Rachmaninov: ¿¿tudes-Tableaux; 3 Pieces

by Nikolai Lugansky

Overview

Nikolai Lugansky recorded the Etudes-Tableaux of Rachmaninov when he was a young phenomenon, and he has since emerged as a major exponent of the composer's music in the classic Russian style. Now, he returns to the Etudes-Tableaux, together with three short pieces that serve as an encore. The Etudes-Tableaux were published in two sets and weren't really intended to be heard as a set; they are dense little portraits of scenes known only to the composer, who, except in a few cases, refused to divulge any program. He said that people should furnish their own, but really, what he may have been saying was that the Etudes-Tableaux were free-form but dense little pieces where imagery may have been present but was not the main point. To hear them all at one time requires focus from the pianist, and this is just what Lugansky supplies. There is naturally a good deal of virtuosity in these pieces, but it is generally woven into some kind of wider idea. Sample the Etude-tableaux in C minor, Op. 39, No, 7, not particularly virtuosic but consisting of a series of church bell-like chords that bleed into each other fascinatingly. Lugansky's performance is arresting, and throughout, he profiles each work distinctively. There are stormy and dramatic moments balanced by passages of exquisite restraint. Harmonia Mundi's sound from the Gustav Mahler Hall at the Euregio Kulturzentrum in Dobbacio, Italy, is ideal on a very strong Rachmaninov release that made classical best-seller charts in early 2023. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	02/03/2023
Label:	Harmonia Mundi
UPC:	3149020946282
Rank:	78751

Tracks

1. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 33~1. Allegro non troppo in F minor
2. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 33~2. Allegro in C major
3. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 33~3. Grave in C minor
4. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 33~4. Moderato in D minor
5. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 33~5. Non allegro - Presto in E-flat major
6. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 33~6. Allegro con fuoco in E-flat major
7. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 33~7. Moderato in G minor
8. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 33~8. Grave in C-sharp minor
9. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~1. Allegro agitato in C minor
10. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~2. Lento assai in A minor
11. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~3. Allegro molto in F-sharp minor
12. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~4. Allegro assai in B minor
13. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~5. Appassionato in E-flat minor
14. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~6. Allegro in A minor
15. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~7. Lento lugubre in C minor
16. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~8. Allegro moderato in D minor
17. ¿¿tudes-Tableaux, Op. 39~9. Allegro moderato. Tempo di marcia in D major
18. 3 Pieces~1. Fragments
19. 3 Pieces~2. Oriental Sketch
20. 3 Pieces~3. Prelude in D minor

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Nikolai Lugansky   Primary Artist,Piano

Technical Credits

Elisaveta Parfenova   Photography
Sergey Rachmaninov   Composer
Jean-Baptiste Millot   Photography
Nicolas Bartholomee   Engineer,Artistic Director
Charles Johnston   Liner Note Translation
Jean-Jacques Groleau   Liner Note Translation
Little Tribeca   Realization
Irene Weber-Froboese   Liner Note Translation
Isabelle Rouard   Liner Notes
Hugo Scremin   Mixing,Editing,Engineer,Mastering
Luca Zanotti   Piano Technician
Nikolai Lugansky   Liner Notes