Sergei Vasilevich Rachmaninoff (1873–1943,) sometimes spelled Rachmaninov or Rakhmaninov, was a Russian-American composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the Russian romantic tradition. His early works were influenced by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers. His later personal style is notable for song-like melodicism, expressiveness, and vibrant orchestral colors.
Born into a Russian landowner family in a financial decline in Nizhny Novgorod, Rachmaninoff studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory and later in Moscow, where he won the gold medal for composition. A distinguished performer, he traveled all over Europe on concert tours, visiting London in 1899. He fled from the Russian Revolution to Dresden, settling in America in 1918.
Rachmaninoff was an accomplished composer as well. He wrote operas, orchestral works, and songs. He is best known for his piano music, which includes four concertos, the first three of which achieved considerable popularity. The famous Prelude in C Sharp Minor (1892) was so much in demand that even the composer himself grew tired of it. His style, mostly devoid of national characteristics, epitomizes the lush romanticism of the later 19th century, which is still apparent in Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934) for piano and orchestra, a work of exceptional artisanship, which has remained a concert favorite.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.
—Sergei Rachmaninoff
Topics: Music
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