Sergei Rachmaninoff
Russian late Romantic pianist-composer of sweeping, virtuosic concertos
1873
1943
Russian
Romantic/Modern
Piano Concerto No. 2, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Early life
Sergei Rachmaninoff was born on 1 April 1873 in Semyonovo, in the Novgorod Governorate of the Russian Empire. His family was musical, and he began piano lessons at an early age. After the family's finances collapsed and his parents separated, Rachmaninoff was sent to the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied piano with Nikolai Zverev and later Alexander Siloti (a pupil of Liszt), and composition with Sergei Taneyev and Anton Arensky. He graduated in 1892 with the Great Gold Medal, his diploma composition being the one-act opera Aleko, which was praised by Tchaikovsky.
Career and major works
Rachmaninoff's early career was derailed by the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony in 1897 under a reportedly underprepared (and possibly intoxicated) conductor. The critical savaging plunged him into a depression that lasted several years, during which he composed almost nothing. Recovery came through hypnotherapy with Dr Nikolai Dahl, and Rachmaninoff returned triumphantly with the Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor (1901), one of the most beloved works in the entire concerto repertoire. His subsequent output includes the Piano Concerto No. 3 (1909), of formidable technical difficulty; the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934); the symphonic poem The Isle of the Dead (1909); three symphonies; the Vespers (All-Night Vigil, 1915), a summit of Russian choral music; and the Symphonic Dances (1940), his final work. He was also one of the great pianists of the twentieth century, and his recordings remain reference points for pianism of transcendent authority.
Musical style and legacy
Following the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff left Russia in December 1917, never to return. He settled eventually in the United States, where he supported himself primarily through his concert career. His music is characterised by sweeping Romantic melody, rich harmonic colour, powerful rhythmic drive, and a distinctively Russian sense of melancholy. His exceptionally large hands — capable of spanning a twelfth on the keyboard — contributed to a pianistic sound of unusual breadth and sonority. He died in Beverly Hills on 28 March 1943.