Rachmaninoff composed two sets of Études-tableaux("study pictures") Op. 33 and 39. The Op. 33 pieces summarize the composer’s discoveries about the piano and how music for it should be written, in the same way as Chopin’s, Scriabin’s and Liszt’s Études did. Rachmaninoff was often inspired by various artworks or scenes of nature. The composer himself said: “In the process of creating music, I am greatly aided by the books or poems I have read as well as by superb paintings. I often try to express a definite idea or event in my work without referring to the direct source of the inspiration.”
Étude-tableaux No. 5 is well-known for its subtitle:Blizzard. Although the name was not bestowed on it by the composer, it is fitting, since the passages are like the whirling wind, unstoppable and destructive. The piece begins and ends with a cold motive of descending thirds, creating a feeling of solitude.
Étude-tableaux No. 4 has a complex, multilayered piano texture and a determined rhythmic drive. Although not associated with a specific scene from nature, it has a distinct picturesque character.Karén Hakobyan
Classical Music | Piano Music
Sergei Rachmaninov
Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33, No. 4 in d minor Play
Recorded on 08/14/2014, uploaded on 04/02/2014
Musician's or Publisher's Notes
Rachmaninoff composed two sets of Études-tableaux ("study pictures") Op. 33 and 39. The Op. 33 pieces summarize the composer’s discoveries about the piano and how music for it should be written, in the same way as Chopin’s, Scriabin’s and Liszt’s Études did. Rachmaninoff was often inspired by various artworks or scenes of nature. The composer himself said: “In the process of creating music, I am greatly aided by the books or poems I have read as well as by superb paintings. I often try to express a definite idea or event in my work without referring to the direct source of the inspiration.”
Étude-tableaux No. 5 is well-known for its subtitle: Blizzard. Although the name was not bestowed on it by the composer, it is fitting, since the passages are like the whirling wind, unstoppable and destructive. The piece begins and ends with a cold motive of descending thirds, creating a feeling of solitude.
Étude-tableaux No. 4 has a complex, multilayered piano texture and a determined rhythmic drive. Although not associated with a specific scene from nature, it has a distinct picturesque character. Karén Hakobyan
More music by Sergei Rachmaninov
Romance, Op. 11 No. 5
Prelude Op. 3, No. 2, in c-sharp minor
Prelude Op. 32, No. 5, in G Major
Etude-Tableau in A minor, Op. 39, No. 6
Loneliness, Op. 21 No. 6
Prelude Op. 23, No. 10, in G-flat Major
Prelude Op. 23 No. 5
Moment Musicaux Op. 16, No. 3
Piano Concerto No. 3 in d minor, Op. 30
Serenade, Op. 3
Performances by same musician(s)
Etude Tableaux Op. 33 No. 5 in E Flat Minor
Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in c-sharp minor
Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 in e minor
Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57, "Appassionata"
Nocturne in D-flat Major, Op. 27, No. 2
Etude Op. 25, No. 1 in A-flat major
Les soirs illuminés par l’ardeur du charbon
L'Isle joyeuse
Etude Op. 10, No. 4 in c-sharp minor
Etude Op. 10 No. 3 in E Major
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