Art Collage JANG: 103. Classical Music: 18. Sergei Rachmaninoff, ACJ Music Academy

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This week's lecture is “Sergei Rachmaninoff”, the 18th topic of “Classical Music”, which is a summary of the contents of “103. Classical Music: 18. Sergei Rachmaninoff” introduced on September 16th, 2017.

Sergei Rachmaninoff, born on April 1, 1873 and died on March 28, 1943, was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor of the Late Romantic period. In his early works, the influence of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers is seen, but later he built his own style known for song-like melodicism, expressiveness and rich orchestral colours.

Rachmaninoff at age 10

He was born into a noble family in the Russian Empire. His paternal grandfather, Arkady Alexandrovich, was a musician who learned music from the Irish composer John Field. His father, an army officer and amateur pianist, Vasily Arkadyevich Rachmaninoff, married the daughter of a wealthy army general, Lyubov Petrovna Butakova, and the couple had three sons and three daughters, Sergei being their fourth child.

Vasily Arkadyevich Rachmaninoff

Lyubov Petrovna Butakova

Starting piano at the age of 4, Rachmaninoff graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892, and at the time he already had several piano and orchestral pieces he had composed.

The Moscow Conservatory

However, in 1897, when his “Symphony No. 1” received the negative response, Rachmaninoff suffered from depression for four years and composed little until successful treatment made him complete his “Piano Concerto No. 2”, which received enthusiastic responses.

Rachmaninoff in 1897, the year his
Symphony No. 1 premiered

For the next 16 years, Rachmaninoff conducted at the Bolshoi Theatre, moved to Dresden, Germany, and toured the United States for the first time. He often used the piano in his compositions and explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument through his unique techniques as a pianist.

The Bolshoi Theatre in 1905, during Rachmaninoff's time as
conductor

Following the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia and settled in New York City in 1918. His main source of income was piano and conducting performances, but the reduced composition time due to the tight performance schedule made him complete only six works between 1918 and 1943, including the "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini", "Symphony No. 3" and "Symphonic Dances.” By 1942, his health deteriorated and he moved to Beverly Hills, California.

Statue commemorating Rachmaninoff's last
concert, Knoxville, TN

Rachmaninoff's health deteriorated rapidly in the last week of March 1943. He lost consciousness on March 26 and died two days later, four days before his 70th birthday.

His funeral was held at the Holy Virgin Mary Russian Orthodox Church in Silver Lake. Rachmaninoff wished to be buried at Novodevichy Cemetery in Moscow, but was eventually interred at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla, New York.