Serge Rachmaninoff
Sergey Rachmaninov was the last, great representative of the Russian Romantic tradition as a composer, but was also a widely and highly celebrated pianist of his time. His piano concertos, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and his preludes famously test pianists' skills. His Symphony No. 2, the tone poem Isle of the Dead, and his Cello Sonata are also notable. The passionate melodies and rich harmonies of his music have been called the perfect accompaniment for love scenes, but in a greater sense they explore a range of emotions with intense and compelling expression.
Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov, born in Semyonovo, Russia, on April 1, 1873, came from a music-loving, land-owning family; young Sergey's mother fostered the boy's innate talent by giving him his first piano lessons. After a decline in the family fortunes, the Rachmaninovs moved to St. Petersburg, where Sergey studied with Vladimir Delyansky at the Conservatory. As his star continued to rise, Sergey went to the Moscow Conservatory, where he received a sound musical training: piano lessons from the strict disciplinarian Nikolay Zverev and Alexander Siloti (Rachmaninov's cousin), counterpoint with Taneyev, and harmony with Arensky. During his time at the Conservatory, Rachmaninov boarded with Zverev, whose weekly musical Sundays provided the young musician the valuable opportunity to make important contacts and to hear a wide variety of music.
As Rachmaninov's conservatory studies continued, his burgeoning talent came into full flower; he received the personal encouragement of Tchaikovsky, and, a year after earning a degree in piano, took the Conservatory's gold medal in composition for his opera Aleko (1892). Early setbacks in his compositional career -- particularly, the dismal reception of his Symphony No. 1 (1895) -- led to an extended period of depression and self-doubt, which he overcame with the aid of hypnosis. With the resounding success of his Piano Concerto No. 2 (1900-1901), however, his lasting fame as a composer was assured. The first decade of the 20th century proved a productive and happy one for Rachmaninov, who during that time produced such masterpieces as the Symphony No. 2 (1907), the tone poem Isle of the Dead (1907), and the Piano Concerto No. 3 (1909). On May 12, 1902, the composer married his cousin, Natalya Satina.
By the end of the decade, Rachmaninov had embarked on his first American tour, which cemented his fame and popularity in the United States. He continued to make his home in Russia but left permanently following the Revolution in 1917; he thereafter lived in Switzerland and the United States between extensive European and American tours. While his tours included conducting engagements (he was twice offered, and twice refused, leadership of the Boston Symphony Orchestra), it was his astounding pianistic abilities which won him his greatest glory. Rachmaninov was possessed of a keyboard technique marked by precision, clarity, and a singular legato sense. Indeed, the pianist's hands became the stuff of legend. He had an enormous span -- he could, with his left hand, play the chord C-E flat-G-C-G -- and his playing had a characteristic power, which pianists have described as "cosmic" and "overwhelming." He is, for example, credited with the uncanny ability to discern, and articulate profound, mysterious movements in a musical composition which usually remain undetected by the superficial perception of rhythmic structures.
Fortunately for posterity, Rachmaninov recorded much of his own music, including the four piano concerti and what is perhaps his most beloved work, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934). He became an American citizen a few weeks before his death in Beverly Hills, CA, on March 28, 1943.
© Michael Rodman, Patsy Morita /TiVo
-
Rachmaninoff at the Piano
Klassiek - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on 1 sep. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff - Piano Pieces
Alternative en Indie - Released by Fine Line Records on 1 dec. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Vol. 2
Vladimir Horowitz, Serge Rachmaninoff, Arthur Rubinstein, Fritz Reiner, RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra
Klassiek - Released by ArnebAudio on 19 apr. 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.4 in G minor (Album of 1942)
Serge Rachmaninoff, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
Klassiek - Released by GazzaLadra on 1 apr. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff - The Ampico Piano Recordings
Klassiek - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on 1 jan. 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hélène Grimaud plays Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich
Hélène Grimaud, Serge Rachmaninoff, Dimitri Chostakovitch
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 7 jan. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff Plays Chopin
Klassiek - Released by RCA Gold Seal on 2 aug. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Window in Time: Rachmaninoff Performs Works of Other Composers (Realized by Wayne Stahnke)
Klassiek - Released by Telarc on 1 jan. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff : Piano Concerto No. 2
Concerten voor klavier - Released by RCA Red Seal on 19 jun. 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Sonata No. 2, Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33 & Others
Hélène Grimaud, Serge Rachmaninoff
Klassiek - Released by Denon on 1 jan. 1986
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concertos 3 & 4
Klassiek - Released by Challenge Classics on 1 jan. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Window in Time: Rachmaninoff Performs His Solo Piano Works (Realized by Wayne Stahnke)
Klassiek - Released by Telarc on 1 aug. 1998
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Russian Piano School
Alexander Goldenweiser and Gregory Ginzburg
Klassiek - Released by Russian Compact Disc on 22 jun. 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Etudes-Tableaux, Op. 33 & 39
Klassiek - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on 1 jan. 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: The Last Romantic Hero
Klassiek - Released by Warner Classics on 1 apr. 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Russian Piano Concertos
Concertmuziek - Released by Regis Records on 16 jul. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Masters: Rachmaninoff
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 26 jun. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff - Eugene Ormandy
Klassiek - Released by JamadaDigital on 16 jan. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Academia: Classical Works - Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff etc.
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 27 nov. 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Infinite Rachmaninoff
Klassiek - Released by UME - Global Clearing House on 11 jul. 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ouvres pour chour
Valery Polyansky, The Russian State Symphony Cappella
Vocale muziek (wereldlijk en religieus) - Released by Claves Records on 1 jan. 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo