Rachmaninoff, Sergei (Vassilievich)
Rachmaninoff, Sergei (Vassilievich)
Rachmaninoff, Sergei (Vassilievich) , greatly renowned Russian- born American pianist, conductor, and composer; b. probably in Oneg, April 1, 1873; d. Beverly Hills, March 28, 1943. He was of a musical family; his grandfather was an amateur pianist, a pupil of John Field, and his father also played the piano; Rachmaninoff’s Polka was written on a theme improvised by his father; his mother likewise played piano, and it was from her that he received his initial training at their estate, Oneg, near Novgorod. After financial setbacks, the family estate was sold and he was taken to St. Petersburg, where he studied piano with Vladimir Demiansky and harmony with Alexander Rubets at the Cons. (1882–85); acting on the advice of his cousin, Alexander Siloti, he enrolled as a piano student of Nikolai Zverev at the Moscow Cons. (1885); then entered Siloti’s piano class and commenced the study of counterpoint with Taneyev and harmony with Arensky (1888). He met Tchaikovsky, who appreciated his talent and gave him friendly advice. He graduated as a pianist (1891) and as a composer (1892), winning the gold medal with his opera Aleko, after Pushkin. Then followed his Prelude in C-sharp minor (1892); publ. that same year, it quickly became one of the most celebrated piano pieces in the world. His 1st Sym., given in Moscow (1897), proved a failure, however. Discouraged, Rachmaninoff destroyed the MS, but the orch. parts were preserved; after his death, the score was restored and performed in Moscow (1945). In the meantime, Rachmaninoff launched a career as a piano virtuoso; also took up a career as a conductor, joining the Moscow Private Russian Orch. (1897). He made his London debut in the triple capacity of pianist, conductor, and composer with the Phil. Soc. (1899). Although he attempted to compose after the failure of his lsl Sym., nothing significant came from his pen. Plagued by depression, he underwent treatment by hypnosis with Nikolai Dahl, and then began work on his 2nd Piano Concerto. He played the first complete performance of the score with Siloti conducting in Moscow (Nov. 9, 1901); this concerto became the most celebrated work of its genre written in the 20th century, and its singular charm has never abated since; it is no exaggeration to say that it became a model for piano concertos by a majority of modern Russian composers, and also of semi-popular virtuoso pieces for piano and orch. written in America. On May 12, 1902, Rachmaninoff married his cousin Natalie Satina; they spent some months in Switzerland, then returned to Moscow. After conducting at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater (1904–06), he decided to spend most of his time in Dresden, where he composed his 2nd Sym., one of his most popular works. Having composed another major work, his 3rd Piano Concerto, he took it on his first tour of the U.S. in 1909. His fame was so great that he was offered the conduc-torship of the Boston Sym. Orch., but he declined; the offer was repeated in 1918, but once again he declined. He lived in Russia from 1910 until after the Bolshevik Revolution of Oct. 1917, at which time he left Russia with his family, never to return. From 1918 until 1939 he made annual tours of Europe as a pianist; also of the U.S. (from 1918 until his death), where he spent much of his time; he also owned a villa in Lucerne (1931–39), and it was there that he composed one of his most enduring scores, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934). In 1932 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Phil. Soc. of London. After the outbreak of World War II (1939), he spent his remaining years in the U.S. He became a naturalized American citizen a few weeks before his death, having made his last appearance as a pianist in Knoxville, Term., on Feb. 15, 1943.
Among Russian composers, Rachmaninoff occupies a very important place. The sources of his inspiration lie in the Romantic tradition of 19th-century Russian music; the link with Tchaikovsky’s lyrical art is very strong; melancholy moods prevail and minor keys predominate in his compositions, as in Tchaikovsky’s; but there is an unmistakable stamp of Rachmaninoff’s individuality in the broad, rhapsodic sweep of the melodic line, and particularly in the fully expanded sonorities and fine resonant harmonies of his piano writing; its technical resourcefulness is unexcelled by any composer since Liszt. Despite the fact that Rachmaninoff was an émigré and stood in avowed opposition to the Soviet regime (until the German attack on Russia in 1941 impelled him to modify his stand), his popularity never wavered in Russia; after his death, Russian musicians paid spontaneous tribute to him. Rachmaninoff’s music is much less popular in Germany, France, and Italy; on the other hand, in England and America it constitutes a potent factor on the concert stage.
Works
DRAMATIC: Opera: Esmeralda (1888; introduction to Act 1 and fragment of Act 3 only completed); Aleko, after Pushkin’s Tsigani (The Gypsies; 1892; Moscow, May 9, 1893); The Miserly Knight, op.24, after Pushkin (1903–05; Moscow, Jan. 24, 1906); Francesca da Rimini, op.25, after Dante’s Inferno (1900; 1904–05; Moscow, Jan. 24, 1906); Monna Vanna, after Maeterlinck (1907; piano score of Act 1 and sketches of Act 2 only completed; Act 1 orchestrated by I. Buketoff; concert perf., Saratoga, N.Y., Aug. 11, 1984). ORCH.: Scherzo in D minor (1887); Piano Concerto in C minor (1889; sketches only); 4 numbered piano concertos: No. 1 in F-sharp minor, op.l (1890–91; Moscow, March 17, 1892; rev. 1917), No. 2 in C minor, op.18 (Moscow, Nov. 9, 1901), No. 3 in D minor, op.30 (N.Y., Nov. 28, 1909), and No. 4 in G minor, op.40 (1926; Philadelphia, March 18, 1927; rev. 1927, 1941); Manfred, symphonic poem (1890–91; not extant); Sym. (1897; sketches only); 3 numbered syms.: No. 1 in D minor, op.13 (1895; St. Petersburg, March 27, 1897), No. 2 in E minor, op.27 (1906–08; St. Petersburg, Feb. 8, 1908), and No. 3 in A minor, op.44 (Philadelphia, Nov. 6, 1936; rev. 1938); Prince Rostislav, symphonic poem (1891); The Rock, fantasy (1893; Moscow, March 20, 1896); Capriccio on Gypsy Themes or Capriccio bohémien, op.l2 (1892, 1894); 2 episodes after Byron’s Don Juan (1894; not extant); The Isle of the Dead, symphonic poem, op.29, after Böcklin’s painting (Moscow, May 1, 1909); Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for Piano and Orch., op.43 (Baltimore, Nov. 7, 1934); Symphonic Dances, op.45 (1940; Philadelphia, Jan. 3, 1941). CHAMBER: 2 numbered string quartets (1889, 2 movements only; c. 1896, 2 movements only); Romance in A minor for Violin and Piano (c. 1880–90); Romance in F minor for Cello and Piano (1890); Melodie in D major for Cello and Piano (c. 1890; arranged by M. Altschuler, 1947); String Quintet (n.d.; not extant); Trio élégiaque in G minor for Piano Trio (1892); 2 pieces for Cello and Piano, op.2 (1892): Prélude in F major (revision of a piano piece, 1891) and Danse orientale in A minor; 2 Morceaux de salon for Violin and Piano, op.6 (1893): Romance and Danse hongroise; Trio élégiaque in D minor for Piano Trio, op.9, in memory of Tchaikovsky (1893; rev. 1907, 1917); Cello Sonata in G minor, op.19 (1901). Piano: Song without Words (c. 1887); 3 Nocturnes (1887–88); 4 pieces: Romance, Prélude, Mélodie, and Gavotte (1887); Canon (1890–91); 2 pieces for Piano, 6-Hands: Waltz (1890) and Romance (1891), Prélude (1891; rev. as Prélude for Cello and Piano, 1892), Russian Rhapsody for 2 Pianos (1891), Morceaux de fantaisie (1892; includes the famous Prélude in C-sharp minor), and Romance for Piano, 4-Hands (c. 1894); Fantaisie-tableaux: Suite No. 1 for 2 Pianos, op.5 (1893); Morceaux de salon, op.10 (1893–94); Romance for Piano, 4-Hands (c. 1894); 6 Morceaux for Piano, 4-Hands, op.ll (1894); 6 Moments musicaux, op.16 (1896); Improvisations (1896; in 4 Improvisations in collaboration with Arensky, Glazunov, and Taneyev); Morceaux de fantaisie (1899); Fughetta (1899); Suite No. 2 for 2 Pianos, op.l7 (1900–1901); Variations on a Theme of Chopin, op.22 (1902–03); 10 Préludes, op.23 (1901–03); Polka italienne for Piano, 4-Hands (c. 1906); 2 sonatas: No. 1, op.28 (1907) and No. 2, op.36 (1913; rev. 1931); 13 Préludes, op.32 (1910); Études-tableaux, op.33 (1911); Polka V.R., on a theme by the composer’s father, Vasily Rachmaninoff (1911); Études-tableaux, op.39 (1916–17); Oriental Sketch (1917); Prélude (1917); Fragments in A-flat major (1917); Variations on a Theme of Carelli, op.42 (1931). VOCAL: Deus meus, motet for 6 Voices (1890); O Mother of God Vigilantly Praying for 4 Voices (1893); Chorus of Spirits and Song of the Nightingale from Don Juan (c. 1894); 6 choruses for Women’s or Children’s Voices, op.15 (1895–96); Panteley the Healer (1901); Spring, cantata for Baritone, Chorus, and Orch., op.20 (Moscow, March 24, 1902); Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, op.31 (Moscow, Nov. 25, 1910); The Bells, choral sym. for Soprano, Tenor, Baritone, Chorus, and Orch., op.35, after Poe (St. Petersburg, Dec. 13, 1913); Ail-Night Vigil, op.37 (1915); 3 Russian Songs for Chorus and Orch., op.41 (1926; Philadelphia, March 18, 1927); also 82 songs (1890–1916).
Bibliography
I. Lipayev, S. R. (Saratov, 1913); V. Belaiev, S. R. (Moscow, 1924; Eng. tr. in Musical Quarterly, July 1927); O. von Riesemann, R.’s Recollections (N.Y., 1934); W. Lyle, R.: A Biography (London, 1939); A. Solovtsov, S. R. (Moscow, 1947); J. Culshaw, S. R. (London, 1949); V. Seroff, R. (N.Y., 1950); A. Alexeyev, S. R. (Moscow, 1954); Z. Apetian, ed., S. V. R.: Letters (Moscow, 1955); S. Bertensson and J. Leyda, S. R.: A Lifetime in Music (N.Y., 1956; 2nd ed., 1965); Z. Apetian, ed., Reminiscences of R. (Moscow, 1957; 4th ed., aug., 1974); Y. Keldish, R. and His Time (Moscow, 1973); R. Threlfall, S. R., His Life and Music (London, 1973); P. Piggott, R. Orchestral Music (London, 1974); V. Bryant-seva, S.V. R. (Moscow, 1976); G. Norris, R. (London, 1976; 2nd ed., rev, 1993); Z. Apetian, ed., S. R.: Literary Heritage (Moscow, 1978–80); R. Walker, R.: His Life and Times (Tunbridge Wells, 1980); R. Threlfall and G. Norris, Catalogue of the Compositions of S. R. (London, 1982); R. Palmieri, S. V. R.: A Guide to Research (London and N.Y., 1985); C. Poivre D’ Arvor, R., ou, La Passion au bout des doigts (Monaco, 1986); M. Biesold, S. R., 1873–1943: Zwischen Moskau und New York: Eine Künstlerbiographie (Weinheim, 1991); B. Nikitin, S. R.: Dve zhizni (Moscow, 1993).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire