The ''Études-Tableaux'' ("study paintings"), Op. 39, is the second of two sets of

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

étude An étude (; ) or study is an instrumental musical composition, designed to provide practice material for perfecting a particular musical skill. The tradition of writing études emerged in the early 19th century with the rapidly growing popu ...

s composed by

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

. Op. 39 was composed sometime between 1916 and 1917 and were among the final works composed by Rachmaninoff before his exit from

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Structure

The Op. 39 set comprises nine études: * No. 1 – Allegro agitato in C minor ''- "The Sea"'', a study in arpeggiated "swirls". * No. 2 – Lento assai in A minor – ''"The Sea and the Seagulls"'' * No. 3 – Allegro molto in F minor – ''"The Day of Wrath"'', a study targeting the weak fingers of the hand. * No. 4 – Allegro assai in B minor – ''"Dying Birds"'', a fusion of a

Hopak Hopak (, ) is a Ukrainian folk dance originating as a male dance among the Zaporozhian Cossacks, but later danced by couples, male soloists, and mixed groups of dancers. It is performed most often as a solitary concert dance by amateur and profess ...

and a

Gavotte The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, accordin ...

which functions as a study on repeated notes. * No. 5 – Appassionato in E minor, a study in octaves. * No. 6 – Allegro in A minor – ''"Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf"'', a study in repeated notes and jumps. * No. 7 – Lento lugubre in C minor – ''"Funeral March"'', based on the painting ''"Self-Immolation"'' by Grigoriy Myasoyedov. A study in thick chords and luminous bell sounds. * No. 8 – Allegro moderato in D minor – based on the painting ''"A Road in the Rye"'' by Grigoriy Myasoyedov, a lyrical study in double notes which quotes

Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

's Piano Sonata No. 5 near the end. * No. 9 – Allegro moderato. Tempo di marcia in D major, a study in jumps, octaves and repeated notes.

Arrangements

Recordings

* Rachmaninoff recorded Op. 39, No. 4 (piano roll only), and Op. 39, No. 6 (electrical recording and piano roll). *

Evgeny Kissin Evgeny Igorevich Kissin (, ; born 10 October 1971) is a Russian-born concert pianist and composer. He became a British citizen in 2002 and an Israeli citizen in 2013. He first came to international fame as a child prodigy. He has a wide reperto ...

recorded Nos. 1–2, 4–6, and 9 on the

RCA Victor RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...

Red Seal label, May 16 and 17, 1988, in Watford Town Hall. The recording also includes the Piano Concerto No. 2, Opus 18, with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

and

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (, ; ; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conducting, conductor and opera company director. He is currently general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre and of the Bolshoi Theatre and artistic director o ...

conducting. * Another recording of the Op. 39 Études-Tableaux is by Alexander Melnikov on the

Harmonia Mundi Harmonia Mundi is a record label that specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group, which is itself owned by Universal M ...

label. Other works are the Op. 38 songs and the

Variations on a Theme of Corelli Variations on a Theme of Corelli (, ''Variatsii na temu A. Korelli''), Op. 42, is a set of variations for solo piano, written in 1931 by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff. He composed the variations at his holiday home in Switzerland. Th ...

. * The Op. 39 has also been recorded by several other pianists, including

Nicholas Angelich Nicholas Michael Angelich (December 14, 1970 – April 18, 2022) was an American pianist. He was noted for performing internationally with ensembles from Europe and North America. Early life Angelich was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on December 14 ...

Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy (, ''Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazi''; born 6 July 1937) is a Soviet-born Icelandic pianist, chamber music performer, and conductor. Ashkenazy has collaborated with well-known orchestras and soloists. In addition, ...

, and

John Ogdon John Andrew Howard Ogdon (27 January 1937 – 1 August 1989) was an English pianist and composer. Biography Career Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire; his family moved to Manchester when he was eight. He attended the M ...

References

Sources

* Norris, Geoffrey, ''Rachmaninoff'' (New York: Schirmer Books, 1976, 1983). .

External links

* *
Piano.ru – Sheet music download

Performances

Études-tableaux, Op 39
played by

Boris Giltburg Boris Leonidovich Giltburg (; born June 21, 1984) is an Israeli classical pianist, born in the Soviet Union. Biography Giltburg was born into a Jewish family in Moscow, then the capital of the Soviet Union, and began studying piano with his ...

Nos. 1–5
by

Gintaras Januševičius Gintaras Januševičius (born 16 January 1985) is a Lithuanian pianist, music educator, event producer, radio presenter, and philanthropist. He is renowned for narrative recitals and original interpretations; particularly that of Rachmaninoff, ...

, recorded in 2011 * Opus 39 played by Igor Gryshyn in Leipzig ** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC7WzWk75EM ** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIGSG6e5T5E ** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0Nodt-Jn-E * Complete Opus 39 set by Eduardo Fernandez: *
No. 1 in C minor
*
No. 2 in A minor
*
No. 3 in F minor
*
No. 4 in B minor
*
No. 5 in E minor
*
No. 6 in A minor
*
No. 7 in C minor
*
No. 8 in D minor
*
No. 9 in D major
*
Chubrik.ru – Audio download
{{DEFAULTSORT:Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 39 Piano music by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

1917 compositions