SERGEI RAJMANINOV: BIOGRAPHY, STYLE AND WORKS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) was a renowned and acclaimed musician, composer and pianist of Russian nationality, who produced complex musical pieces and was noted for his work as a conductor. Today he is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and one of the most influential pianists in the history of music.

Rachmaninov continued with the line of late romanticism, which was usual within the movement of Russian composers. His musical compositions are characterized by having a great lyricism and are notably influenced and nurtured by the sounds of Russian popular music.

Another characteristic of his compositions consists of the introduction of large chord blocks, which makes the interpretation of his pieces difficult. It is said that this happened due to the large size of his hands, which allowed him to use chords that were not usually selected by other composers of his time.

Rachmaninov is remembered for having made the famous composition of Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2, whose unprecedented success led him to earn a position within the European musical movement. This piece had a strong emotional value for the author, since the elaboration of this concert meant the closing of a very dark cycle in his life.

Other of his masterpieces are: Second Symphony, Concerto for piano and orchestra number 3 and 4, The bells, The island of the dead and numerous other pieces composed to be played on piano, such as his preludes and some suites to be played. With the two hands.

According to connoisseurs, Rachmaninov's work is full of symbols that respond to an image or are accompanied by it; in other words, it is about images-symbols that are manifested through motives. For example, one of the symbolic motifs most used by the author is in medieval themes.

This symbolism present in Sergei's compositions was very common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries; these decades are closely related to the precepts of late Romanticism.

Biography

Early years

Sergei Rachmaninov was born on April 1, 1873 in Semyonov, a city located in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.

He was the fourth child in a family of six siblings. His father was Vasili Rachmaninov, who by the time his sons were born was in serious financial trouble.

However, this did not prevent the composer's early years from being happy and productive, since from a young age he was encouraged to orient himself in the musical discipline.

This Russian composer was part of an extensive and remarkable musical tradition within his family: his great-grandfather was an acclaimed violinist, while his great-grandmother was a good singer. For his part, his father had a strong passion for music and his mother taught him the first piano lessons.

After a period of stability, Sergei's father again suffered financial problems, so the family had to leave their home in Oneg to seek better income opportunities. For this reason, the Rachmaninovs moved into a rather small apartment in the iconic city of Saint Petersburg.

During this period, one of Sergei's sisters died of diphtheria, an infectious disease that was brutally attacking the Russian city. Rachmaninov's mother took the tragic event very badly, blaming her husband for her daughter's death. Because of this, Vasili soon decided to abandon his family.

Formal introduction to the world of music

At the age of 7, Rachmaninov continued his piano lessons with teacher Anna Dmitrieva Ornatzkaia, who was impressed with the young man's abilities.

For this reason, he recommended to his mother that she enroll him in the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Sergei also studied piano with his cousin Aleksander Il'yich, who had received classes from the pianist Franz Liszt.

Similarly, Rachmaninov learned from three other Russian composers of great importance at the time: Anton Arensky (1861-1906), who taught him various harmony tricks; Alexander Sergueyevich Taneyev (1850-1918); and Petr Ilych Tchaikovski (1840-1893), who taught him counterpoint and was his great musical mentor.

Due to paternal abandonment, in Rachmaninov's house there was a lot of disorder, so the young composer took the opportunity to escape from classes and wander through the city of Saint Petersburg. As a consequence of his conduct, Sergei was suspended from the conservatory and threatened with expulsion.

Learning with Nikolai Zverev

Faced with this situation, her mother decided to entrust her nephew Alexander Siloti with the care of Serguei.

At that time Siloti was an accomplished pianist well known in the Russian country. He decided to send Rachmaninov to the city of Moscow, where he received classes from Nikolai Zverev, a rigorous teacher who was known for his severity and for inspiring respect among his students.

This remarkable teacher was interested that his students had knowledge in various artistic areas, so he took them to various concerts and the theater. Likewise, Zverev organized social gatherings at his home attended by great musicians and writers of the time. This introduction to the art world nurtured Sergei's creativity and imagination.

The learning stage with Zverev ended when Rachmaninov suggested that he use part of his time to practice composition.

A severe man like his teacher did not understand this young man's fondness, since he considered that dedicating himself to composing would be a waste of his talent. This led to an argument and Rachmaninov had to move again with his aunt and cousin.

Beginning of his career as a pianist and composer

After his apprenticeship with this teacher, Rachmaninov dedicated himself to composing several pieces, encouraged by the freedom he now possessed and by the family support. In 1981 he graduated with the best grades; during this time, he wrote his First Concerto for Piano and Orchestra.

In 1892 he released his work entitled Trio for piano, violin and cello, influenced by his learning with the great Tchaikovski.

At the age of 19 he finished his first opera entitled Aleko. At that time Rachmaninov had won the Gold Medal at the Conservatory and was considered a young musical promise.

When Sergei Rachmaninov premiered his piece entitled Prelude in C sharp minor, his fame became even more forceful within the Russian art and music movement. This work became very popular within piano environments.

Rachmaninov composed a symphonic poem entitled The Rock for Tchaikovsky to direct. This teacher liked this composition very much; however, he was unable to direct it because he died. In honor of his death in 1893, Sergei dedicated his work Trio élégiaque to him, which required the participation of the piano, violin and cello.

Strong depression and mood improvement

In January 1895 Sergei Rachmaninov began to compose his First Symphony, a work he presented that same year. However, the director of his piece, Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov, was drunk during the performance, so in the end Sergei's premiere turned out to be a disaster.

Due to this resounding failure, Rachmaninov fell into a severe depression that lasted until the year 1900, when he decided to treat himself with a famous psychotherapist of the time, who was known to use hypnosis: Dr. Nikolai Dahl.

The treatment of this scientist was a success, leading Sergei to an energetic recovery and inspiring him for his best composition.

Rachmaninov's recovery resulted in his most patient and perhaps most acclaimed work, entitled Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor Op. 18. This remarkable composition was dedicated to Dr. Dahl, who was in charge of playing the viola during the performance of the concert.

In the following years Rachmaninov composed other beautiful pieces such as Symphony No. 2 in E minor Op. 27, in 1906; the symphonic poem of the Island of the Dead Op 31, in 1910, inspired by the romantic painting of Arnold Böcklin; and his famous work Las Campanas in 1913, which was based on a poem by the writer Edgar Alllan Poe.

Emigration

Due to the situation that Russia was facing, in which 500 people had been executed in 1905, Rachmaninov had to flee his native country, embarking for the United States with his family in 1917.

Despite this difficulty, Sergei continued to compose works of excellent quality such as Variations on a Theme by Arcangelo Corelli (1934), Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini op. 43 (1934) and Symphony No. 3 in A minor (1936).

Personal life and death

In 1902, after his mental recovery and after the presentation of concert No. 2, Rachmaninov announced that he would marry his cousin Natalia Aleksándrovna Sátina.

Their marriage had to be celebrated in a military chapel, since the Russian Orthodox Church prohibited marriages between relatives.

Sergey Rachmaninov died on March 28, 1943 in the city of Beverly Hills when he was 69 years old, the victim of cancer that could not be diagnosed in time.

Style

One of the characteristic features of Sergei Rachmaninov is the strong influence of popular music; in fact, the composer himself established that his music was the product of his temperament, which is why it was Russian music.

However, he claimed that he never consciously decided to write Russian music, nor of any other kind; he was only carried away by his taste and compositional character.

Likewise, Rachmaninov's music remains linked to the subjectivism of the notions of the romantic movement.

This can be clearly seen in the way in which the composer is influenced by a book, poem or painting to carry out his musical compositions.

Influence of other great composers

Another of the elements present in Rachmaninov's compositions is found in the reminiscences of the nationalist coloring, without detaching himself from the late romanticism of the 20th century.

In the same way, some compositional aspects learned from his great teachers such as Franz Liszt and Tchaikovsky can be perceived.

The influence of Franz Liszt on Sergei Rachmaninov's music can be seen, for example, in the fact that Sergei returned to the school of speed, while adopting a taste for the virtuoso style.

The elaboration of his piano concertos also has a bright and emotional nuance, typical of this Hungarian composer and other musicians such as Rubinstein.

Plays

As can be seen, the composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninov has a wide repertoire of musical works, which are still practiced today by the most studious performers. Two of his most performed pieces are his famous Piano Concerto No. 2 and his Prelude in C-sharp minor.

Piano Concerto n ° 2

This concerto is an elaborate piece of music for piano and orchestra and consists of three movements: the first is a moderato, the second is an adagio sostenuto and the third is an Allegro scherzando.

As for the moderato, this movement begins with some chords on the piano, which simulate the sound of the touches of a bell in order to generate tension and expectation in the listener. During this part the orchestra plays a Russian melody, while the piano is accompanied by repetitive arpeggios.

The adagio sostenuto uses a range of slow chords in C minor, the piano being a simple arpeggiated figure. The central theme is introduced by the flute, who gives the entrance to the other soloists.

In the allegro scherzando the theme of the first movement is taken up and a powerful orchestration in crescendo is manifested that leads to the end of the work.

Prelude in C sharp minor

This is one of the best known works of this composer. It was released in 1892 and was performed by the creator himself during the Moscow Electrical Exhibition festival.

This prelude is made up of 62 bars, written in ternary form and in C sharp minor. This orchestral piece is part of the musical ensemble Morceaux de Fantaisie.

References

1. Peña, J. (2015) Analysis and contextualization of the piano sonata no 2, op. 36 by the composer Sergei Rachmaninov. Retrieved on November 29, 2018 from Bdigital Institutional repository: bdigital.unal.edu.co
2. Recio, L. (2016) Keys to enjoy Sergei Rajmaninov's Symphony No. 2. Retrieved on November 29, 2018 from Dialnet: dialnet.unirioja.es
3. Verjat, M. (1981) The golden age of the concert, Sergei Rachmaninov. Retrieved on November 29, 2018 from Dialnet: dialnet.unirioja.es
4. Sayfúllina, M. (2012) Symbolism in Russian culture: S. Rachmaninov, A. Skriabin and I. Stravinski. Retrieved on November 29, 2018 from Catalan Magazines: raco.cat
5. Gurkova, M. (sf) Nostalgia as a key to reading: the interpreter before the sonata or p. 36 by Sergei Rachmaninov. Retrieved on November 29, 2018 from Academia Amazonas: s3.amazonaws.com