Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1873 – 1943) was born in Semyonovo in northwestern Russia into a wealthy family of Tatar background and a strong military tradition. His parents were both amateur pianists. He was formally trained in St. Petersburg and later Moscow. At one point, he studied under Sergei Taneyev, who also tutored Gliere, the composer of our first selection.

Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 1 (1896) was torn apart by critics. Some have suggested that this was largely due to the conducting of Alexander Glazunov, who disliked the piece and under-rehearsed it. Rachmaninoff’s wife later suggested that Glazunov may have been drunk. This disastrous reception, coupled with his distress over the Eastern Orthodox Church’s objection to him marrying his cousin, Natalia Satina, led to a nervous breakdown.

He wrote little music over following years, until he began a course of autosuggestive therapy with psychologist Nikolai Dahl, an amateur musician himself. Rachmaninoff quickly recovered his confidence. An important result of these sessions was the composition of the Piano Concerto No. 2 (1900–01), which was dedicated to Dr. Dahl. The piece was very well received at its premiere at which Rachmaninoff was the soloist and remains one of his most popular compositions. It has been used in the soundtrack to the films Brief Encounter and The Seven Year Itch, as well as having its themes made into popular songs in the 1940s.

Rachmaninoff’s spirits were further bolstered when, after years of engagement, he was finally allowed to marry Natalia. They were married by an army priest in 1902, and their union lasted until the composer’s death. Rachmaninoff was offered a job as conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1904, although he resigned two years later for political reasons. In 1908, he moved to Italy, and later to Dresden, Germany, while waiting for the political situation in Russia to normalize.

Rachmaninoff made his first tour of the United States as a pianist in 1909, an event for which he composed the Piano Concerto No. 3. This successful tour made him a popular figure in America, and he immigrated to New York following the Russian Revolution of 1917. His compositional output slowed, in part because he was required to spend much of his time performing to support his family, but mainly because of homesickness. He felt that when he left Russia, it was as if he had left behind his inspiration. Nevertheless, his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, today one of his best-known works, was written in the United States in 1934.

He went on to compose his Symphony No. 3 (1935–36) and the Symphonic Dances (1940), his last completed work. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and gave his last recital in February 1943. It featured Chopin’s Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat Minor which contains the famous funeral march. He died on March 28, 1943, in Beverly Hills .

While his reputation as composer only came later in life, Rachmaninoff’s skill as pianist was well known and highly respected. He often performed his own works. He was one of the greatest pianists of his generation, having legendary technical facilities and rhythmic drive, and his large hands were able to cover an interval of a twelfth on the piano. [A twelfth is one and one-half octaves and spans 11 inches on a piano keyboard.]

His compositions include, among others, four piano concertos, three symphonies, two piano sonatas, a choral symphony (The Bells, based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe), a setting of the Vespers and many songs. Most of his pieces are in a late Romantic style akin to Tchaikovsky, although strong influences of Chopin and Liszt are apparent. Further inspiration included the music of Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Medtner and von Henselt.