“Sometimes the best way to express love is melodies, not words.”
Today I want to introduce you to someone who has been called the last great composer of romance – Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in Russia in 1873. He was the 5th child of the family. His father was a retired soldier and her mother was a housewife. He was lucky to have parents that were interested in music. His father saw Sergei’s talent and tutored him. Soon after the family had financial difficulties and Sergei lost his sister to diphtheria that had a great impact on him and the family decided to send him to get a proper nuic education in Moscow where he met Tchaikovsky. The famous composer had a huge impact on Sergei’s life.
After a while Sergei was tired and – unable to compose easily, he decided to change his life and quit music. He moved in with his relatives to find peace and when he got it he created the first of his compositions. by finding the peace he desired. He got attention with the C-Sharp Minor Prelude then he composed Aleko. After graduation, he worked as a teacher for two years and continues to compose.
“No matter how hard you try in life, some minor setbacks may arise. Who knows, these mishaps may be a gift to you.”
Sergei also wrote the 1st Symphony of D Minor during his teaching years. A drunken conductor jeopardized his song and critics brutally came onto Sergei.
New beginnings…
Sergei was really upset about what happened and started therapy but in a short period of time he was himself again. He wrote his second concerto which was critically acclaimed by many. In 1902, he married Natalia Satina, in a happy marriage he composed 12 Songs. In time, he lost interest in his wife and he had affairs with other women one of which was Nina Koshetz. Nina was believed to be the woman who composed Liberettas.
During Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, Sergei left the country and moved to first in Sweden, then Norway, and lastly in the United States of America with his wife Natalia Satina.
New beginnings in America…
Sergei was already famous in the USA when he moved there. He gave a lot of concerts and released albums consequently. His american audience grew rapidly and he had a daughter who he said was his greatest pleasure. He stopped music for a while and then he wrote his 4th Piano Concerto. In 1930, he created his best known work, the Variation on a Theme of Paganini. After he moved to the USA Sergei’s works were banned in Russia. With the outbreak of the Second World War, all concerts and tours were canceled. Like anybody else, he was very affected by the world war and had trouble in composing then he was diagnosed with cancer. He died on March 28, 1943.
Here are some of his music:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPbPg7JT0bM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBy_ACHvEJs
Enjoy!