Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov: biography of the great composer

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The hero of this article is Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov. The biography of the Russian composer, pianist and conductor is saturated with his love for music and Russia. It is known that after the composer left his native place, he stopped composing music. Sergei Rachmaninov forbade himself to create for nine whole years! His biography says that only in the last years of his life he wrote several compositions. In them, the composer especially vividly conveyed his longing for his native Russia.

Sergei Rachmaninov: biography

A brief history of the life of such a person will not be able to reveal all his greatness, as it will not cover the little things that, as you know, are extremely important. Bright and joyful events are usually superficial, a person gets to know himself and the world much deeper when a black streak comes. The composer Rachmaninov also felt this. A short biography will let you know how he became a man who is still loved and remembered.

Childhood and youth

Sergei Vasilyevich was born on April 1, 1873 in the Novgorod province. His parents were nobles who deeply revered art. From the age of five, the boy systematically studied music, and in 1882 he entered theconservatory in Petersburg. Three years later he left for Moscow and continued his studies there.

Sergei Rachmaninov. Biography. First works

Composing his great creations, known today to the whole world, Rachmaninoff began in his student years. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky also noted his work with positive reviews. The composer wrote his first symphony in 1895. Unfortunately, due to its careless performance at the premiere, the public did not appreciate the work properly. Sergei Vasilievich was deeply worried about this and left composing music for a while.

In the period from 1897 to 1898, Rachmaninov was the conductor of the Moscow private opera of S. I. Mamontov. And in 1899, he performed abroad for the first time, in London.

Sergei Rachmaninov. Biography. Awakening

Creative crisis Sergei Vasilyevich managed to overcome only six years after the first failure. Fifteen years of his work (1901-1916) were the most productive in his career. Rachmaninoff writes his best creations, which were later recognized as masterpieces of world music, develops his own musical style. At the same time, the composer works as a conductor at the Bolshoi Theater, paying attention to major choral works and sacred Russian music.

Composer Sergei Rachmaninov. Biography. Life outside of Russia

The composer left his homeland in 1917, when he went on tour to the Scandinavian countries. In 1918he settled in America. For many years he was an itinerant pianist and gained real world fame. But Rachmaninov stopped composing music, and the reason for this was not at all a lack of time, but a separation from his native places. As the composer himself said, having left Russia, he lost the desire to create. In the last years of his life, he wrote several works for piano and orchestra. Two compositions - Symphony No. 3 and "Symphonic Dances" - especially vividly convey the composer's longing for his native places.

Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff's heart stopped beating on March 28, 1943, he was buried in a cemetery near New York.