RACHMANINOV, Sergei
b Oneg, near Novgorod, 1 April 1873
d Beverly Hills, 28 March 1943, aged sixty-nine
He came from an aristocratic family whose fortunes were steadily declining. He studied piano at the Conservatories of St Petersburg and Moscow. Lack of satisfaction with his work, and a bad bout of malaria, started the depression that haunted most of the rest of his life; but by 1892 he was being accepted both as a pianist and a composer. He earned very little and was forced to play as an accompanist and to teach, neither of which suited his taste. In 1897 he was offered a second conductorship in the Moscow opera house, and the experience, followed by an invitation to London to compose, play and conduct, restored his finances and his will to continue writing. A return to Russia in 1900 brought back his depression, but a psychologist recommended that the best treatment was to continue writing; and financial help from a friend and a happy marriage in 1902 helped the treatment. After conducting at the Bolshoi from 1904 to 1906 he moved with his family to Dresden; he then went back to Moscow - where his music was now highly esteemed - en route to America for a concert tour in 1909. He returned to Russia in 1910, conducting the Moscow Philharmonic concerts from 1911 to 1914, but left after the 1917 revolution, because his music was now labelled bourgeois'. He played in Scandinavia and America, and eventually settled by Lake Lucerne in 1931. It was a great happiness to him when, in 1939, Russia accepted that his music was no longer decadent. During 1942 and 1943 he toured America, the proceeds of the concerts going to war relief; but in 1943 he died of cancer, and he is buried in the Kensico cemetery near New York.
1890-1 (17-18)
Piano Concert No 1 in F sharp minor
1890-3 (17-20)
Six Songs
1891 (18)
Scherzo for strings
1892 (19)
Prelude and Danse orientale, for cello and piano
Five Morceaux de Fantaisie, for piano (includes the C sharp minor prelude)
Intermezzo
1893 (20)
Aleko, opera
The Rock, fantasy for orchestra
Trio elegiaque, in D minor
Romance and Danse hongroise, for violin and piano
Suite No 1, Fantasy, for two pianos
Six Songs
1894 (21)
Caprice bohemien, for orchestra
Seven Piano Pieces
Six Piano Duets
1895 (22)
Symphony No 1 in D minor
1896 (23)
Six Moments musicaux, for piano
Twelve Songs
Six Songs for female, or boys' voices
1900-06 (27-33)
Twelve Songs
1901 (28)
Piano Concerto No 2 in C minor
Suite No 2 for two pianos
Cello Sonata in G minor
1902 (29)
The Spring, cantata
1903 (30)
Variations on a theme by Chopin, for piano
Ten Preludes for piano
1906 (33)
Francesca da Rimini, opera
The Miserly Knight, opera
Fifteen Songs
1907 (34)
Symphony No 2 in E minor
The Isle of the Dead, symphonic poem
Piano Sonata No 1 in D minor
1909 (36)
Piano Concerto No 3 in D minor
1910 (37)
The Bells, choral symphony (after Poe)
Thirteen Piano Preludes
Liturgy of St John Chrystostom
1911 (38)
Six Etudes-Tableaux, for piano
1912 (39)
Fourteen Songs
1913 (40)
Piano Sonata No 2 in B flat minor
1915 (42)
Vesper Mass
1916 (43)
Six Songs
Neuf Etudes-Tableaux, for piano (1916-17)
1927 (54)
Piano Concerto No 4 in G minor
1930 (57)
Three Russian Folk Songs for chorus and orchestra (possibly 1927)
1932 (59)
Variations on a Theme by Corelli, for piano
1934 (61)
Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, variations for piano and orchestra
1936 (63)
Symphony No 3 in A minor
1941 (68)
Three Symphonic Dances, for orchestra