Lugansky - Rachmaninoff, Étude-Tableau in D minor, Op. 33, No. 4/No. 5

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Étude-Tableau in D minor, Op. 33, No. 5/No.4 (1911; pub. 1948) Nikolai Lugansky, 2020 St. Petersburg Philharmonic Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 / Op. 39 “…Étude-tableau in D minor, also deleted by the composer out of the opus, is based on the contrast of the austere ostinato background resembling the well-known tune of “Christos voskrese“ (“Christ is risen“) and mellow chant-like melodies of folklore. There are two climaxes in the study: the first one portends the coming end, while an inexorable step is heard in the distance. A long surge leads up to the main climax with wails of despair sounding in the upper register. Subsidence comes in the coda, where the strained chromatic harmonies of the culmination are replaced by diatonic ones, stressing the Russian national character of contrasting themes. The piece ends as it began - with a mysterious shimmer of empty quints.” - Lugansky