Overview

Moments Musicaux, Preludes, and Études-Tableaux, but composing piano miniatures was a stumbling block for Rachmaninoff. In a letter to his close friend Nikita Morozov, he wrote: “Piano pieces are the worst progress of all. I hate this work, and I get tired of doing it. There is no beauty, no joy” (dated July 30, 1910; all dates until 1917 are Old Style unless otherwise noted). Furthermore, in an interview in 1941, in his very last years, he spoke of his struggles: “I have suffered more frequently and encountered more problems in composing piano miniatures than in composing symphonies or concertos. When writing piano pieces, I am subjected to my subject, which must be expressed concisely and precisely.” Despite his aversion, Rachmaninoff occasionally ventured into the genre of piano miniatures for various reasons. These motivations seem to have been more practical, such as expanding his own repertoire as a pianist and meeting high demands from publishers and the musical world, rather than internal creative impulses. Even so, looking at the numerous gems he left behind, it is fair to say that Rachmaninoff did a perfect job as a professional.

Little is known from documentary evidence about the composition process of the Études-Tableaux, Op. 33. However, according to dates inscribed on the autograph manuscript, he seems to have begun and completed the composition during his vacation at his villa, Ivanovka, in August–September 1911. The premiere, as far as records show, took place during his self-performed concert tour in England in October–November 1911, where some pieces from No. 1 in F minor, No. 7 in E-flat major, No. 6 in E-flat minor, No. 8 in G minor, and No. 9 in C-sharp minor were performed (the exact pieces are unknown).

After completion, the work was not immediately published. It underwent minor and major revisions while being repeatedly performed by Rachmaninoff in his own concerts, finally taking its present form when it was published by the Gutheil publishing house in 1914.

Just before publication (despite a cover with the title Nine Études-Tableaux having been prepared), Rachmaninoff withdrew three pieces from the collection: No. 3 in C minor, No. 4 in A minor, and No. 5 in D minor, and never attempted to publish them thereafter. In a letter to Asafyev written in April 1917, he stated: “The deleted works are in my desk drawer. They will never be published.” The reasons for this have been subject to various speculations. For example, in his home country of Russia, there is a theory that Rachmaninoff disliked the musical monotony of the withdrawn pieces, or that he was concerned about their modal and notational peculiarities compared to other pieces. Another theory suggests it was to shorten the overall performance time of the cycle for concerts and recordings. However, there is no objective evidence for the reasons for the withdrawal, and we can only speculate.

Of the pieces withdrawn at this time, No. 4 was revised and included in Op. 39. On the other hand, Nos. 3 and 5 were not published during Rachmaninoff's lifetime and first appeared in print in the “Complete Edition” (edited by Igumnov and Lamm) published in the Soviet Union in 1947.

Although Rachmaninoff, as a virtuoso pianist, left a considerable number of recordings of his own performances, for Études-Tableaux, Op. 33, he recorded No. 8 in G minor on October 21, 1920, and No. 2 in C major and No. 7 in E-flat major on March 18, 1940. These recordings not only convey his skill and charm as a performer to the present day but also serve as valuable resources for understanding the composer's own interpretation of these pieces.

Programmatic Nature

The two collections of etudes, Op. 33 and Op. 39, with their peculiar title “Études-Tableaux” (more accurately translated as “Picture Etudes”), have sparked various discussions regarding the programmatic nature of each piece.

As a premise, it seems that at least some of the pieces in Études-Tableaux contain musical and extra-musical elements that the composer himself consciously intended or stated that he was “inspired by.” Some of these specific elements were mentioned by Rachmaninoff in a letter to Respighi, who was working on the orchestral arrangement of Études-Tableaux, dated January 2, 1930, when he provided “some explanations that touch upon the secret of the author's conception.” According to Rachmaninoff:

“Etude No. 1 (A minor) [Op. 39-2] is the sea and seagulls. Etude No. 2 (A minor) [Op. 39-6] was inspired by the image of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. Etude No. 3 (E-flat major) [Op. 33-7] is a market scene. Etude No. 4 (D major) [Op. 39-9] has a similar character and evokes an Oriental march.

Etude No. 5 (C minor) [Op. 39-7] is a funeral march. I would like to explain this piece in a little more detail. [omission] The main theme is a march, and the other theme is a choral song.

The passage in C minor, and then in E-flat minor, starting with sixteenth notes, reminded me of an incessant, hopeless drizzle. This movement develops and reaches a climax in C minor, which is the sound of bells. The final section is the first theme, or the march.”

Furthermore, according to the Soviet musicologist Keldysh, “those close to Rachmaninoff, who conveyed his words, stated that he wrote each etude based on some programmatic conception.”

If we follow these statements, a programmatic nature can be sought in each piece of Études-Tableaux (although, from Rachmaninoff's words, the programmatic nature found in this collection does not seem to follow a clear storyline, unlike a symphonic poem or incidental music). However, now, apart from the aforementioned account to Respighi, we can only indirectly trace the score itself, the testimonies and interpretations of contemporaries and those around him, and Rachmaninoff's surviving recordings. How to understand and render into sound what is depicted and expressed in Études-Tableaux is, like the interpretation of absolute music, to some extent open to and entrusted to the performer.

Analysis of Each Piece

No. 1 in F minor, Allegro non troppo

This is a brave, march-like etude, but the time signatures change frequently: 2/4, 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 3/2. The left-hand figuration is based on a descending motion every beat, starting from F, and plays an ostinato-like role, while the soprano melody is long-breathed with stepwise motion. The opening is powerful throughout, while the ending is enveloped in tranquility. These two colors give rich nuances to the entire piece. In the middle section, the rapid alternation between power and tranquility creates strong expressiveness and supports the contrast of the outer sections.

Regarding its programmatic nature, the Soviet musicologist Keldysh asserts that the persistent bass ostinato at the beginning is reminiscent of the appearance of the Countess's ghost in Act 3, Scene 1 of Tchaikovsky's opera The Queen of Spades, and he discerns the sound of distant funeral bells from the harmony at the conclusion. According to his logic, the core of this etude's programmatic nature is undoubtedly the issue of life and death. However, due to differences in the mode used in the descending figuration and the fundamental difference in key (the relevant passage in The Queen of Spades is in F major), it is difficult to consider this interpretation as absolute.

No. 2 in C major, Allegro

What is found in this etude is a consistent accompaniment figuration throughout, and a persistent repetition of the opening motive. Within such incessant repetition, the compositional technique of creating diverse colors through dynamics, subtle harmonic changes, and timbral differences due to octave shifts is brilliant, and at the same time, performers are required to express it with sufficient variation. Although the piece is in C major, the tonic chord appears only at the very end, and the open fifths at the beginning lead to a modal descending melody: “C-B♭-A♭-G-C.” Keldysh, mentioned above, sees a similarity between the accompaniment figure and the theme in this piece and the Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 32, No. 12. However, while the Prelude has a middle section with a different mood, this piece, with its endless, perpetual motion-like motif, can be said to require a different approach.

No. 3 in C minor, Grave (Posthumous)

One of the pieces not included in the first edition, but first published in the Rachmaninoff Complete Works in 1947. It consists of two parts: a heavy, certain, pathos-laden first half in C minor, reminiscent of a funeral march, and a delicate, arpeggio-based second half in C minor with a gentle sense of exaltation, forming a vivid contrast. The musical idea from the second half was later adapted for the latter part of the Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 40's second movement. Considering that while the concerto itself was completed in 1926, sketches were made between 1914 and 1917, the possibility that the reason for the withdrawal of this piece was the repurposing of its ideas for the concerto cannot be denied.

No. 4 in A minor, Allegro (Omitted Number)

Effectively an omitted number, as it was revised and re-included as Études-Tableaux, Op. 39, No. 6. In the Rachmaninoff Academic Complete Works published in 2007, an attempt was made by Antipov to restore the original version based on primary and secondary sources.

No. 5 in D minor, Moderato (Posthumous)

One of the pieces not included in the first edition, but first published in the Rachmaninoff Complete Works in 1947. The music begins as if spun out from a short, simple introduction. Over an intertwining accompaniment figure, a light yet melancholic right-hand theme, based on a short motive, dominates the piece. Beautiful, modal melodies appearing intermittently in the upper and inner voices with legato imbue the piece with depth and emotion. On the other hand, within Rachmaninoff's complex and thick textures, this etude demands a delicate sense of which notes and melodies to highlight and which to keep in the background, thus requiring a level of difficulty beyond mere mechanical finger exercise.

No. 6 in E-flat minor, Non allegro - Presto

A heavy, perpetual motion-like etude, reminiscent of a sudden, fleeting violent storm. The sixteenth-note passages in the upper voice sweep across the keyboard freely, while the left hand, centered on octaves, covers a wide range, mixing lightness and gravitas, appearing sometimes as accompaniment, sometimes as melody, and rushing forward. It goes without saying that fully performing it requires both virtuosity and musical interpretation. Notably, the highly effective outer sections with wide-ranging cadenzas were not present when the piece was first completed and were added before publication.

No. 7 in E-flat major, Allegro con fuoco

A bright and lively etude. It features a humorous short middle section, after which it returns to the cheerful main section. The primary focus as an etude seems to be on the intricate arpeggios in sixteenth notes played by the right hand with a wide range of dynamics from pp to ff (and molto marcato).

This is the only piece among Études-Tableaux, Op. 33, that was orchestrated by Respighi, and for which Rachmaninoff himself revealed the “secret of the conception” in a letter to him. Based on Rachmaninoff's description of a “market scene,” Respighi gave the orchestral version of this piece the subtitle “The Market.” The bright liveliness and distinct rhythms of the work undeniably evoke the scene of a market and the mood of the people there. However, the scale of the music Rachmaninoff created (for example, the concluding section) seems too grand for a market image. From this perspective, the aforementioned Keldysh casts doubt on whether a small scene like a market is appropriate for this piece. According to him, “Rachmaninoff's settings are not always successful, and sometimes the music itself does not fully match their character. (It is doubtful whether the setting of a market scene for the E-flat major Étude-Tableau is successful. The music expresses the image of a more monumental and solemn scene).” It is precisely this ambiguity in the program that makes interpreting Rachmaninoff's “picture etudes” difficult.

No. 8 in G minor, Moderato

An etude consisting of a main section with a simple, melancholic barcarolle-like melody played by both hands, and a virtuosic and passionate cadenza in the middle section. The main section, in particular, evokes a Russian melancholy reminiscent of Tchaikovsky's The Seasons. It demands a wide range of expression and dramatic conception. The melody of the piece consists almost entirely of stepwise motion, and the cadenza section is merely an elaboration of it. Passages where this stepwise motion proceeds in parallel with different note values, such as measures 11-12, offer opportunities for creative interpretation of how they should sound. Furthermore, the connection between the ending, where a forceful ascending scale and quiet chords respond to each other, and the conclusion of Chopin's Ballade No. 1 is often pointed out.

No. 9 in C-sharp minor, Grave

A solemn and fervent concluding piece. The Moscow critic Sabaneev, upon hearing this piece in concert, called it “diatonic Scriabin.” Indeed, the style, which emphasizes fragmentary motives and harmonic sonorities rather than melody, cannot help but remind one of his friend, the composer. The forceful introduction consists of an ascending C-sharp minor scale. After the introduction, following a motive reminiscent of the so-called “fate motive” from Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, passionate passages and repeated chords fill the space. The persistent chromatic descent from measure 36 further heightens the tragic nature of the piece.