Rachmaninoff Etudes-Tableaux op. 39 HELP

[Alasweetz]

I need to find a really showy piece for an upcoming competition and my teacher told me to pick one of the nine Rachamaninoff etudes op. 39...it must be under 4:30 and I can't decide which etude is the best.  What are your preferences?? which is the most difficult and showy?

[ned]

IMHO, the most dificult are no's 1, 3 and 8. The most showy is no 9 in D major and it is probably the easiest! It will bring the house down. One day I was practicing it in my house, summer night, with the windows open. When I finished it, I heard a burst of applause from a some people who were standing across the street and had stopped to listen. It works wonders. Off hand I think it is under 4:30. This one and no's 1 and 4 are the only ones that have a "big" ending.
Ned

[rachfan]

Time wise, those under 4:30 are Nos. 1, 3, 4 (if you pace it just right), 6, 8 (a close call) and 9 (a real close call).  I've always been fascinated by No. 8 and have it on my own "to do" list.

[ned]

RachFan:
Apparently, we have similar tastes. I too am really fascinated by op 39 no 8, but it is a "handful" It is very much in the Russian landscape mood, vast and melancholy with the usual flickering passages at the end.
I see you also like prelude op 32 in A major. I never got too far with it. A bit thick textured but magnificent.
I also was in love with Scriabin op 42 in D flat. How is that one going?
When you master them, tell me, and I'll restart my work.
Ned

[thracozaag]

You have good taste, my friend.  #8 is my favorite, as well.