Rachmaninov composed his Opus 33 Etudes at his country estate, Ivanovka, a place whose rural setting offered the peace and tranquillity necessary to stimulate his creativity.
The pieces are intended as “picture studies” (the designation seems to be the composer’s own): evocations in music of visual stimuli.
Although Rachmaninov was never specific about what inspired each piece, he preferred to leave such interpretations to listener and performer.
Here is pianist Helene Grimaud performing two of these Etudes: First the #2. And then the #1:
