From Spring Storms to War

The Story Behind Rachmaninoff’s Études-Tableaux, Op. 33

Rachmaninoff published his Op. 33 Etudes Tableaux in 1914, and immediately shrouded them in mystery. For example, nine were listed in the first edition, but he deleted three at the last possible moment without any explanation. And whilst he called them ‘study-pictures’, he refused to divulge their subjects (with one exception). However, recent research has solved some of the mystery: each of the pieces has layers of meaning, and together, they are linked by a powerful overarching programme. Here we will explore both of these.

All of this programme material can be potentially useful for a pianist to know. To see why, let’s start with a simple exercise. Anyone can do it – from an absolute beginner to an advanced player – but it will only work if you follow the following two steps to the letter:

Step 1: Listen to the third piece in the set – in E-flat minor (originally No. 6) – and see what you think it represents. It is less than two minutes long and has acquired the nickname – ‘The Snowstorm’. But do NOT read Step 2 until you have listened to it! Here is one possible link:

Step 2: Now I will tell you the research results. In fact, the piece is based on a poem by the Russian poet Tyutchev (see below) – this depicts the joyous arrival of a spring thunderstorm after a hard Russian winter. From a calm start, the storm suddenly breaks, and there are peals of thunder ‘playing’ with each other, birds twittering in the forest, water splashing, streams flowing – and at one point all the noises come together to make a din. And at the end, the rain spills onto the land “inundating it with laughter.”

Now listen to the music for a second time and look out for all of these effects.

Spring Storm

I love a storm in early May
When spring’s first thunder
Frolicking and playing
Booms in the azure sky.

The young peals clap
Rain splashes while dust billows
Pearls of rain hang in the air
While the sun’s gold threads shine.

A trickling stream rushes from the hills
Unrelenting bird song in the forest,
Rustling trees, and mountain sounds
Gleefully echoing the thunder claps.

You may say, O feisty Hebe,
Feeding the eagle of Zeus,
From the simmering cup of the sky
Inundating the earth with laughter.

Fyodor Tyutchev (1828), Translation by Dr David Mossop © 2025

The point of this exercise is to consider how a knowledge of the programme information alters how you view the piece. Personally, I find that the music becomes much more meaningful. Instead of a ‘monochrome’ snowstorm, it is now full of colour and life, and emotion is to the fore – joy and laughter. As a pianist, knowing the programme raises all sorts of possibilities: how to ‘colour’ the chords representing thunder, how to make the piano impersonate twittering birds, and so on.

Now let’s consider the overarching programme for the six pieces of Op. 33. The research shows that this is an expression of Rachmaninoff’s love for his homeland, his fears for its future, and a lament for the coming civil war and its attendant destruction. Here is some detail:

• The second, third and fourth pieces (originally Nos. 2, 6, 7) form the core of the opus, and express Rachmaninoff’s deep love and joy for his native Russia. No. 2 (in C major) depicts his love for the endless Russian steppe suffused by sublime light rain; and in contrast, we have seen that the third (in E-flat minor) expresses his joy in a different countryside – of hills, woods and streams hit by a spring thunderstorm. The next piece (in E-flat major) portrays a vibrant village fair,  plausibly celebrating the end of winter.

The last two pieces in the set are in complete contrast:

• The penultimate (in G minor) depicts Rachmaninoff’s grief for the inevitable war and destruction that is yet to come to his beloved Russia. When Rachmaninoff wrote Op. 33, his country was experiencing riots and assassinations, and was sliding towards war in Europe and revolution within its own borders. A previous blog shows that it depicts two contrasting expressions of mourning – quiet and introspective versus anguished.
• The final piece (in C-sharp minor) expresses Rachmaninoff’s fear and foreboding for the future of his country in the event of all-out civil war. This tumultuous piece depicts death and destruction as the music progressively descends into the chaos and  cacophony of battle. By knowing what this strange piece represents, it suddenly makes complete sense. The inspiration for the work was a painting by Arnold Böcklin: ‘Der Krieg’ – ‘War’. Resembling the four horsemen of the apocalypse, four riders have rained fire and destruction on a town, and are now careering across the countryside to their next encounter.

One final thought. I have only sketched out some of the research results – but it is evident that the programmes for the individual pieces and for the set are detailed and powerful. Yet Rachmaninoff did not want us to know any of this. So what do you think as a pianist? Is it better to know about Rachmaninoff’s vision for the pieces, or should we aim to respect his secrecy and leave our own imaginations to run free? 

– Derek Flynn

References & Further Links

• Click here for a listing of all of the authors papers concerning the Etudes Tableaux
• Open domain editions for Op. 33 are available here.
• Click here for video lessons on other works by Rachmaninoff or click here for more examples and ideas for creating narratives.
• Note: The translation of Tyutchev’s poem may be freely copied provided the citation is provided; and provided the following paper is cited: Derek Flynn. https://www.academia.edu/144613634/ The inspiration for Rachmaninoff’s Etude Tableau in C-sharp minor, Op. 33 no. 9. October 2025.