Lugansky - Rachmaninoff, Étude-Tableau in C minor (Op. 39, No. 1)

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Études-Tableaux, Op. 39 (1916-1917) No. 1 in C minor. Allegro agitato Nikolai Lugansky, 2021 Mariinsky Theatre “Étude-tableau No. 1 in C minor introduces the listener to dark elements that break out of an abyss in terrible culminations and disappear in it again. Its eerie character is emphasized in the middle part before the reprise when to the measured tread of chromatically descending bass the stage seems to be thronged by demons, arising for a brief moment and passing into nothingness again.“ - Lugansky