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
-
Concertos pour piano n° 1 et 4
Serge Rachmaninoff, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy, Léopold Stokowski
Classical - Released by Naxos on 18 Mar 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances / Stravinsky: The Rite of Spring
Classical - Released by Toronto Symphony Orchestra on 29 Jul 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Flight Of The Bumblebee
Classical - Released by Amathus Music on 14 Mar 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff, Addinsell, Saint-Saens
Concertos - Released by JRI Recordings on 2 Dec 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
NKB SP Selection No. 2, S. Rachmaninoff
Classical - Released by NKB Record on 28 Jul 2023
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
Anna Shelest plays Rachmaninov
Classical - Released by Classical Records on 1 Aug 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2 in E-Minor, Op. 27 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings in C-Major, Op. 48
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, William Steinberg
Classical - Released by Soundmark Records on 21 Feb 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sonata No. 2 op. 36 (First Version, 1913), 5 Morceaux de Fantaisie op. 3 & Variations on a Theme of Corelli op. 42
Classical - Released by Arts Productions Ltd. on 5 Sep 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Music for Art: Improvisation No. 30
Pyotr Illitch Tchaïkovski, Dimitri Chostakovitch, Serge Rachmaninoff
Lounge - Released by PMI Collins Classics on 19 Feb 2021
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Emotional Vicissitudes
Classical - Released by Albany Records on 1 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Piano Concertos 3 & 4
Classical - Released by Stave on 12 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Classical Christmas Vol.1
Classical - Released by Altara on 25 Nov 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3: No. 2, Prélude
Valerio Ponziani, Serge Rachmaninoff
Classical - Released by VR Classic on 3 Feb 2023
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
S. Rachmaninov - V. Gryaznov. Italian Polka (Essentials)
Serge Rachmaninoff, Patrizio Meli
Classical - Released by VR Classic on 7 Oct 2022
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Art of Rachmaninov Vol 4
Classical - Released by Classical Records on 7 Feb 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff Plays Schumann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on 23 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Prokofiev: Piano Concerto No.3 - Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3
Concertos - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on 10 Oct 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov, Bizet, Liszt, Boccherini, Chopin & Various Composers: Piano Concerto No. 2 - Symphonic Movements and Short Pieces
Serge Rachmaninoff, Léopold Stokowski, Philadelphia Orchestra
Classical - Released by Infinity on 19 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff and Russian Composers
Classical - Released by VDE-GALLO on 28 Jan 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: 6 Moments Musicaux, Op. 16 - Scriabin: 9 Mazurkas, Op. 25 - Piano Sonata No. 5, Op. 53 - Piano Sonata No. 9, Op. 68 "Black Mass" (Live)
Classical - Released by VDE-GALLO on 11 May 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Suites I & II - For Piano And Orchestra
Classical - Released by Citadel - Mafy on 9 Jun 1994
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo