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
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Rachmaninoff & Schumann: Piano Concertos
Classical - Released by Tuxedo Music on 18 Apr 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Rachmaninov Volume 2: Rachmaninov Plays Rachmaninov
Serge Rachmaninoff, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Superlative Classical Records on 17 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff - Three Preludes
Classical - Released by West Oak Records on 25 Apr 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Music of Rachmaninov: Great Performances by Sergei Rachmaninov
Serge Rachmaninoff, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski and the Philadelphia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Superlative Classical Records on 17 Jan 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Grosse Pianisten - Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff, Leopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
Classical - Released by Dokuments on 16 Feb 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Great Orchestras of America, Vol. 2: Philadelphia
Philadelphia Orchestra, Léopold Stokowski, Virgil Thomson, Serge Rachmaninoff
Classical - Released by Symposium on 1 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rikke Sandberg - Rachmaninoff & Liszt: Piano Concertos No. 2
Classical - Released by CDklassisk on 13 May 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Rachmaninoff: 10 Preludes, Op.23 No.5 in G Minor Alla marcia (2024 Remaster)
Classical - Released by Pastel Records Canada on 10 May 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Till rosorna
Mats Rondin, Staffan Scheja, Mats Bergstrom, Serge Rachmaninoff, Wilhelm Peterson-berger, Gabriel Fauré
Chamber Music - Released by Daphne Records on 24 Jan 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Janos Solyom plays Rachmaninoff
Janos Solyom, Serge Rachmaninoff
Classical - Released by Caprice on 17 Nov 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Etude Tableaux No. 5 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 39 (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 28 Oct 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Fantasy in E Major, Op. 7 "The Cliff" (Digitally Remastered)
Moscow RTV Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 9 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 39 (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 9 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux No. 9 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 33 (Digitally Remastered)
Classical - Released by EMG Classical on 9 Dec 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff Sergei: Concerto N. 1, in Fa Diesis Minore, Op. 1., Recorded 1939 – 1940 .
Classical - Released by World Classical Music Digital on 6 Feb 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff Sergei: Concerto No. 4 in G Minor, Op. 40, Recorded 20Th December, 1941
Classical - Released by World Classical Music Digital on 3 Jun 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Concertos - Released by JRB Records on 13 Dec 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Russian Spectacular (Vol 1)
Symphonic Music - Released by Stradivari Classics on 1 Jan 1989
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op. 43
Al Goranski, Serge Rachmaninoff
Alternative & Indie - Released by Al Goranski on 29 Oct 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff Sergei: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Recorded 24Th December, 1934
Classical - Released by World Classical Music Digital on 3 Jun 1971
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo