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Sergei Rachmaninov
Birth:
April 1, 1873
in Semyonovo, Novgorod, Russia
Death: March 28, 1943
in Beverly Hills, California, USA
Russian
Composer,
Pianist
and
Conductor
(1873 – 1943)
Music is enough for a lifetime,
but a lifetime is not enough for music.
“I am a Russian composer,”
-wrote Sergei Rachmaninov,“and my Motherland has left its
work on my character and on my
outlook.
My music is the fruit of my
character therefore it is Russian
music.”
Genius
He is thought to be one of the
greatest pianists of the 20th century.
As a composer he is one of the
greatest musicians who composed in
the Romantic style, although most of
his adult life he lived in the 20th
century.
His music has wonderful tunes that
are easily remembered.
His name is spelt in
different ways in
English
“ Sergey” or “Sergei” ,
and “ Rachmaninoff”,
“ Rachmaninov”,
“ Rakhmaninoff” or
“ Rakhmaninov”.
Birthplace of S. Rachmaninov
Sergei Rachmaninov was born in 1873 in the
country estate Semyonovo just outside of
Novgorod in the north-west region of Russia .
Relatives
His father, Vasily, was descended
from the Tambov province noble family
of the Rachmaninovs. He was an army
officer.
S. Rachmaninov’s mother, Lubov, was
descended from a wealthy family of
the Butakovs, which lived in Novgorod.
There are many places in Novgorod
region linked with the name of Sergei
Rachmaninov and with the name of his
maternal relatives –the Butakovs, who
had 5 estates outside of Novgorod.
His vacations for nearly three years
were spent in Novgorod by his
grandmother, S.A.Butakova.
Child’s memories about Novgorod
“ My cheerest memory of early
childhood was associated with four
musical notes of the big bells of the
Novgorod St. Sophia Cathedral which
were heard on festive days when
grandmother and I went around the
city. The bell –ringers were real
masters. …”
( from the book of Bertenson and
Leida).
Family trait
Sergei was the forth out of six
children. The talent for music was a
family trait of the Rachmaninovs.
His father was a brilliant pianist. He
performed in the charitable concerts
and musical saloons.
His father was not good with money
and ended up loosing many of their
estates.
Relations between his mother and
father were also not excellent and
were speculated to be violent.
The family moved to St. Petersburg
because of financial difficulty.
Music studies
At the age of nine he entered
the Conservatory in St. Petersburg.
Because of his natural gift, Sergei did
not bother to study.
To solve his discipline problem
Rachmaninov moved to Moscow to
live with Nikolai Zverev and study in
the Moscow Conservatory.
Zverev was one of the leading music
teachers in Russia at that time. It was
the strict regime of the Zverev home.
Zverev would make his students
practice for several hours a day as well
as cultural outings such as the
Historical Recitals.
Rachmaninov’s immigration
In 1902 Rachmaninov
married his second cousin
Natalia Satina, it came to some
difficultly under the Eastern
Orthodox Church and its rules
on marrying cousins.
Rachmaninov and his family left
their home for Stockholm in
December of 1917 because of the
Russian Revolution.
Rachmaninov never returned to
Russia and soon moved to New
York in November of 1918.
S. Rachmaninov’s life abroad
Abroad Rachmaninov did not
compose much because of the
demand to perform and the
need to support his family.
He felt that his inspiration was
left at his home in Russia.
The difference being 39
compositions from 1892-1917 in
Russia to only 6 compositions
until he died in America.
He could play extremely difficult music
and had very large hands so that he
could play chords with large stretches.
He was acknowledged as one of the best composers,
players and conductors in the world.
Rachmaninov’s piano music is extremely
difficult to play.
Burial place
Rachmaninov died on March 28th, 1943, in Beverly Hills,
California, just a few days before his 70th birthday.
He was later buried in Kensico Cemetery, New York.
In final hours of his life, he was said to have heard music
off in the distance and after being told that there was no
such thing, he said: “Then it is in my head.”
S. Rachmaninov and Velikiy Novgorod nowadays
Velikiy Novgorod keeps our national
historical memory of the great creator.
The centre of Music Culture, our
municipal music school , College of
Music Art and College of Arts where
children and young people have their
classes are named after Sergei
Rachmaninov.
All of them have museums devoted to
Sergei Rachmaninov and his relatives.
In 2009 the Monument to
S.Rachmaninov was erected in the
centre of Novgorod.
International Children’s Festival in
Velikiy Novgorod
For some years at the birthplace of Sergei
Rachmaninov - in Velikiy Novgorod the International Children’s Festival of
Russian Classical Music named after him is
held once in two and a half years.
This festival has become the considerable
event in the world of music art.
It has found many supporters both in
Russia and abroad, and has revealed
many young talents.
What is important - Rachmaninov’s
festival has really continued national
traditions in music.
Considerable landmark
This festival is a very
considerable landmark in a young
pianist’s life. Young foreign pianists
from Canada, the United States,
Japan, Norway, England,
Germany, France, Ukraine,
Belarus, Russia and other
countries participate in the
Festival.
It is a certain important step to
perfection of creative work, to the
better understanding of the
Russian land’s beauty and
harmony.
S. Rachmaninov’s descendents
Descendents of great Russian composer, pianist and conductor
S. Rachmaninov wished to restore the family estate of Oneg where
the composer spent his childhood.
The descendents, great-grand daughter-Natalie WanamakerXavier with her husband and her son, live in Costa - Rica.
Visiting Novgorod she handed over to public earlier unpublished
photos of Sergei Rachmaninov and the family members’ documents
and letters in the original and in copies.
The great-grand daughter made big donation to the prize fund of
the International S. Rachmaninov competition of young pianists held
in Velikiy Novgorod. She and her husband are honorary jury
members of the competitions to be held in V. Novgorod.
S. Rachmaninov’s mother’s grave
Lubov Rachmaninova,
Sergei’s mother was buried at the
Rozhdestvenskoe Cemetry in Novgorod.
For many years the Novgorodian
musicians keep the burial place of Lubov
Rachmaninova. They themselves placed
there a modest tombstone with the
inscription:
” To the mother who had bestowed
the world a Genius”, where funeral
services are held twice a year.
Music works
A short opera Aleko
Some piano pieces called preludes
(A Prelude in C sharp minor
The Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini)
Symponies
Piano concertos
Choral music
Pieces for choir and orchestra (The Bells)
Religious works (The All-Night Vigil)
( the Vespers)
Cello sonata
Tasks
Why is the International Children’s Festival of Russian
Classical Music named after S. Rachmaninov held in
Velikiy Novgorod?