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Sergei Rachmaninoff

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: Серге"й Васи́" льеви́ч Рахма" ни́нов;[1] Russian pronunciation: [s ʲɪ r ˈɡʲ ej

r ɐ x ̍ man ʲɪ nəf] ; 1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was aRussian-born composer, pianist, and

conductor.[2] Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of

the last great representatives ofRomanticism in Russian classical music.[3] Early influences

of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom that

included a pronounced lyricism, expressive breadth, structural ingenuity, and a tonal palette of rich, distinctive

orchestral colors.[4] The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output. He made a point

of using his own skills as a performer to explore fully the expressive possibilities of the instrument. Even in his

earliest works he revealed a sure grasp of idiomatic piano writing and a striking gift for melody.

Contents

  [hide] 

1 Life

o 1.1 Childhood and youth

o 1.2 Graduation

o 1.3 Setbacks and recovery

o 1.4 Emigration and career in the West

o 1.5 Friendship with Vladimir Horowitz

o 1.6 Illness and death

2 Works

o 2.1 Compositional style

o 2.2 Fluctuating reputation

3 Pianism

o 3.1 Technique

o 3.2 Tone

o 3.3 Memory

o 3.4 Interpretations

o 3.5 Speculations about Marfan syndrome and acromegaly

4 Recordings

o 4.1 Phonograph

o 4.2 Piano rolls

5 Media

o 5.1 As performer

o 5.2 As composer

6 Cultural references

7 See also

8 References

9 Bibliography

10 External links

o 10.1 Free scores

Life[edit]

Rachmaninoff at age 10

Childhood and youth[edit]

Rachmaninoff at the piano, in the early 1900s, before he graduated from theMoscow Conservatory

The Rachmaninoff family was a part of an "old aristocracy", where all of the attitude but none of the money

remained. The family, of Tatar descent, had been in the service of the Russiantsars since the 16th century, and

had strong musical and military leanings. The composer's father, Vasily Arkadyevich (1841–1916), an amateur

pianist and army officer, married Lyubov Petrovna Butakova (1853–1929), gained five estates as a dowry, and

had three boys and three girls.[5] Sergei was born on 1 April 1873 at the estate of Semyonovo, near Great

Novgorod in north-western Russia.[6] When he was four, his mother gave him casual piano lessons,[7] but it was

his paternal grandfather, Arkady Alexandrovich, who brought Anna Ornatskaya, a teacher from Saint

Petersburg, to teach Sergei in 1882. Ornatskaya remained for "two or three years", until Vasily had to auction

off their home due to his financial incompetence—the five estates had been reduced to one; he was described

as "a wastrel, a compulsive gambler, a pathological liar, and a skirt chaser"[8][9]—and they moved to a small flat

in Saint Petersburg.[10]

Ornatskaya returned to her home, and arranged for Sergei to study at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory,

which he entered in 1883, at age ten. That year his sister Sofia died ofdiphtheria, and his feckless father left the

family, with their approval, for Moscow.[5] Sergei's maternal grandmother stepped in to help raise the children,

especially focusing on their spiritual life. She regularly took Sergei to Russian Orthodox services, where he was

first exposed to the liturgical chants and the church bells of the city, which would later permeate many of his

compositions.[10] Another important musical influence was his sister Yelena's involvement in the Bolshoi

Theater. She was just about to join the company, being offered coaching and private lessons, but she fell ill

and died of pernicious anemia at the age of 18. As a respite from this tragedy, grandmother Butakova brought

him to a farm retreat on theVolkhov River, where he had a boat and developed a love for rowing.[5] Having been

spoiled in this way by his grandmother, he became lazy and failed his general education classes, altering

his report cards, in what Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov would later call a period of "purely Russian self-delusion and

laziness."[11]

In 1885, back at the Conservatory, Sergei played at important events often attended byGrand Duke

Konstantin and other important people, but he failed his spring academic examinations and Ornatskaya notified

his mother that his admission might be revoked.[5]Lyubov consulted with her nephew (by marriage) Alexander

Siloti, already an accomplished pianist studying under Franz Liszt. After appraising his cousin's pianism and

listening skills, Siloti recommended that Sergei attend the Moscow Conservatory to study with his own original

teacher and disciplinarian, Nikolai Zverev.[12][13]

Graduation[edit]

While living with the Satins, Rachmaninoff (standing, second from left) would vacation at Ivanovka, their summer house. He

would marry his cousin Natalia Satina (sitting, second from left).

Neighboring families would come to visit, and Rachmaninoff would find his first romance in the Skalon family,

with Vera, the youngest of three daughters. The mother would have none of that, and he was forbidden to write

to her, so he corresponded with her older sister, Natalia, and from these letters much information about his

early compositions can be extracted.[12] In the spring of 1891, he took his final piano examination at the Moscow

Conservatory and passed with honors. He moved to Ivanovka with Siloti, and composed some songs and

began what would become his Piano Concerto No. 1 (Op. 1). During his final studies at the Conservatory he

completed Youth Symphony, a one-movement symphonic piece, Prince Rostislav, a symphonic poem, and The

Rock (Op. 7), a fantasia for orchestra.[5]

He gave his first independent concert on 11 February 1892, premiering his Trio élégiaque No. 1, with violinist

David Kreyn and cellist Anatoliy Brandukov. He performed the first movement of his first piano concerto on 29

March 1892 in an over-long concert consisting of entire works of most of the composition students at the

Conservatory.[14]

His final composition for the Conservatory was Aleko, a one-act opera based on the poemThe

Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin, which Rachmaninoff completed while staying with his father in Moscow.[15] It

was first performed on 19 May 1892, and although he responded with a pessimistic, "the opera is sure to fail," it

was so successful, the Bolshoi Theater agreed to produce it, starring Feodor Chaliapin.[12] It gained him the

Great Gold Medal, awarded only twice before (to Sergei Taneyev and Arseny Koreshchenko [16] ), and has since

had many more productions than his later works, The Miserly Knight (Op. 24, 1904) and Francesca da

Rimini (Op. 25, 1905). The Conservatory issued him a diploma on 29 May 1892, and now, at the age of 19, he

could officially style himself "Free Artist."[5]

Rachmaninoff continued to compose, publishing at this time his Six Songs (Op. 4) and Two Pieces (Op. 2). He

spent the summer of 1892 on the estate of Ivan Konavalov, a rich landowner in the Kostroma Oblast, and

moved back with the Satins in the Arbat District.[5]His publisher was slow in paying, so Rachmaninoff took an

engagement at the Moscow Electrical Exhibition, where he premiered his landmark Prelude in C-sharp

minor (Op. 3, No. 2).[17] This small piece, part of a set of five pieces called Morceaux de fantaisie, was received

well, and is one of his most enduring pieces.[18][19]

He spent the summer of 1893 in Lebedyn with some friends, where he composed Fantaisie-Tableaux (Suite

No. 1, Op. 5) and hisMorceaux de salon (Op. 10).[20] At the summer's end, he moved back to Moscow, and at

Sergei Taneyev's house discussed withTchaikovsky the possibility of his conducting The Rock at its premiere.

However, because it had to be premiered in Moscow, notEurope, where Tchaikovsky was touring, Vasily

Safonov conducted it instead, and the two met soon after for Zverev's funeral. Rachmaninoff had a short

excursion to conduct Aleko in Kiev, and on his return, received the news about Tchaikovsky's unexpected

death on 6 November 1893. Almost immediately, on the same day, he began work on his Trio élégiaque No. 2,

just as Tchaikovsky had quickly written his Trio in A minor after Nikolai Rubinstein's death.

Setbacks and recovery[edit]

The sudden death of Tchaikovsky in 1893 was a great blow to young Rachmaninoff; he immediately began

writing a second Trio élégiaque in his memory, revealing the depth and sincerity of his grief in the music's

overwhelming aura of gloom.[21] His First Symphony (Op. 13, 1896) was premièred on 28 March 1897 in one of

a long-running series of "Russian Symphony Concerts", but was brutally panned by critic

and nationalist composer César Cui who likened it to a depiction of the ten plagues of Egypt, suggesting it

would be admired by the "inmates" of a music conservatory in hell.[22] The deficiencies of the performance,

conducted by Alexander Glazunov, were not commented on.[21] Alexander Ossovsky in his memoir about

Rachmaninoff[23] tells, first hand, a story about this event.[24] In Ossovsky's opinion, Glazunov made poor use of

rehearsal time, and the concert program itself, which contained two other premières, was also a factor. Natalia

Satina, later Rachmaninoff's wife, and other witnesses suggested that Glazunov, who was by all accounts an

alcoholic, may have been drunk, although this was never intimated by Rachmaninoff.[25][26]

The failure of Symphony No. 1(1897) long bothered Rachmaninoff.

After the poor reception of his First Symphony, Rachmaninoff fell into a period of deep depression that lasted

three years, during which he wrote almost nothing. One stroke of good fortune came fromSavva Mamontov, a

famous Russian industrialist and patron of the arts, who two years earlier had founded the Moscow Private

Russian Opera Company. He offered Rachmaninoff the post of assistant conductor for the 1897–8 season and

the cash-strapped composer accepted. The company included the great basso Feodor Chaliapin who would

become a lifelong friend.[27] During this period he became engaged to fellow pianist Natalia Satina whom he

had known since childhood and who was his first cousin. The Russian Orthodox Church and the girl's parents

both opposed their marriage and this thwarting of their plans only deepened Rachmaninoff's depression.

In January 1900, Rachmaninoff and Chaliapin were invited to Yasnaya Polyana, the home of writerLeo Tolstoy,

whom Rachmaninoff greatly admired. That evening, Rachmaninoff played one of his compositions, then

accompanied Chaliapin in his song "Fate", one of the pieces he had written after his First Symphony. At the

end of the performance, Tolstoy took the composer aside and asked: "Is such music needed by anyone? I must

tell you how I dislike it all. Beethoven is nonsense, Pushkinand Lermontov also". (The song "Fate" is based on

the two opening measures of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony.) As his guests were leaving, Tolstoy said: "Forgive

me if I've hurt you by my comments"; and Rachmaninoff graciously replied: "How could I be hurt on my own

account, if I was not hurt on Beethoven's?"; but the criticism of the great author stung nevertheless.

In the same year, Rachmaninoff began a course of autosuggestive therapy with psychologist Nikolai Dahl, who

was himself an excellent though amateur musician. Rachmaninoff began to recover his confidence and

eventually he was able to overcome his writer's block. In 1901 he completed his Piano Concerto No. 2 in C

minor, Op. 18 and dedicated it to Dr. Dahl. The piece was enthusiastically received at its premiere at which

Rachmaninoff was soloist and has since become one of the most popular and frequently played concertos in

the repertoire. Rachmaninoff's spirits were further bolstered when, after three years of engagement, he was

finally allowed to marry his beloved fiancée, Natalia. They were wed in a suburb of Moscow by an army priest

on 29 April 1902, using the family's military background to circumvent the church. The marriage was a happy

one, producing two daughters: Irina, later Princess Wolkonsky (1903-1969) and Tatiana Conus (1907-1961).

Although Rachmaninoff was rumored to have had an affair with the 22-year-old singer Nina Koshetz in 1916,

[28] his and Natalia's union lasted until the composer's death. Natalia Rachmaninova died in 1951.

After several successful appearances as a conductor, Rachmaninoff was offered a job as conductor at

the Bolshoi Theatre in 1904, although political reasons led to his resignation in March 1906, after which he

stayed in Italy until July. He spent the following three winters in Dresden, Germany, intensively composing, and

returning to the family estate of Ivanovka every summer.[29]

Rachmaninoff made his first tour of the United States as a pianist in 1909, an event for which he composed

the Piano Concerto No. 3(Op. 30, 1909) as a calling card. These successful concerts made him a popular

figure in America; however, he was unhappy on the tour and declined requests for future American concerts

until after he emigrated from Russia in 1917.[29] This included an offer to become permanent conductor of the

Boston Symphony Orchestra.[30]

The early death in 1915 of Alexander Scriabin, who had been his good friend and fellow student at the Moscow

Conservatory, affected Rachmaninoff so deeply that he went on a tour giving concerts entirely devoted to

Scriabin's music. When asked to play some of his own music, he would reply: "Only Scriabin tonight".

Emigration and career in the West[edit]

Rachmaninoff in front of a giant Redwood tree, California, 1919

The 1917 Russian Revolution meant the end of Russia as the composer had known it. Rachmaninoff was a

member of the Russian bourgeoisie, and the Revolution led to the loss of his estate, his way of life, and his

livelihood. On 22 December 1917, he left Petrograd forHelsinki with his wife and two daughters on an open

sled, having only a few notebooks with sketches of his own compositions and two orchestral scores, his

unfinished opera Monna Vanna and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden Cockerel. He was 44 years

old. He spent a year giving concerts in Scandinavia while laboring to widen his concert repertoire. Near the end

of 1918, he received three offers of lucrative American contracts. Although he declined all three, he decided the

United States might offer a solution to his financial concerns. He departed Kristiania (Oslo) for New York on

1 November 1918. Once there, Rachmaninoff quickly chose an agent, Charles Ellis, and accepted the gift of a

piano fromSteinway before playing 40 concerts in a four-month period. At the end of the 1919–20 season, he

also signed a contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company. In 1921, the Rachmaninoffs bought a house

in the United States, where they consciously recreated the atmosphere of Ivanovka, entertaining Russian

guests, employing Russian servants, and observing old Russian customs.[31]

Due to his busy concert career, Rachmaninoff's output as composer slowed tremendously. Between 1918 and

his death in 1943, while living in the U.S. and Europe, he completed only six compositions. Aside from the need

to constantly tour and perform to support himself and his family, the main reason was homesickness. It was

during these years that he toured the United States as a concert pianist.[32]When he left Russia, it was as if he

had left behind his inspiration. His revival as a composer became possible only after he had built himself a new

home, Villa Senar on Lake Lucerne, Switzerland, where he spent summers from 1932 to 1939. There, in the

comfort of his own villa, which reminded him of his old family estate, Rachmaninoff composed the Rhapsody on

a Theme of Paganini, one of his best known works, in 1934. He went on to compose his Symphony No. 3 (Op.

44, 1935–36) and the Symphonic Dances (Op. 45, 1940), his last completed work. Eugene Ormandy and

the Philadelphia Orchestra premiered the Symphonic Dances in 1941 in the Academy of Music.

In late 1940 or 1941 he was approached by the makers of the British film Dangerous Moonlight to write a short

concerto-like piece for use in the film, but he declined. The job went to Richard Addinsell and the

orchestrator Roy Douglas, who came up with the Warsaw Concerto.[33]

Sergei Rachmaninoff was also on the Board of Directors for the Tolstoy Foundation Center in Valley Cottage,

New York.

Friendship with Vladimir Horowitz[edit]

Vladimir Horowitz as he appeared at the time Rachmaninoff met him

Just as the Rachmaninoff household in the United States strove to reclaim the lost world of pre-revolutionary

Russia, Rachmaninoff also sought out the friendship and company of some great Russian musical luminaries.

In addition to Chaliapin, he befriended pianist Vladimir Horowitz in 1928.

Arranged by Steinway artist representative Alexander Greiner, their meeting took place in the basement of New

York's Steinway Hall, on 8 January 1928, four days prior to Horowitz's debut at Carnegie Hallplaying the

Tchaikovsky First Piano Concerto. Referring to his own Third Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff said to Greiner he

heard that "Mr. Horowitz plays my Concerto very well. I would like to accompany him."[34]

For Horowitz, it was a dream come true to meet Rachmaninoff, to whom he referred as "the musical God of my

youth ... To think that this great man should accompany me in his own Third Concerto ... This was the most

unforgettable impression of my life! This was my real debut!" Rachmaninoff was impressed by his younger

colleague. Speaking of Horowitz's interpretation to Abram Chasins, he said "He swallowed it whole ... he had

the courage, the intensity, the daring."[34]

The meeting between composer and interpreter marked the beginning of a friendship that continued until

Rachmaninoff's death. The two were quite supportive of each other's careers and greatly admired each other's

work. Horowitz stipulated to his manager that "If I am out of town when Rachmaninoff plays in New York, you

must telegraph me, and you must let me come back, no matter where I am or what engagement I have."

Likewise Rachmaninoff was always present at Horowitz's New York concerts and was "always the last to leave

the hall."[35]

A Library of Congress photo of Rachmaninoff

Notably, the composer was present at Carnegie Hall for Horowitz's American debut on 12 January 1928.

Recognizing the great pianistic ability, Rachmaninoff offered his friendship and advice to Horowitz, telling him

in a letter that "You play very well, but you went through the Tchaikovsky Concerto too rapidly, especially the

cadenza."[35] Horowitz never agreed with the criticism of his tempo, and retained his interpretation in future

performances of the work.[35]

Rachmaninoff and Horowitz frequently performed two-piano recitals at the composer's home in Beverly Hills.

None of these performances, which included the Second Suite and the two-piano reduction of the Symphonic

Dances, were recorded.

Rachmaninoff's faith in Horowitz's performances was such that, in 1940, with the composer's consent, Horowitz

created a fusion of the 1913 original and 1931 revised versions of his Second Piano Sonata.[36]

For Rachmaninoff, Horowitz was a champion of both his solo works and his Third Concerto, about which

Rachmaninoff remarked publicly after the 7 August 1942 Hollywood Bowl performance that "This is the way I

always dreamed my concerto should be played, but I never expected to hear it that way on Earth."[35]

Illness and death[edit]

Grave at Kensico Cemetery. Note English lettering and spelling on gravestone.

Rachmaninoff fell ill during a concert tour in late 1942 and was subsequently diagnosed with

advanced melanoma. His family was informed, but he was not. On 1 February 1943 he and his wife became

American citizens.[37] His last recital, given on 17 February 1943 at the Alumni Gymnasium of the University of

Tennessee in Knoxville, included Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2, which contains the famous Marche

funèbre (Funeral March). A statue called "Rachmaninoff: The Last Concert", designed and sculpted byVictor

Bokarev, now stands in World Fair Park in Knoxville as a permanent tribute to Rachmaninoff. He became so ill

after this recital that he had to return to his home in Los Angeles.[38]

Rachmaninoff died of melanoma on 28 March 1943, in Beverly Hills, California, just four days before his 70th

birthday. A choir sang his All Night Vigil at his funeral. He had wanted to be buried at the Villa Senar, his estate

in Switzerland, but the conditions of World War II made fulfilling this request impossible.[39] He was therefore

interred on 1 June in Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.[5]

Works[edit]

The cadenza of Piano Concerto No. 3 is famous for its large chords.

Main article: List of compositions by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff wrote five works for piano and orchestra—four concertos plus the Rhapsody on a Theme of

Paganini. Of the concertos, theSecond and Third are the most popular.[40] He also wrote three symphonies, and

his other orchestral works include The Rock (Op. 7),Caprice bohémien (Op. 12), The Isle of the Dead (Op. 29),

and theSymphonic Dances (Op. 45).

Works for piano solo include 24 Preludes traversing all 24 major and minor keys: Prelude in C-sharp

minor (Op. 3, No. 2) from Morceaux de fantaisie (Op. 3); ten preludes in Op. 23; and thirteen in Op. 32.

Especially difficult are the two sets of Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 and 39, which are very demanding study

pictures. Stylistically, Op. 33 hearkens back to the preludes, while Op. 39 shows the influences

ofScriabin and Prokofiev. There are also the Six moments musicaux (Op. 16), the Variations on a Theme of

Chopin (Op. 22), and theVariations on a Theme of Corelli (Op. 42). He wrote two piano sonatas, both of which

are large scale and virtuosic in their technical demands. Rachmaninoff also composed works for two pianos,

four hands, including two Suites (the first subtitled Fantasie-Tableaux), a version of the Symphonic

Dances (Op. 45), and an arrangement of the C-sharp minor Prelude, as well as a Russian Rhapsody, and he

arranged his First Symphony (below) for piano four-hands. Both these works were published posthumously.

Rachmaninoff wrote two major a cappella choral works—the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the All-Night

Vigil (also known as theVespers). It was the fifth movement of All-Night Vigil that Rachmaninoff requested to

have sung at his funeral. Other choral works include a choral symphony, The Bells, the cantata Spring,

the Three Russian Songs and an early Concerto for Choir (a cappella).

He completed three operas, all short: Aleko (1892), The Miserly Knight (1903), and Francesca da

Rimini (1904). He started three others, notably Monna Vanna, based on a work by Maurice Maeterlinck;

copyright in this had been extended to the composer Février, and, though the restriction did not pertain to

Russia, Rachmaninoff dropped the project after completing Act I in piano vocal score in 1908; this act was

orchestrated in 1984 by Igor Buketoff and performed in the U.S. Aleko is regularly performed and has been

recorded complete at least eight times, and filmed. The Miserly Knight adheres to Pushkin's "little

tragedy". Francesca da Rimini exists somewhat in the shadow of the familiar, though entirely

different, Zandonai opera of that name.

His chamber music includes two piano trios, both which are named Trio Elégiaque (the second of which is a

memorial tribute to Tchaikovsky), and a Cello Sonata. In his chamber music, the piano tends to be perceived

by some to dominate the ensemble. He also composed many songs for voice and piano, to texts by A. N.

Tolstoy, Pushkin, Goethe, Shelley, Hugo and Chekhov, among others. Among his most popular songs is the

wordless Vocalise.

Compositional style[edit]

Rachmaninoff with a piano score

Rachmaninoff's style showed initially the influence of Tchaikovsky. Beginning in the mid-1890s, his

compositions began showing a more individual tone. His First Symphony has many original features. Its brutal

gestures and uncompromising power of expression were unprecedented in Russian music at the time. Its

flexible rhythms, sweeping lyricism and stringent economy of thematic material were all features he kept and

refined in subsequent works. After the three fallow years following the poor reception of the symphony,

Rachmaninoff's style began developing significantly. He started leaning towards sumptuousharmonies and

broadly lyrical, often passionate melodies. His orchestration became subtler and more varied, with textures

carefully contrasted, and his writing on the whole became more concise.[41]

Especially important is Rachmaninoff's use of unusually widely spaced chords for bell-like sounds: this occurs

in many pieces, most notably in the choral symphony The Bells, the Second Piano Concerto, the E flat

major Étude-Tableaux (Op. 33, No. 7), and the B-minor Prelude (Op. 32, No. 10). "It is not enough to say that

the church bells of Novgorod, St Petersburg and Moscow influenced Rachmaninov and feature prominently in

his music. This much is self-evident. What is extraordinary is the variety of bell sounds and breadth of structural

and other functions they fulfil."[42] He was also fond of Russian Orthodox chants. He uses them most perceptibly

in his Vespers, but many of his melodies found their origins in these chants. The opening melody of the First

Symphony is derived from chants. (The opening melody of the Third Piano Concerto, on the other hand, is not

derived from chants; when asked, Rachmaninoff said that "it had written itself".)[43] Rachmaninoff's frequently

used motifs include the Dies Irae, often just the fragments of the first phrase. Rachmaninoff had great

command of counterpoint and fugal writing, thanks to his studies with Taneyev. The above-mentioned

occurrence of the Dies Irae in the Second Symphony is but a small example of this. Very characteristic of his

writing is chromatic counterpoint. This talent was paired with a confidence in writing in both large- and small-

scale forms. The Third Piano Concerto especially shows a structural ingenuity, while each of the preludes

grows from a tiny melodic or rhythmic fragment into a taut, powerfully evocative miniature, crystallizing a

particular mood or sentiment while employing a complexity of texture, rhythmic flexibility and a pungent

chromatic harmony.[44]

A monument to Rachmaninoff in Moscow

His compositional style had already begun changing before the October Revolutiondeprived him of his

homeland. The harmonic writing in The Bells (composed in 1913 but not published until 1920[45][46]) became as

advanced as in any of the works Rachmaninoff would write in Russia, partly because the melodic material has

a harmonic aspect which arises from its chromatic ornamentation.[47] Further changes are apparent in the

revised First Piano Concerto, which he finished just before leaving Russia, as well as in the Op. 38 songs and

Op. 39 Études-Tableaux. In both these sets Rachmaninoff was less concerned with pure melody than with

coloring. His near-Impressionist style perfectly matched the texts by symbolist poets.[48] The Op. 39 Études-

Tableaux are among the most demanding pieces he wrote for any medium, both technically and in the sense

that the player must see beyond any technical challenges to a considerable array of emotions, then unify all

these aspects[49]

The composer's friend, Vladimir Wilshaw, noticed this compositional change continuing in the early 1930s, with

a difference between the sometimes very extroverted Op. 39 Études-Tableaux (the composer had broken a

string on the piano at one performance) and the Variations on a Theme of Corelli (Op. 42, 1931). The

variations show an even greater textural clarity than in the Op. 38 songs, combined with a more abrasive use of

chromatic harmony and a new rhythmic incisiveness. This would be characteristic of all his later works —

the Piano Concerto No. 4 (Op. 40, 1926) is composed in a more emotionally introverted style, with a greater

clarity of texture. Nevertheless, some of his most beautiful (nostalgic and melancholy) melodies occur in

the Third Symphony, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and Symphonic Dances.[48]

Fluctuating reputation[edit]

Rachmaninoff monument, Novgorod

His reputation as a composer generated a variety of opinions before his music gained steady recognition

across the world. The 1954 edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians notoriously dismissed

Rachmaninoff's music as "monotonous in texture ... consist[ing] mainly of artificial and gushing tunes" and

predicted that his popular success was "not likely to last".[50] To this, Harold C. Schonberg, in his Lives of the

Great Composers, responded, "It is one of the most outrageously snobbish and even stupid statements ever to

be found in a work that is supposed to be an objective reference."[50]

The Conservatoire Rachmaninoff in Paris, as well as streets in Veliky Novgorod (which is close to his

birthplace) and Tambov, are named after the composer. In 1986, Moscow Conservatory dedicated a concert

hall on its premises to Rachmaninoff, designating the 252-seat auditorium Rachmaninoff Hall. A monument to

Rachmaninoff was unveiled in Veliky Novgorod, near his birthplace, as recently as 14 June 2009.

Pianism[edit]

This article is written like a personal reflection or opinion essay rather than an encyclopedic description of the subject. Please help improve it by rewriting it in anencyclopedic style. (June 2010)

Technique[edit]

Rachmaninoff in 1901. Note the hands.

As a pianist, Rachmaninoff ranked among the finest pianists of his time, along with Leopold Godowsky, Ignaz

Friedman, Moriz Rosenthal, Josef Lhevinne, and Josef Hofmann and he was famed for possessing a clean and

virtuosic piano technique. His playing was marked by precision, rhythmic drive, notable use of staccato and the

ability to maintain clarity when playing works with complex textures. Rachmaninoff applied these qualities in

music by Chopin, including the B flat minor Piano Sonata. Rachmaninoff's repertoire, excepting his own works,

consisted mainly of standard 19th Century virtuoso works plus music by Bach, Beethoven, Borodin, Debussy,

Grieg, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann and Tchaikovsky.[51]

Rachmaninoff possessed extremely large hands, with which he could easily maneuver through the most

complex chordal configurations. His left hand technique was unusually powerful. His playing was marked

by definition—where other pianists' playing became blurry-sounding from overuse of the pedal or deficiencies

in finger technique, Rachmaninoff's textures were always crystal clear. Only Josef Hofmann and Josef

Lhevinne shared this kind of clarity with him.[52] All three men had Anton Rubinstein as a model for this kind of

playing—Hofmann as a student of Rubinstein's,[53]Rachmaninoff from hearing his famous series of historical

recitals in Moscow while studying with Zverev,[54] and Lhevinne from hearing and playing with him.

The two pieces Rachmaninoff singled out for praise from Rubinstein's concerts became cornerstones for his

own recital programs. The compositions were Beethoven's Appassionata and Chopin's Funeral March Sonata.

He may have based his interpretation of the Chopin sonata on Rubinstein's. Rachmaninoff biographer Barrie

Martyn points out similarities between written accounts of Rubinstein's interpretation and Rachmaninoff's audio

recording of the work.[55]

As part of his daily warm-up exercises, Rachmaninoff would play the technically difficult Étude in A flat, Op. 1,

No. 2, attributed to Paul de Schlözer.[56]

Tone[edit]

From those barely moving fingers came an unforced, bronzelike sonority and an accuracy bordering on

infallibility. Correct notes seemed to be built into his constitution, and a wrong note at a Rachmaninoff recital

was an exceedingly rare event.[57] Arthur Rubinstein wrote:

He had the secret of the golden, living tone which comes from the heart ... I was always under the spell of his

glorious and inimitable tone which could make me forget my uneasiness about his too rapidly fleeting fingers

and his exaggeratedrubatos. There was always the irresistible sensuous charm, not unlike Kreisler's.[58]

Coupled to this tone was a vocal quality not unlike that attributed to Chopin's playing. With Rachmaninoff's

extensive operatic experience, he was a great admirer of fine singing. As his records demonstrate, he

possessed a tremendous ability to make a musical line sing, no matter how long the notes or how complex the

supporting texture, with most of his interpretations taking on a narrative quality. With the stories he told at the

keyboard came multiple voices—a polyphonic dialogue, not the least in terms of dynamics. His 1940 recording

of his transcription of the song "Daisies" captures this quality extremely well. On the recording, separate

musical strands enter as if from various human voices in eloquent conversation. This ability came from an

exceptional independence of fingers and hands.[59]

Memory[edit]

Rachmaninoff also possessed an uncanny memory—one that would help put him in good stead when he had

to learn the standard piano repertoire as a 45-year-old exile. He could hear a piece of music, even a

symphony, then play it back the next day, the next year, or a decade after that. Siloti would give him a long and

demanding piece to learn, such as Brahms' Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel. Two days later

Rachmaninoff would play it "with complete artistic finish." Alexander Goldenweiser said, "Whatever composition

was ever mentioned—piano, orchestral, operatic, or other—by a Classical or contemporary composer, if

Rachmaninoff had at any time heard it, and most of all if he liked it, he played it as though it were a work he

had studied thoroughly."[60]

Interpretations[edit]

Rachmaninoff at the piano

Regardless of the music, Rachmaninoff always planned his performances carefully. He based his

interpretations on the theory that each piece of music has a "culminating point." Regardless of where that point

was or at which dynamic within that piece, the performer had to know how to approach it with absolute

calculation and precision; otherwise, the whole construction of the piece could crumble and the piece could

become disjointed. This was a practice he learned from Russian bass Feodor Chaliapin, a staunch friend.

[51] Paradoxically, Rachmaninoff often sounded like he was improvising, though he actually was not. While his

interpretations were mosaics of tiny details, when those mosaics came together in performance, they might,

according to the tempo of the piece being played, fly past at great speed, giving the impression of instant

thought.[61]

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1919 Rachmaninoff recording of Liszt's 2nd Hungarian Rhapsody for Edison Records.

One advantage Rachmaninoff had in this building process over most of his contemporaries was in approaching

the pieces he played from the perspective of a composer rather than that of an interpreter. He believed

"interpretation demands something of the creative instinct. If you are a composer, you have an affinity with

other composers. You can make contact with their imaginations, knowing something of their problems and their

ideals. You can give their works color. That is the most important thing for me in my interpretations, color. So

you make music live. Without color it is dead."[62] Nevertheless, Rachmaninoff also possessed a far better

sense of structure than many of his contemporaries, such as Hofmann, or the majority of pianists from the

previous generation, judging from their respective recordings.[59]

A recording which showcases Rachmaninoff's approach is the Liszt Second Polonaise, recorded in

1925. Percy Grainger, who had been influenced by the composer and Liszt specialist Ferruccio Busoni, had

himself recorded the same piece a few years earlier. Rachmaninoff's performance is far more taut and

concentrated than Grainger's. The Russian's drive and monumental conception bear a considerable difference

to the Australian's more delicate perceptions. Grainger's textures are elaborate. Rachmaninoff shows the

filigree as essential to the work's structure, not simply decorative.[63]

Speculations about Marfan syndrome and acromegaly[edit]

Along with his musical gifts, Rachmaninoff possessed physical gifts that may have placed him in good stead as

a pianist. These gifts included exceptional height and extremely large hands with a gigantic finger stretch (he

could play the chord C Eb G C G with his left hand). This and Rachmaninoff's slender frame, long limbs, narrow

head, prominent ears, and thin nose suggest that he may have hadMarfan syndrome, a hereditary disorder of

the connective tissue. This syndrome would have accounted for several minor ailments he suffered all his life.

These included back pain, arthritis, eye strain and bruising of the fingertips.[64] This Marfan speculation was

proposed by Dr. D.A.B. Young (formerly principal scientist of the Wellcome Foundation) in a 20 December

1986 British Medical Journalarticle entitled, “Rachmaninov and Marfan’s syndrome.” Twenty years later, in

October 2006, an article in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, by Dr. Manoj Ramachandran (Fellow

in Paediatric and Young Adult Orthopaedics, The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital) and Dr. Jeffrey K.

Aronson (Department of Clinical Pharmacology, Radcliffe Infirmary; and clinical pharmacologist and physician

in the Department of Primary Health Care in the University of Oxford and a consultant physician in the Oxford

Radcliffe Hospitals Trust) differed greatly from Young’s speculation. According to Ramachandran and Aronson:

The size of [Rachmaninov’s] hands may have been a manifestation of Marfan's syndrome, their size and slenderness typical of

arachnodactyly. However, Rachmaninov did not clearly exhibit any of the other clinical characteristics typical of Marfan's, such as

scoliosis, pectus excavatum, and eye or cardiac complications. Nor did he express any of the clinical effects of a Marfan-related

syndrome, such as Beal's syndrome (congenital contractural arachnodactyly), Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, homocystinuria, Stickler

syndrome, or Sphrintzen-Goldberg syndrome. There is no indication that his immediate family had similar hand spans, ruling out

familial arachnodactyly. Rachmaninov did not display any signs of digital clubbing or any obvious hypertrophic skin changes

associated with pachydermoperiostitis.

Acromegaly is an alternative diagnosis. From photographs of Rachmaninov in the 1920s and his portrait by Konstantin Somov in

1925 (Figure 1), at a time when he was recording his four piano concerti, the coarse facial features of acromegaly are not

immediately apparent. However, a case can be made from later photographs...

During a heavy concert schedule in Russia in 1912, he interrupted his schedule because of stiffness in his hands. This may have

been due to overuse, although carpal tunnel syndrome or simply swelling and puffiness of the hands associated with acromegaly

may have been the cause. In 1942, Rachmaninov made a final revision of his troublesome Fourth Concerto but composed no

more new music. A rapidly progressing melanoma forced him to break off his 1942-1943 concert tour after a recital in Knoxville,

Tennessee. A little over five weeks later he died in the house he had bought the year before on Elm Drive in Beverly Hills.

Melanoma is associated with acromegaly and may have been a final clue to Rachmaninov's diagnosis.

But then again, perhaps he just had big hands.[65]

Repeating Ramachandran's and Aronson's final statement, "But then again, perhaps he just

had big hands." Moreover, and contrary to rumors of “six and a half feet,” Rachmaninoff’s

physical height is documented in repeated (November 10, 1918 and October 30, 1924) U.S.

Immigration manifests at Ellis Island as 6'-1".[66] However, conductor Eugene Ormandy (who

teamed with Rachmaninoff in many piano and orchestra performances) recalled in 1979: "He

[Rachmaninoff] was about six feet-three. I am five feet-five and a half..." [67][68]Therefore,

Rachmaninoff's height would also not be considered a physical deformity or abnormality.[69]

Recordings[edit]

Rachmaninoff (1921 Victoradvertisement)

Phonograph[edit]

Many of Rachmaninoff's recordings are acknowledged classics. Rachmaninoff recorded first

for Edison Records on their "Diamond Disc" records, since they claimed the best audio

fidelity in recording the piano at the time. Thomas Edison, who was quite deaf,[70] did not care

for Rachmaninoff's playing and referred to him as a "pounder" at their initial meeting.

[71]However, the staff at Edison's New York recording studio (led by company pianist Robert

Gayler) asked Edison to reconsider his dismissive position, resulting in a limited contract for

ten released sides. The Edison company took some care with its piano recordings but used

an unusual make, the Lauter, made in Newark; Rachmaninoff recorded on a Lauter concert

grand, one of the few the company made. Rachmaninoff believed his own performances to

be variable in quality and requested that he be allowed to approve any recordings for

commercial release. Edison agreed but still issued multiple takes, a common practice in

the gramophone record industry at the time but especially prevalent at Edison, where strict

company policy demanded three "perfect" takes of each selection in case of damage in

manufacturing or wear to the metal masters; in practice, this meant to the staff that takes

passed for issue were interchangeable, but it was also very wearing on artists who often had

to record items repeatedly to produce three acceptable takes. Edison's staff and

Rachmaninoff were pleased with the released discs and wanted to record more, but Thomas

Edison refused to engage the pianist for further work, saying the ten sides were sufficient for

label prestige purposes. Rachmaninoff then signed a contract with the Victor Talking

Machine Company in 1920 and with its successor, RCA Victor. The company was pleased to

comply with Rachmaninoff's restrictions, and proudly advertised him as one of their great

recording artists. His recordings for Victor continued until 1942, when the American

Federation of Musicians imposed a recording ban in the U.S.

Particularly renowned are his renditions of Schumann's Carnaval and Chopin's Funeral

March Sonata, along with many shorter pieces. He recorded all four of his piano concertos

with the Philadelphia Orchestra, including two versions of the second concerto with Leopold

Stokowski conducting (an acoustical recording in 1924 and a complete electrical recording in

1929), and a world premiere recording of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, soon after

the first performance (1934) with the Philadelphians under Stokowski. The first, third, and

fourth concertos were recorded with Eugene Ormandy in 1939-41. Rachmaninoff also made

three recordings conducting thePhiladelphia Orchestra in his own Third Symphony, his

symphonic poem Isle of the Dead, and his orchestration of Vocalise. All of these recordings

were released in a 10-CD set "Sergei Rachmaninoff The Complete Recordings" in RCA

Victor Gold Seal 09026-61265-2.

In an article for Gramophone, April 1931, Rachmaninoff defended an earlier stated view on

the musical value of radio, about which he was sceptical: "the modern gramophone and

modern methods of recording are musically superior to wireless transmission in every way".

[72]

Piano rolls[edit]

A Russian Federationcommemorative Rachmaninoff coin

Rachmaninoff was also involved in various ways with music on piano rolls. Several

manufacturers, and in particular the Aeolian Company, had published his compositions on

perforated music rolls from about 1900 onwards.[73] His sister-in-law, Sofia Satina,

remembered him at the family estate at Ivanovka, pedalling gleefully through a set of rolls of

his Second Piano Concerto, apparently acquired from a German source,[74] most probably

the Aeolian Company's Berlin subsidiary, the Choralion Company. Aeolian in London created

a set of three rolls of this concerto in 1909, which remained in the catalogues of its various

successors until the late 1970s.[75]

From 1919 he made 35 piano rolls (12 of which were his own compositions),[76] for

the American Piano Company (Ampico)'s reproducing piano. According to the Ampico

publicity department, he initially disbelieved that a roll of punched paper could provide an

accurate record, so he was invited to listen to a proof copy of his first recording. After the

performance, he was quoted as saying"Gentlemen — I, Sergei Rachmaninoff, have just

heard myself play!" For demonstration purposes, he recorded the solo part of his Second

Piano Concerto for Ampico, though only the second movement was used publicly and has

survived. He continued to record until around 1929, though his last roll, the Chopin Scherzo

in B-flat minor, was not published until October 1933.[77]

Media[edit]

As performer[edit]

Prelude in C ♯ minor, Op. 3, No. 2

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As composer[edit]

Étude-Tableau in E-flat minor

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Rachmaninoff's famous Prelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3, No. 2), which he composed when he

was 19, established his fame in America. It is here performed by the composer.

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2

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Rachmaninoff playing the first 4 minutes of Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2, recorded

in 1919 by Edison Records

Waltz in E flat major, Op. 18

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Rachmaninoff performing Waltz in E flat major, Op. 18, by Chopin. Recorded on 21 January

1921.

Karine Gilanyan performing Étude-Tableau

No. 5 (4:31, 8.48 MB) . Courtesy ofMusopen

Vocalise transcribed for violin and piano

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Performed by Roxana Pavel Goldstein (violin) and Monica

Goldstein (piano)

Problems listening to the files? See media help.

Cultural references[edit]

Rachmaninoff's music is often used in cinema, especially themes from

his second and third piano concertos, and the eighteenth variation of the Rhapsody on a

Theme of Paganini.

The soundtrack of the 1945 film Brief Encounter prominently features the second piano

concerto, as interpreted by Eileen Joyce.

In the 1955 comedy The Seven Year Itch, the protagonist (played by Tom Ewell)

fantasizes about seducing Marilyn Monroe's character by playing the second piano

concerto.[78]

The 1953 film The Story of Three Loves, directed by Vincente Minnelli, features

the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; the same piece is featured extensively in the

1980 drama Somewhere In Time and the 1993 comedy Groundhog Day.

In the 1996 film Shine, based on a true story, the pianist David Helfgott is obsessed with

Rachmaninoff. Helfgott, played by Geoffrey Rush, enters a piano competition, choosing

to play the third piano concerto despite the warnings of a teacher that the piece may be

too demanding; Helfgott completes the piece only to suffer a nervous breakdown.

In the 2006 movie The Devil Wears Prada, the twin daughters of Meryl Streep's

character play Rachmaninoff at a recital that she is forced to miss due to inclement

weather.

The protagonist of the 2011 film Limitless is shown playing an excerpt from the Prelude

in C-sharp minor.

In addition, Rachmaninoff's melodies have often been referenced by composers of

American popular music.

The song "I Think of You" from Frank Sinatra's album "Where Are You?" (1957) is

based on the second theme in E-flat major from the first movement of

Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Frank Sinatra's 1946 single "Full Moon and Empty Arms" is based on another theme

from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.

Eric Carmen 's first two solo singles, "All by Myself" and "Never Gonna Fall in Love

Again", were based on melodies from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No.

2 and Symphony No. 2, respectively. "All by Myself" was later reinterpreted by the

Canadian singer Celine Dion.

The influence of Rachmaninoff's work (specifically his second and third piano concerti)

can be heard in the songs "Space Dementia", "Blackout" and "Butterflies and

Hurricanes" by Muse. Matthew Bellamy of Muse has cited Rachmaninoff as a source of

inspiration,[79] along with two other composer-pianists, Liszt and Chopin.

Other references to Rachmaninoff in popular culture include the following:

In 2010, a newly discovered 290-kilometer-wide impact basin on Mercury was named

Rachmaninoff by NASA.[80]

In the 2010 film Iron Man 2, Sam Rockwell's character, a weapons manufacturer, refers

to his most sophisticated missile as his "Rachmaninoff's Third."