Ivan Bessonov — Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux, Op. 39, Nos. 1–5

Welcome to the official channel of pianist Ivan Bessonov. If you enjoyed this video, we would be grateful if you subscribed to the channel, liked the video and left a comment. In this performance, Ivan Bessonov plays Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux, Op. 39, Nos. 1–5: No. 1 in C minor No. 2 in A minor No. 3 in F-sharp minor No. 4 in B minor No. 5 in E-flat minor Upcoming concerts and tickets: ivanbessonov.com ABOUT RACHMANINOFF’S ÉTUDES-TABLEAUX, OP. 39 Rachmaninoff composed the nine Études-Tableaux, Op. 39 in 1916–1917. They belong to the last music he wrote in Russia before leaving the country at the end of 1917. The title “Études-Tableaux” — literally “study-pictures” — points to the unusual nature of these works. They are études, built around demanding pianistic and compositional problems, but also “pictures”: pieces whose musical material can suggest scenes, movement, atmosphere or narrative. Rachmaninoff was deliberately reluctant to explain exactly what his “pictures” represented. He preferred listeners to form their own images rather than have a fixed programme imposed on them. Years later, however, he revealed some of his ideas when the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi was preparing orchestrations of five Études-Tableaux. No. 1 in C minor opens Op. 39 with tightly concentrated rhythmic writing, rapidly changing textures and a recurring sense of forward motion. The medieval Dies irae motif — one of Rachmaninoff’s recurring musical symbols — has also been identified as an important thread running through Op. 39, particularly through its first five études. No. 2 in A minor is the clearest documented “picture” among the first five. In a letter to Respighi in 1930, Rachmaninoff described its underlying image as “the sea and seagulls.” Beneath its long melodic line is a persistent repeating figure, while the music continually changes register, density and distance. No. 3 in F-sharp minor is driven by rapid figurations, changing accents and continuous movement between the hands. Rachmaninoff left no comparable published programme for this étude, which makes the distinction between “étude” and “tableau” especially interesting: the musical construction itself supplies the image. No. 4 in B minor is built around sharply articulated rhythms, abrupt contrasts and repeated gestures. Rather than giving the piece a literary title, Rachmaninoff again left its possible imagery open to the listener. No. 5 in E-flat minor, marked Appassionato, is one of the most physically expansive of the first five études. Massive chordal writing is set against a more sustained central idea, turning the étude into a large-scale structure rather than simply a technical exercise. The Études-Tableaux also have an unexpected orchestral afterlife. In 1930 Rachmaninoff disclosed several of his private programmatic ideas to Ottorino Respighi so that the Italian composer could choose appropriate instrumental colours. Respighi subsequently orchestrated five Études-Tableaux, preserving a rare glimpse into the visual world Rachmaninoff normally preferred not to explain. РУССКИЙ Добро пожаловать на официальный канал пианиста Ивана Бессонова. Если вам понравилось это видео, будем благодарны, если вы подпишетесь на канал, поставите лайк и оставите комментарий. В этом видео Иван Бессонов исполняет «Этюды-картины» Сергея Рахманинова, Op. 39, № 1–5: № 1 до минор № 2 ля минор № 3 фа-диез минор № 4 си минор № 5 ми-бемоль минор Ближайшие концерты и билеты: ivanbessonov.com ОБ «ЭТЮДАХ-КАРТИНАХ» РАХМАНИНОВА, OP. 39 Девять «Этюдов-картин» Op. 39 Рахманинов написал в 1916–1917 годах. Они относятся к последним произведениям, созданным им в России перед отъездом из страны в конце 1917 года. Само название «Этюды-картины» указывает на необычную природу этих произведений. Это этюды, построенные вокруг сложных пианистических и композиторских задач, но одновременно и «картины» — пьесы, музыкальный материал которых способен вызывать представление о сценах, движении, атмосфере или развитии некоего действия. Рахманинов намеренно не любил объяснять, что именно изображают его «картины». Он предпочитал, чтобы слушатели создавали собственные образы, а не следовали заранее заданной программе. Однако много лет спустя он всё же раскрыл некоторые свои замыслы, когда итальянский композитор Отторино Респиги готовил оркестровки пяти «Этюдов-картин».