Sergei Rachmaninov

The name of this great musician is known all over the world, and he can safely be called a "Russian genius". Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff was a magnificent pianist who had no equal, a brilliant conductor and composer who left behind a huge cultural heritage. He created such outstanding works that, with their inspiration, cannot leave anyone indifferent. Fatal fate decreed that the maestro had to leave his homeland, but the love of the motherland, like the love of music, he carried in his heart throughout his life and reflected this in his brilliant work.

Read a brief biography of  Sergei Rachmaninov and many interesting facts about the composer on our page.

Brief biography of Rachmaninoff

Sergei Rachmaninov was born on April 1, 1873 in the Oneg estate in the Novgorod province. From a young age, the boy began to show a special interest in music, so his mother, Lyubov Petrovna, began to teach him to play the instrument from the age of four. When Sergei Vasilyevich was nine years old, the whole family was forced to move to live in the northern capital, as their estate was sold for debts. The father of the future composer left the family, so one mother now took care of the children. It was she who decided to give Sergei exactly a musical education, as she originally wanted.

Soon Rachmaninov was admitted to the junior department at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. But the boy did not work out with his studies, because he preferred to spend time on the street, and not at the piano. Then, on the advice of Alexander Siloti, who was Rakhmaninov's cousin, it was decided to transfer the young musician to the Moscow Conservatory to N.S. Zverev. This teacher has long been famous for his special system of educating gifted students. He chose two or three talented children from the class and took them to his home for full board. There, Nikolai Sergeevich taught his students to discipline, the highest organization and systematic studies, dealing with each of them individually. In 1887, Rachmaninoff began composing and recording his first works. At that time, S.I. became his teacher in counterpoint. Taneev.

Sergei Vasilyevich graduated from the conservatory in two classes - piano (1891) and composition (1892). His graduation work was the opera "Aleko", created by him in just seventeen days. For his essay, he received the highest mark "5+". In 1892, Sergei Vasilyevich first appeared before the public as a pianist, with his famous Prelude in C sharp minor, which became a real gem of his work.

In 1897, the long-awaited premiere of the First Symphony took place, on which Rachmaninov had been working for a long time. After this concert, which was extremely unsuccessful for the composer, he did not compose anything for three years, as the work failed. The public and ruthless critics greeted the symphony negatively, and Rachmaninov himself was extremely disappointed. As a result, he destroyed the score, forbidding it ever to be performed. Leaving the composition for a while, Sergei Vasilievich came to grips with performing activities. In 1900, he returned to his favorite pastime and began to write the Second Piano Concerto. Following him, other popular works of the composer come out. In 1906, Rachmaninoff decided to leave his permanent job at the Mariinsky Women's College, where he taught music theory, in order to take up creativity.

In 1917, the composer and his family went to Sweden with a concert program, and it was assumed that they would return in two months. However, as it turned out, they said goodbye to their native lands forever. Soon the Rachmaninoff family moved to America. They greatly appreciated the talent of Sergei Vasilyevich and considered him a world-class pianist. He had to work hard and hard, preparing concert programs, sometimes because of which his hands hurt a lot.

During this period, Rachmaninoff again takes a long break and does not compose anything for almost eight years. Only in 1926 did the Fourth Piano Concerto appear from his pen.

In 1931, the Rachmaninov family bought a plot on the lake in Switzerland, and soon the Senar villa appeared there. It was here that he created his iconic compositions - the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini and the Third Symphony. The composer wrote symphonic dances in 1940 and this was his last work.

On March 28, 1943, the seriously ill Rachmaninov died in the circle of his family in Beverly Hills.

Interesting facts from the life of Rachmaninov

• Rachmaninov and his teacher N. Zverev had a conflict over composition. Both were very upset by this, and the musicians were able to reconcile only after the final exam. Then Zverev gave Rachmaninov his gold watch, which the composer carefully kept all his life.
• In the final class of the piano department, Sergei Rachmaninov was left without a teacher, since A. Siloti left the conservatory, and his student did not want to change his mentor. As a result, he had to independently prepare the graduation program, with which he performed brilliantly in the exam.
• Since Rachmaninov graduated from two faculties at once with honors, he was awarded the Big Gold Medal.
• When the rehearsals of the first opera " Aleko " were going on, P.I. approached the novice composer. Tchaikovsky and offered to perform Rachmaninov's composition along with his new performance " Iolanta ", if he does not mind. From happiness and delight, Rachmaninoff could not even utter a word.
• From the biography of Rachmaninoff, we know that in 1903 Rachmaninoff married Natalya Satina, who was his cousin. Because of this, the musician even had to forgive the "Highest Resolution" for marriage.

• The composer admitted that the failure of the first symphony upset him not because of negative reviews, but because he himself did not like the composition already at the first rehearsal, but he did not begin to correct anything.
• Despite the fact that Rachmaninoff spent the last decades of his life in the United States, he renounced the citizenship of this state, as he did not want to renounce his homeland.
• Villa "Senar" was named after the first syllables of the names of Sergei Vasilyevich and his wife Natalia Rakhmaninova. This place became special for the composer, he even specially brought Russian birches there, and he created the estate in the national style.

• When the Great Patriotic War began, Rachmaninov was extremely upset by this, and he even transferred one of the fees for his performance (the amount was about 4 thousand dollars) to support the Soviet army. His example was immediately followed by other famous musicians.
• Rachmaninov's extraordinary talent was passed on to him from his grandfather Arkady Alexandrovich, who was not only an excellent pianist, but also composed small piano works.
• From childhood, Sergei Vasilyevich had a fantastic memory. He could easily perform a piece from memory, even if he heard it only once.
• Rachmaninov also performed as a conductor, and all his productions (“ Prince Igor ” by Borodin, “ Mermaid ” by Dargomyzhsky, etc.) became a standard.
• In addition to a good memory, the composer had another unique feature, which was noted by many researchers of his life and work. He could easily cover 12 white keys on the piano at once, which was beyond the power of many famous pianists.
• With the money transferred by Rachmaninov to his homeland during the Great Patriotic War, an aircraft for the army was built.
• The composer really wanted to visit his native country again, there is evidence that he tried to do this shortly before his death, however, he was not allowed.
• Rachmaninoff practiced his favorite instrument every day, until the end of his life.
• Sergei Vasilievich did not really like the attention of reporters, photographers and always preferred to avoid meeting with a crowd of journalists.
• Few music lovers know, but the melody of the famous single "All by myself", which was performed by popular singer Celine Dion , was borrowed from Rachmaninoff's Second Piano Concerto . Songwriter Eric Carmen believed that the legacy of the great composer is a national treasure, but soon he had to settle all issues with the maestro's heirs for a long time. Moreover, he was even forced to indicate the name of Rachmaninoff as the real author of the song.

• Rachmaninoff's biography says that the young composer was very amorous, and he often had strong feelings for girls. So, one of his hobbies was Vera Skalon, whom he met at the age of 17. It was to this girl that he dedicated several of his works: “In the Silence of the Secret Night”, part 2 of the First Piano Concerto. And he called his beloved Rachmaninov Verochka or "My Psychopath". It is interesting that almost at the same time he falls in love with the wife of his friend Anna Lodyzhenskaya and also composes romances for her.
• Few people know, but during his lifetime, Rachmaninov patented a special device for pianists - a heating pad, in which performers could warm their hands before an important performance.

Creativity Rachmaninov

The creative image of Sergei Vasilyevich is unusually multifaceted, because throughout his life he turned to the most diverse musical genres and left real masterpieces in almost every one of them. There is one common feature that unites all his works with an invisible thread - this is love for the Motherland and connection with Russian culture. It is no secret that it was the image of his native land that took center stage in his work. The most surprising thing is that Rachmaninoff did not compose historical works or programs that were connected with historical themes. But this did not prevent him from expressing the depth of patriotic feelings in his music. Another distinguishing feature of Rachmaninoff is lyricism, a large role in his work is given to song, lingering melody.

Unusual habits and sayings of a true musician

• Very often, the composer noted that he was only 85 percent a musician. If they were interested in where the remaining 15 had gone, Rachmaninov answered that he was also a man.
• Sergei Vasilyevich was very upset by the failure of his works, but a successful performance could also cause creative doubts in him. Once, after a successful performance, he was forced to lock himself in the dressing room so as not to see anyone. When the maestro opened the door, he immediately asked that they not tell him anything about the concert, since he was not a musician, but a shoemaker.
• Despite the large fees for his performances, Rachmaninov preferred to dress quite modestly, which was noticed by many journalists of that time. But this did not stop him from keeping the latest models of expensive cars in his garage.
• Rachmaninoff always treated his hands with care, many contemporaries noted that he had very beautiful ones. Even the buttons on his shoes before concerts were always fastened by his wife so that he would not injure his fingers.
• Rachmaninoff was demanding not only to himself, but also to the public. He especially did not like it when people in the hall began to cough and talk during his performance. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that he could miss several variations in the work.

 

 

 

 

 

Films about Rachmaninov

The personality of the famous musician has always attracted the attention of filmmakers, who, based on the biography of Rachmaninov, shot a sufficient number of films that tell about the life of the composer.

The film "Poem of Wings" (1980), directed by Daniil Khrabrovitsky, tells about Soviet aviation, however, the figure of Sergei Rachmaninoff, played by Oleg Yefremov, appears quite often in the film.

In 1992, the Tsentrnauchfilm studio released the film "Portrait of Rachmaninov" in two parts. The director of the film is A. Kosachev.

Film Sergei Rachmaninov. Two Lives ”can be called the first film dedicated to the composer, which covered the entire life of the musician. It is noteworthy that the grandson of the talented performer Alexander Rachmaninov was directly involved in the creation of the picture. The film shows two lives of Sergei Vasilievich - in his homeland and in the USA. This picture is especially interesting because it contains rare materials and information that was obtained from personal conversations with Rachmaninov's relatives and friends. Very accurately tells about his foreign life and creative path.

In 2003, Andrei Konchalovsky made a documentary film "Sergei Rachmaninov", which was included in the cycle "Geniuses". The picture acquaints the public with rare shots from the life of a famous musician. Konchalovsky himself admitted that this is his favorite composer, endowed with a strong, real Russian character.

In 2007, Pavel Lungin's film Lilac Branch was released, which was dedicated to the 135th anniversary of the musician. First of all, this is a feature film, where real facts and fiction of the screenwriter interact very closely. Even at the very end of the tape there is a note that the events are fiction, however, like the main character himself. Nevertheless, this film deserves the attention of all lovers and admirers of Rachmaninov's talent. From the very first minute, the audience is immersed in the world of music, finding themselves at the maestro's concert at Carnegie Hall. The magnificent play of the actors (Evgeny Tsyganov, Victoria Tolstoganova), as well as the famous compositions of Sergei Vasilyevich, will instantly transfer all viewers to that time, forcing them to deeply experience all the moments of their personal life together with the main character of the picture.

In 2012, the Kultura TV channel presented a film about Sergei Vasilyevich from the Scores Don't Burn cycle. Artem Vargaftik in his author's program touched on the old Spanish theme "Folia", on which Rachmaninov composed his famous Variations.

Films with Rachmaninov's music

There is a huge number of films in which you can hear excellent examples of Sergei Rachmaninov's work, and every year their number is constantly replenished. We will give only some list of the most popular films in which the composer's music is found.

1. Dreamland (2016)
2. Zootopia (2016)
3. Bridget Jones' Diary 3 (2016)
4. The Good Wife (2015)
5. Party's Over (2015)
6. Birdman (2014)
7. Paganini: The Devil's Violinist (2013)
8. Ben-Stevenson: The Choreographer and His Muses (2012)
9. Miracle (2012)
10. One Evening (2010)
11. Chorus (2009)
12. Tear (2007)
13. Six Demons by Emily Rose (2005)
14. Shrek 2 (2004)
15. The Bridget Jones Diaries (2001)
16. Petty Rascals (2000)
17. Proscenium (2000), Sabrina (1995)
18. Brief Encounter (1993)
19. My Best Friend's Wedding (1997)
20. Glitter (1996)
21. New York Nights (1984)
22. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Despite emigration, Rachmaninoff always thought about his native land and deeply experienced the outbreak of hostilities. The great musician had a dream that he never parted with for a moment. Rachmaninov really wanted to be on his native land again, however, this was not destined to come true. During the First International Piano Competition. Tchaikovsky, held in 1958, one of the laureates named Van Cliburn took a small handful of Russian soil to America to pour on the grave of S. Rachmaninov, the great "Russian genius".