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 plays Rachmaninoff: The 4 Piano Concertos, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Serge Rachmaninoff, Léopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy
Classical - Released by Alexandre Bak - Classical Music Reference Recording on Mar 15, 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 1
Philharmonia Orchestra, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Classical - Released by Signum Records on Sep 1, 2017
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: The 4 Piano Concertos; Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Classical - Released by RCA Gold Seal on Aug 2, 1993
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 4 Op. 40 (Original 1926 version) - Scriabin: Prometheus, The Poem of Fire, Op. 60
Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Alain Lefèvre
Classical - Released by Analekta on Mar 20, 2012
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff, York Bowen, Medtner: Works for 2 Pianos
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Mar 23, 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Études-Tableaux, Op. 33 & Op. 39
Classical - Released by Challenge Classics on Jan 1, 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Tchaïkovsky...
Classical - Released by Les Indispensables de Diapason on May 28, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 & 6 Etudes-Tableaux
Classical - Released by Mezhdunarodnaya Kniga Musica on Jan 1, 1988
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.2 in C Minor (Album of 1930)
Serge Rachmaninoff, Philadelphia Orchestra, Léopold Stokowski
Classical - Released by GazzaLadra on Apr 1, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Op.43 - Piano Concerto No.1 in F-Sharp Minor (Recordings of 1934 - 1939/1940)
Serge Rachmaninoff, Philadelphia Orchestra, Léopold Stokowski, Eugene Ormandy
Classical - Released by GazzaLadra on Apr 1, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 3, Op. 30 - Rubinstein: Piano Concerto No. 4, Op. 70
Classical - Released by Onyx Classics on Feb 6, 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trios Elégiaques n°1 et n°2
Jean-Claude Pennetier, Roland Pidoux, Régis Pasquier
Classical - Released by Saphir Productions on Feb 1, 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No.3 in D Minor (Album of 1941)
Serge Rachmaninoff, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy
Classical - Released by GazzaLadra on Apr 1, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Complete Works for Two Pianos
Ingryd Thorson, Julian Thurber
Classical - Released by Paula on Jul 17, 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Masterworks of Worship Volume 3 - Rachmaninov: Vespers
The London Fox Choir & Orchestra
Classical - Released by Classic Fox Records on Jan 1, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Vesper, Op. 37
Classical - Released by CDklassisk on Apr 15, 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 - Addinsell: Warsaw Concerto
Radio Symphony Orchestra Ljubljana, Dubravka Tomsic, George Rider
Classical - Released by Blaricum CD Company (B.C.D.) B.V. on Feb 27, 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff at the Piano
Classical - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on Sep 1, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff - Piano Pieces
Alternative & Indie - Released by Fine Line Records on Dec 1, 2023
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
Classical - Released by GazzaLadra on Apr 1, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Rachmaninoff plays Rachmaninoff - The Ampico Piano Recordings
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo