Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov was born in the Novgorod province in April 1873. The future composer received the first piano lessons from his mother. When Sergei was 4 years old, she began to conduct music classes with him. And they did not pass without a trace.
Biography Rachmaninov S.V .: study at the conservatory
When Sergei was 9 years old, his family moved to the northern capital. The boy was immediately sent to study at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He fell into the class of Professor Demyansky. Three years later, Sergei had to transfer to the Moscow Conservatory, as his parents moved to this city. In 1892, he graduated from an educational institution with a gold medal. As a work for the exam, he wrote the opera Aleko, consisting of one act. In the same year, she was successfully staged on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater.
Biography of Rachmaninov S.V .: first appearances
As a talented pianist, Sergei Vasilievich appeared before the public in the winter of 1892. Everyone quickly became convinced of his outstanding abilities. Even then, Rachmaninov’s play was bright, strong, sounded rich and rich, and was distinguished by its sharpness of rhythm. The willful tension of the composer captured, captivated and attracted the attention of listeners and spectators.
Rachmaninov S.V. biography: recognition and first failure
The real fame to the talented symphonist was brought by the fantasy “Cliff”. It was written almost immediately after completing her studies at the conservatory. The press noted the subtlety and richness, harmony and brightness of the work, the poetry of his mood. Of course, the individual charming handwriting of Rachmaninov as a composer was already felt in the first experiments. In 1897, his First Symphony failed. Rachmaninoff invested in it so much spiritual energy and labor, and at the same time remained incomprehensible to most musicians and critics.
This became a deep mental trauma for him. For a while, Rachmaninoff became silent: he critically rethought everything that he had created earlier. But the result of intense internal work was a tremendous creative surge.
Biography of Rachmaninov S.V .: the first years of the 20th century
At this time, the composer composed a number of excellent works in various genres. In 1901, Rachmaninoff appears before the public in a completely new light. The second piano concerto showed him as a creator who possesses all the means of new technology. Another undoubted creative success of Rachmaninov was the Second Suite. By the nature of the music, at some points, it even resonated with a concert. The operas Francesca da Rimini, as well as The Mean Knight, were shown for one evening at the Bolshoi Theater. They caused a lot of disagreement and debate, although they were met with interest. A special place in the work of the composer is given to romances. The piano accompaniment of these pieces is distinguished by a variety of forms and colorfulness.
S.V. Rachmaninov. Short biography: emigration
For the first time, the composer successfully toured America in 1909. But then he had no thought to stay abroad. But when the October Revolution took place in his homeland , Rakhmaninov, unlike many, was sure that the old Russia had come to an end and that he, as an artist, would not be living here. Suddenly he received an invitation from Sweden. He was invited to take part in a concert in Stockholm. Sergei Vasilievich took this opportunity and left his wife and children in 1917. First he goes to Switzerland, from there - to Paris. And since 1935, his family has been living in the United States. Only 10 years after a long break in his work, he completed the Fourth Piano Concert, which he had begun before the First World War, and processed several folk songs for the choir and orchestra. Rachmaninoff was very homesick. He collected Soviet records, read all the press and books coming from the USSR.
Sergey Rachmaninov. Biography: the last years of life
The final concert season of the composer opened in 1942. It began with a solo performance in the fall in Detroit. A month later, a large gathering from a concert held in New York, Rachmaninoff was not the first time given for military needs. Part of the money went to the Red Cross of America, and part through the consul general was transferred to Russia. After a debilitating illness in March 1943, Sergey Vasilievich died in Beverly Hills, surrounded by his closest people.