Rachmaninov: 15 facts about the great composer

A brilliant pianist, conductor and composer, Rachmaninov wrote a piano concerto that has become
the nation's favourite piece of classical music.

1. A young, musical genius

Sergei Rachmaninov was born on 1 April 1873 in Semyonovo, north-west Russia. As a young man he
consistently amazed his teachers with his jaw-dropping ability as a pianist and composer. He
created a storm with his First Piano Concerto when he was just 18.
2. A drunken premire?

The premie re of Rachmaninovs first symphony in March 1897 was a total disaster. It took place
under the baton of Glazunov, pictured, who was at best incompetent and, according to some, drunk.
The critics tore the work apart and it was never again performed during Rachmaninovs life. He fell
into a depression and needed hypnosis to conquer the problem.
3. The nation's favourite classical work

Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 of 1901 is often described as the greatest ever written. Its
subsequent use in the film Brief Encounter has made it a constant favourite. When Classic FM
combined together the chart positions of the first 15 years of its annual Hall of Fame chart, the work
came out on top overall as the nations favourite classical work.
4. Rachmaninov and daughter

It was after completing his first major choral work, Vesna (Spring) in 1902, that Rachmaninov made
the surprise announcement that he was marrying his cousin, Natalya. This caused something of a
stir as, in Russia, first cousins werent permitted to marry. But marry they did and in May 1903 their
daughter Irina - pictured - was born.
5. Rachmaninov drawing

Rachmaninov was not just a composer, but in his day he was a fine conductor and magnificent
pianist. He was appointed Principal Conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre in 1904 and was offered
several major posts in the U.S. - most notably with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
6. A resounding success

Rachmaninov composed his Symphony No.2 in Dresden, where he and his family lived for the best
part of four years from 1906. Writing the symphony was a daunting affair for the composer.
However it was a resounding success and has remained one of the most popular of all of his works.
7. Enormous hands

The composer had possibly the largest hands in classical music, which is why some of his pieces are
fiendishly difficult for less well-endowed performers. He could span 12 piano keys from the tip of
his little finger to the tip of his thumb.

8. A shining hit

Rachmaninov's very large hands came in useful when performing his third piano concerto. Its
grander, fuller and more expansive in tone and style than the second with the soloist stretched to
the very limits of his ability. The work is used powerfully on the soundtrack of the film Shine and
the success of the film ensured a new audience for this muscular, Romantic work.
9. A man of faith

Rachmaninov had a very deep and personal religious faith which he expressed beautifully in 1915
through his unaccompanied set of choral vespers. They are separated into two parts the evening
Vespers and the morning Matins, both full of exquisitely rich harmonies.
10. Driven out by the Russian Revolution

The 1917 Russian Revolution meant the end of Russia as the composer had known it. In December
1917, he left Petrograd for Helsinki on an open sled with his wife and daughters. Now in his 40s,
Rachmaninov launched a third more lucrative strand of his career as a concert pianist.

1.
11. America - the future

Rachmaninov saw America as the future and from his arrival there in 1918 he found himself in great
demand, so much so that composing became limited to the summer months. Things reached fever
pitch in the 1922-23 concert season when Rachmaninov gave more than 70 performances between
November and the end of March. He made enough money to build a house in Los Angeles that was
an exact replica of his original Moscow home.
12. Lost in music

Rachmaninov was once giving a recital in New York with violinist Fritz Kreisler - pictured. Kreisler
got into a muddle about where they were in the music. Panic stricken, he whispered to
Rachmaninov. Where are we. The reply came back : Carnegie Hall.
13. The six-foot scowl

Despite his success, Rachmaninov seldom smiled in photographs. Tall and severe, he was once
dubbed a six-foot scowl. He did however have a passion for fast cars - and later speedboats. He was
the first in his neighbourhood to have an automobile.
14. Final recital

By the time of his final tour in 1943 Rachmaninov was already seriously ill with lung cancer brought
on by a lifetime of heavy smoking. It seems almost prophetic that his final recital on 17 February
1943 included Chopins famous funeral march. He died a month later in Beverly Hills, four days
before his 70th birthday.
15. A lasting legacy

Only a decade after Rachmaninovs death, the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians predicted
that the enormous popular success some few of Rachmaninovs works had in his lifetime is not
likely to last, and musicians never regarded them with much favour. They could not have been more
wrong.