»Etudes-Tableaux«

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At first glance, the term piano etude may sound rather "dry and brittle". However, this genre has always functioned as an abstract (collective) term for the greatest works of art. For example, J.S. Bach's collections published under the modest name "Clavirübung I - IV". He used this name to refer to the Partitas, the Italian Concerto and the Goldberg Variations, among others.

From 1829 onwards the only 19-year-old Frédéric Chopin revolutionised pianistic expression and playing techniques with his Etudes Op. 10 for solo piano (published in 1833). With his etudes, he created a poetic antithesis to the mechanical finger exercises that became more and more widespread at the beginning of the 19th century. These poetic masterpieces no longer have anything to do with finger exercises, but manifest themselves as extremely compressed, 3-part tone paintings, each emphasising and dealing with a special playing and phrasing technique within the A-B-A form.

In the 12 Etudes Op. 25, published in 1837, this principle is developed further and the poetic idea that is inherent in each etude is shown to have matured further. These etudes are certainly among the most demanding ever composed for the piano.

No less demanding are Sergei Rachmaninov's "Etudes-Tableaux" Op. 33 (published in 1914) and the 9 Etudes-Tableaux Op. 39. 

They represent the last works Rachmaninov composed in Russia before his emigration to the USA. The pronounced image-like character of these unique and distinct mood pictures is not only reflected in the title "Etude-Tableaux". These rather dark tone paintings are thus a "harbinger" of the music of the later Rachmaninov, whose music presents itself as an "inwardly directed" image of a wistful soul. This is obvious both in this and in his later works, such as the "Symphonic Dances" for two pianos composed in 1940.

It is not without any reason that Rachmaninov quotes the "Dies Irae" theme of the medieval requiem not only in the Etude Op. 39 No. 2, but also in so many other works of his entire creative period (e.g. Symphonies No. 1 and No. 3, Suite No. 2 for two pianos, Preludes, Isle of the Dead, Symphonic Dances, Paganini Rhapsody etc.). Below you can find some sheet music excerpts.

The Etudes-Tableaux, however, go far beyond concepts such as " wistfulness" or "melancholy". In its nightmarishness and blasted, novel tonality, the Etude Op. 39 No. 6 can certainly be interpreted as a reflection of the time in which it was composed (1917). Its influence on "driven", disjointed works of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as on new music, is undeniably noticeable.

The preceding etude in E-flat minor, Op. 39 No. 5 is undoubtedly a culmination of composing in various simultaneously perceptible layers of sound, which are in turn interspersed with complex counterpoint (see musical excerpt below). A multidimensional form of expression that Rachmaninov unsed like no other composer of the 20th and 21st century.

We are immensely pleased to have been able to engage the up-and-coming pianist and music university lecturer Xi Zhai for this difficult program. As a proven connoisseur and specialist for this highly demanding music he will present these two great etude cycles of Chopin and Rachmaninov. 

Tickets for this exciting concert, which starts at 7:30pm on Saturday 27.05.2023 (admission starts at 6:40pm), can be purchased in advance via the ticket shop below and at the box office on the night of the concert.

Picture above: The medieval Dies-Irae theme in its original form.