I would like to tell you about famous brilliant Russian composer and pianist S.Rachmaninoff. For many in classical music, Sergei Rachmaninoff (April 1, 1873 - March 28, 1943) was one of the last connections, if not the absolute last, between 19th century romanticism and modern times. When in concert as pianist or conductor during the 1920s, 30s, and 40s, his massive presence on stage embodied bygone artistic values and a style of expression missed greatly by the public. Sergei Vassilievich Rachmaninoff was born to aristocratic parents, in Semyonovo, Russia, just outside the administrative city of Novgorod. Rachmaninoffs parents owned several estates, his maternal grandfather Arkady having served as an army general and cadet school director. Both Rachmaninoffs father Vasily and mother Lubov were amateur pianists; it was Lubov who gave Sergei his earliest lessons. Aware of their sons talent, the Rachmaninoffs hired St. Petersburg musician Anna Ornatskaya, from whom Sergei received personal instruction. Rachmaninoff was guided by Ornatskaya for three years, before his parents economic footing collapsed.Humiliated by losing their property, the Rachmaninoffs moved to St. Petersburg, where Sergei was granted a scholarship by the local conservatory. Sergeis parents separated, leaving their three remaining children in Lubovs custody. Not surprisingly, Sergei became an academic disaster by failing all of his general exams in the spring of 1885. Lubov took advice from faculty and moved her twelve-year-old son to the conservatory in Moscow, where he began studies with Nikolai Zverev. It was Zverevs grueling work ethic that helped Rachmaninoff to steady his musical career. Rachmaninoff accepted the Moscow Conservatorys Great Gold Medal, only the third person to receive that honor Rachmaninoff was an active composer until March 1897, when his Symphony No. 1 received its disastrous premiere under Alexander Glazunov. The symphony was trashed by critics. The fiasco plunged Rachmaninoff into a depression that left him unable to compose large-scale works for three years. He worked mainly as a concert pianist, conductor, and teacher before undergoing hypnotic treatment with psychologist Nicolai Dahl. Rachmaninoff steadily recovered and began work on his Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1900, arguably the most beloved concerto in western music. Rachmaninoff enjoyed artistic and financial success over a ten-year period, before his countrymen revolted against the tsarist government and their worsening position in the First World War. In 1902, he married cousin Natalia Satin through arrangement with priests of the Russian army, to whom his grandfather was connected. He served as conductor of the Bolshoi Theater from 1904-6, afterwards devoting time to composition in Italy and Germany. Rachmaninoffs first performance tour of the United States came in 1909, for which he specifically wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3. Other works during this time included the Fifteen Songs (1906) for voice and piano, Symphony No. 2 (1908), and Piano Sonata No. 1 (1908). In December 1917, the Leninist regime seized Ivanovka, Rachmaninoffs estate near Tambov. He moved with his wife and two daughters to Denmark before relocating to New York the following year. Rachmaninoff, however, did not openly criticize Soviet government until a March 1931 letter to the New York Times, after which his music was banned from performance halls and conservatories throughout the USSR. His composing output declined upon arrival in the United States, but Rachmaninoff quickly established himself as one of the twentieth centurys great virtuosi through concerts, recitals, and recordings. He toured continuously until his death and made numerous albums (especially with RCA Victor) as pianist and conductor that are still heard today. classical.net/music/comp.lst/rachmaninoff.php
Posted on: Sun, 18 Jan 2015 21:47:06 +0000
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