10/25/25

Rachmaninoff Etudes Tableaux Op. 39, No. 1 in C-Minor

The piece begins with a quiet tension, like the silence before the wind. The constant triplet motion slowly builds, gathering power as if something is about to break free. In the middle section, the sound grows more colourful, like a turning kaleidoscope — the harmonies open and shift, showing light within the darkness. But the calm is brief. The music soon returns to its stormy energy, surging forward until it finally collapses in exhaustion, leaving only a trace of that fierce motion behind.

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Schumann Faschingsschwank aus Wien, op. 26 - 4th movement