swallowed Red Riding Hood whole.[4]
This piece was originally the fourth étude of the Op. 33 set. Since it exhibits all the pianistic, rhythmic and harmonic features that characterize the Op. 39 set, it can be assumed Rachmaninoff revised this piece extensively before including it here.[2]
Lento lugubre in C minor
This étude is a lugubrious march that transforms into a cacophonous blaze of the composer's much-loved bell motif at the end.
Allegro moderato in D minor
This piece is a lyrical and musical study of double notes. It requires precise pedaling, flexible and independent fingers, and agility. The piece has very long, defined legato melodic lines that are contrasted by a staccato middle section.[5]
Allegro moderato. Tempo di marcia in D major
A dramatic, bombastic march to conclude this set, this étude contains ingenious counterpoint, lush harmonies, and a wide range of musical colors.
Recordings
Rachmaninoff recorded Op. 39, No. 4 (piano roll only), and Op. 39, No. 6 (electrical recording and piano roll).[6][7]
Evgeny Kissin recorded Nos. 1,2,4,5,6,9 on the RCA Victor Red Seal label, May 16 and 17, 1988, in Watford Town Hall. 7982-2-RC. The recording also includes the Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 18, with the London Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev being the conductor.[8]
Another recording of the Op. 39 Études-Tableaux is by Alexander Melnikov on the Harmonia Mundi label. Other works are the Op. 38 songs and the Variations on a Theme of Corelli.[9]
The Op. 39 also has been recorded by several other pianists, including Nicholas Angelich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and John Ogdon.
