Études-Tableaux, Op. 39

This article is about the second set of études-tableaux by Rachmaninoff, Op. 39. For the first set, see Études-Tableaux, Op. 33.

Rachmaninoff in front of a giant Redwood tree in California, 1919

The Études-Tableaux ("study paintings"), Op. 39, is the second of two sets of piano études composed by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Op. 39 was composed sometime between 1916 and 1917 and were among the final works composed by Rachmaninoff before his exit from Russia.

Structure

The Op. 39 set comprises nine études:

• No. 1 - Allegro agitato in C minor - "The Sea"
• No. 2 - Lento assai in A minor - "The Sea and the Seagulls"
• No. 3 - Allegro molto in F♯ minor
• No. 4 - Allegro assai in B minor
• No. 5 - Appassionato in E♭ minor
• No. 6 - Allegro in A minor - "Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf"
• No. 7 - Lento lugubre in C minor
• No. 8 - Allegro moderato in D minor
• No. 9 - Allegro moderato. Tempo di marcia in D major

Recordings

• Rachmaninoff recorded Op. 39, No. 4 (piano roll only), and Op. 39, No. 6 (electrical recording and piano roll).
• Evgeny Kissin recorded Nos. 1-2, 4-6, and 9 on the RCA Victor 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 and Valery Gergiev conducting.
• 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.
• The Op. 39 also has been recorded by several other pianists, including Nicholas Angelich, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and John Ogdon.

See also

• Études-Tableaux, Op. 33
• Piano Concerto No. 2 (Rachmaninoff)

Sources

• Norris, Geoffrey, Rachmaninoff (New York: Schirmer Books, 1976, 1983). ISBN 0-02-870685-4.

External links

• Études-Tableaux, Op. 39: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• (in Russian) Piano.ru – Sheet music download

Performances

• Études-tableaux, Op 39, played by Boris Giltburg
• Nos. 1-5 by Gintaras Januševičius, 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
• (in Russian) Chubrik.ru – Audio download