A new direction in the work of Rachmaninoff. Sergei Rachmaninov: short biography and personal life

Russian composer, pianist, conductor

short biography

Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov(April 1, 1873, Semenovo, Novgorod province - March 28, 1943, Beverly Hills, USA) - Russian composer, pianist, conductor. Synthesized in his work the principles of the St. Petersburg and Moscow composer schools (as well as the traditions of Western European music) and created his own original style.

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov was born into a noble family. For a long time, the estate of his parents Oneg, not far from Novgorod, was considered to be the place of birth, but studies of recent years name the estate of Semyonovo, Starorussky district, Novgorod province.

The composer's father, Vasily Arkadyevich (1841-1916), came from the nobility of the Tambov province. Family tradition traces the origin of the Rakhmaninov family from the “grandson of the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great” Vasily, nicknamed Rakhmanin. Mother, Lyubov Petrovna (née Butakova) is the daughter of the director of the Arakcheevsky Cadet Corps, General P. I. Butakov. The composer's paternal grandfather, Arkady Aleksandrovich, was a musician, he studied piano with John Field and gave concerts in Tambov, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Romances and piano pieces of his compositions have been preserved, including "Farewell Gallop 1869" for piano four hands. Rachmaninov's father was also a musically gifted person, but he played music only amateurishly.

S. V. Rachmaninov's interest in music was discovered in early childhood. The first piano lessons were given to him by his mother, then the music teacher A. D. Ornatskaya was invited. With her support, in the autumn of 1882, Rachmaninov entered the junior department of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the class of V.V. Demyansky. Education at the St. private boarding school of the famous music teacher, professor of the Moscow Conservatory N. S. Zverev. So in the fall of 1885, Rachmaninov moved to Moscow, to a boarding school and at the same time was admitted to the third year of the junior department of the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Professor Zverev. Strict discipline reigned in the Zverev boarding house: the students had to study for six hours a day. Attending opera performances and ensemble music playing, including on several pianos, were obligatory. Rachmaninov spent four years in the Zverev boarding house (where pianists A. I. Siloti, K. N. Igumnov, F. F. Keneman, L. A. Maksimov, M. L. Presman, A. N. Koreshchenko also lived in different years ). Here, at the age of 13, Rachmaninov was introduced to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. However, four years later, a quarrel broke out between Rachmaninov and Zverev, Rachmaninoff left the boarding school, but remained in Moscow, where he was sheltered by his relatives, Satina, whose daughter, also a pianist, he later married.

In 1888, Rachmaninov continued his studies at the senior department of the Moscow Conservatory in the piano class of his cousin A. I. Siloti, and a year later, under the guidance of S. I. Taneyev and A. S. Arensky, he began to study composition.

At the age of 19, Rachmaninoff graduated from the conservatory with a big gold medal as a pianist and as a composer. Already at the conservatory, he gained fame among the Moscow public. While studying at the conservatory, he already wrote the First Piano Concerto, a number of romances and pieces for piano, including the Prelude in C-sharp minor (op. 3 No. 2), which later became one of Rachmaninov's most famous works. Rachmaninov's first opera, Aleko, based on A. S. Pushkin's work The Gypsies, became his graduation work. P. I. Tchaikovsky liked the opera very much, at his insistence the opera was staged at the Bolshoi Theater itself, and he even tried to include it in the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater along with his opera Iolanta, but soon Tchaikovsky suddenly fell ill and died, and his plan was not implemented.

At the age of 20, for the sake of earning money, Rachmaninov became a teacher at the Moscow Mariinsky, and then at the Elizabethan and Catherine's Women's Institutes. Rachmaninov also began to give private lessons, which, however, he did not like very much. At the age of 24, Rachmaninov, at the invitation of Savva Mamontov, became the second conductor of the Moscow Russian Private Opera, where he worked for only one season, but managed to make a significant creative contribution and became famous as a conductor. Rachmaninov and Fyodor Chaliapin also became friends there. Rachmaninoff decided to leave the theater to focus on composition.

Rachmaninov early, while still studying at the Moscow Conservatory, gained fame as a composer, pianist and conductor. He was adored by the Moscow public. However, his successful career was interrupted on March 15, 1897 by the unsuccessful premiere of the First Symphony in St. Petersburg. Composer A. K. Glazunov then set about trying to introduce the capital to the music of a young Moscow talent, but the premiere ended in complete failure, both because of poor performance by the conductor (Glazunov was inexperienced), and - mainly - because of the innovative essence of music, not understood neither by Glazunov himself, nor by the Petersburg public.. The reviews were devastating. Caesar Cui, for example, wrote in his review that "if there was a conservatory in hell, Rachmaninoff would undoubtedly be its first student." Rachmaninov was especially upset by the negative review of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, whom he met at the Moscow Russian Private Opera and whose opinion he greatly appreciated. The failure caused Rachmaninov's deep depression. “I was like a man who had a stroke and who for a long time lost both his head and his hands ...”, - this is how Rachmaninov described his condition. For more than three years in 1897-1901, Rachmaninoff composed almost nothing, spending most of his time lying in his room on the couch, leaving home only for private lessons. Only with the help of the famous hypnotist Dr. N. V. Dahl, he was able to overcome the creative crisis.

In 1901, he completed his Second Piano Concerto, the creation of which marked Rachmaninov's exit from the crisis and, at the same time, the entry into the next, mature period of creativity. Soon he accepted an invitation to take the place of a conductor at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater, where for two seasons he conducted the entire Russian opera repertoire (foreign repertoire was conducted by the chief conductor of the Bolshoi Theater - I. K. Altani). After that, having decided to devote himself entirely to composition again, Rachmaninoff left the Bolshoi Theater and, having made a trip to Italy in 1906, settled in Dresden for three years, where he composed fruitfully. In 1909, Rachmaninoff made a major concert tour of America and Canada, performing as a pianist and conductor. In the same 1909, the Third Piano Concerto was written.

In 1911, Rachmaninov, while in Kyiv, at the request of his friend and colleague A.V. Ossovsky, listened to the young singer Ksenia Derzhinskaya, fully appreciating her talent; then he played a big role in the development of the operatic career of this famous singer.

Before the revolution, Rachmaninoff composed a lot and often performed in Moscow. The concerts organized by A. I. Siloti were very popular, at which Rachmaninov often conducted. He also dealt a lot with the affairs of the Russian Musical Publishing House, the artistic council of which he headed.

On February 21, 1917, the last concert performance of S. V. Rachmaninov in Petrograd took place in the concert hall of the Tenishevsky School.

Shortly after the 1917 revolution in Russia, Rachmaninoff took advantage of an offer that unexpectedly came from Sweden to perform at a concert in Stockholm and at the end of 1917, together with his wife Natalya Alexandrovna (nee Satina; from the Rurik dynasty, who had lost their princely title; she was the composer's paternal cousin) and daughters Irina and Tatyana left Russia, practically without funds, leaving all his property.

Rachmaninoff in life

According to the memoirs of Rachmaninov's friend A.F. Gedike, who knew the composer from the time of his studies at the Moscow Conservatory until his emigration, Rachmaninov was a truthful and modest man, never lied and never boasted of anything. He was also very neat and precise, kept perfect order in his office, was never late, and appreciated these qualities in others. He liked to schedule his work for a long time in advance and suffered greatly if he had to violate plans. Any creative hitch very quickly led Rachmaninov to lose faith in himself, he had an obsessive thought that he would never be able to compose anything worthy in his life, and from this he quickly fell into depression. In general, Rachmaninoff was prone to a pessimistic gloomy mood, and he had it much more often than a cheerful one. Rachmaninoff in his youth was never seriously ill, but he was extremely suspicious and often believed that he was falling ill with some kind of serious illness. If the doctors managed to convince him, he became cheerful and joyful, but only until the next attack of suspiciousness. In moments of good spirits, Rachmaninoff was cheerful and cheerful, but still always restrained and never fussy. He was distinguished by subtle humor and great powers of observation.

Rachmaninov began to compose mainly in the morning, if the work went well, he often sat up until the evening, but did not like to work at night. If the work did not go, Rachmaninov's mood deteriorated sharply, he could postpone or even quit the work. Rachmaninoff played the piano irregularly and very little, mainly because everything was surprisingly easy for him on the instrument. If I played 1 hour a day, then I did exercises for 40 minutes and played works for only 20 minutes. At home, in contrast to concerts, he liked to play quietly, listening to every sound, as if "probing" what he was performing. Many times Rachmaninov's friends were amazed by his incredible musical memory: having heard a great symphonic work only once or twice, he memorized it almost by heart and remembered it for a very long time.

Rachmaninov's guests were rare, he mostly communicated with his wife's numerous relatives, the family lived very friendly. Of his comrades (infrequently) there were: M. A. Slonov, N. S. Morozov, N. G. Struve, A. A. Brandukov, N. K. Medtner, Yu. E. Konyus, A. B. Goldenweiser , A. F. Gedike. Only occasionally did Rachmaninoff go to symphony concerts and even more rarely to the theater. He spent his summers in the Tambov province in the Satin estate - Ivanovka, which he loved very much and then bought from his father-in-law. He worked on the estate a lot, sparing no effort and money, he liked to delve into economic issues and organize the economy, he acquired the latest equipment for agricultural work.

Rachmaninov's organizational talent was even more pronounced when, at the request of his friend, S. A. Koussevitzky, he headed the artistic council of the Russian Music Publishing House, which gradually led to worldwide fame, despite huge competition both in Russia and abroad.

Rachmaninoff was very fond of church singing, often even in winter he got up at seven o'clock in the morning and, having hired a cab, went to church services, most often to the Androniev Monastery on Taganka. Rachmaninoff also loved gypsy singing, sometimes staying up late at night in the Yar or Strelna restaurants. From this, rumors spread around Moscow that Rachmaninov was a reveler, but this was not true. Rachmaninoff's closed lifestyle also gave rise to a rumor that he drank heavily, but according to family and friends, this was also not true.

Rachmaninoff spoke in a thick, low bass, softly and unhurriedly. He loved to drive fast. Being a short-sighted person, he drove a car without glasses, which sometimes terrified passengers.

In the difficult years of the civil war, Rachmaninoff helped his friends and acquaintances a lot. Some of his food parcels simply saved from hunger.

In exile

In mid-January 1918, after leaving Russia, Rachmaninoff traveled via Malmö to Copenhagen. On 15 February he performed for the first time in Copenhagen, where he played his Second Concerto with conductor Georg Höheberg. Realizing that he would not be able to take up composition now, and that he could earn money only as a pianist, he began to train hard on the piano. Until the end of the season, Rachmaninoff performed in eleven symphony and chamber concerts, which gave him the opportunity to pay off his debts.

Having regained his fame in Europe, on November 1, 1918, Rachmaninov and his family sailed from Norway to New York, where he was met with great interest. Having started a stormy concert activity in the USA as a pianist, Rachmaninoff did not stop it until his death, giving dozens of concerts per season. Rachmaninov's popularity as a pianist was enormous. Almost from his arrival until the last days, crowds of reporters followed him, the paparazzi embarked on unimaginable tricks to take pictures of Rachmaninov, although he did not like attention to himself, and the reporters annoyed him a lot, sometimes infuriating him. To hide from excessive attention while touring America, Rachmaninoff at one time even lived in a personal railway car instead of hotels.

Until 1926, Rachmaninoff did not write significant works. The creative crisis thus lasted about 10 years. Many acquaintances attribute this to the deep homesickness he felt. Rachmaninoff, despite fame and various numerous invitations, communicated mainly among Russian emigrants, surrounded himself with Russian friends and Russian servants, objects that reminded him of his homeland. According to the recollections of his relatives, he was cheerful and satisfied only when he was talking with Russians. For all the years in exile, Rachmaninov had almost no foreign friends, one of the few exceptions was Frederick Steinway, the head of Steinway and Sons, a manufacturer of pianos.

Only in 1926-1927 did new works appear: the Fourth Concerto and three Russian songs. During his life abroad (1918-1943) Rachmaninoff created only 6 works, which, however, belong to the heights of Russian and world music.

Living and performing mainly in the United States, from 1930 to 1940 Rachmaninoff spent a lot of time in Switzerland, where he built a luxurious villa "Senar" with a large garden and overlooking the Firwaldstet Lake and Mount Pilatus .. At this time, Rachmaninoff often toured Europe . He gave concerts at the Lucerne Festival. He was soon recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his era and the greatest conductor, although he did not often conduct.

In 1941 he completed his last work, recognized by many as his greatest creation, Symphonic Dances. This work was the most beloved for Rachmaninov himself.

Although Rachmaninoff could not stand Soviet power and yearned for the lost old Russia, the news of the German attack on the USSR made a huge impression on him. During the Great Patriotic War, almost in a panic for the fate of his homeland, he gave several concerts in the United States, all the proceeds from which he sent to the Red Army fund and advised all Russian emigrants to also contribute. He donated the money from one of his concerts to the USSR Defense Fund with the words: “From one of the Russians, all possible assistance to the Russian people in their struggle against the enemy. I want to believe, I believe in complete victory. It is known that a combat aircraft was built for the needs of the army with the composer's money. According to some reports, Rachmaninoff even went to the Soviet embassy, ​​wanted to go home shortly before his death.

Sergei Vasilyevich smoked a lot, almost never let a cigarette out of his mouth. His grandson Alexander Rachmaninoff, founder of the S. V. Rachmaninoff Foundation, who overtook him in his declining years in the United States, associates with this habit. Rachmaninoff himself was unaware of his illness. Rachmaninov gave his last concert just six weeks before his death.

Rachmaninoff died on March 28, 1943 in Beverly Hills, California, USA, three days before his 70th birthday. Buried at Kensico Cemetery. In his will, Sergei Rachmaninov ordered that he be buried in New York next to his wife and daughter. The great-great-granddaughter of the composer Susan-Sofia Volkonskaya-Wanamaker reminded the correspondent of Radio Liberty about this.

creative characteristic

The creative image of Rachmaninoff as a composer is often defined by the words "the most Russian composer." This brief and incomplete description expresses both the objective qualities of Rachmaninov's style and the place of his heritage in the historical perspective of world music. It was Rachmaninov's work that acted as the synthesizing denominator that united and fused the creative principles of the Moscow (P. Tchaikovsky) and St. Petersburg composer schools into a single and integral Russian style. The theme "Russia and its fate", the general one for Russian art of all types and genres, found an exceptionally characteristic and complete embodiment in Rachmaninov's work. In this regard, Rachmaninoff was both a continuer of the tradition of operas by Mussorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky's symphonies, and a link in the unbroken chain of national tradition (this theme was continued in the works of S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich, G. Sviridov, A. Schnittke and etc.). The special role of Rachmaninov in the development of the national tradition is explained by the historical position of Rachmaninov’s work, a contemporary of the Russian revolution: it was the revolution, reflected in Russian art as “catastrophe”, “end of the world”, that has always been the semantic dominant of the theme “Russia and its fate”.

Portrait by K. A. Somov

Rachmaninov's work chronologically refers to that period of Russian art, which is commonly called the "Silver Age". The main creative method of art of this period was symbolism, the features of which were clearly manifested in the work of Rachmaninov. Rachmaninov's works are saturated with complex symbolism, expressed with the help of motifs-symbols, the main of which is the motif of the medieval chorale Dies Irae. This motif in Rachmaninoff symbolizes a premonition of a catastrophe, "the end of the world", "retribution".

Christian motifs are very important in Rachmaninov's work: being a deeply religious person, Rachmaninoff not only made an outstanding contribution to the development of Russian sacred music (Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, 1910, Vespers, 1916), but also embodied Christian ideas and symbols in his other works.

In the technique of musical composition, Rachmaninoff did not react in any way to the “fashionable” innovations of the 20th century. (such as dodecaphony, ultrachromatism, aleatorics, polystylistics, etc.). At the same time, within the framework of the style, which is generally defined as "neo-romantic", Rachmaninoff managed to develop a specific, easily recognizable musical language. Rachmaninov's extended tonality, for example, is characterized by the so-called Rachmaninov subdominant (otherwise "Rachmaninov's harmony") and modalisms (Dorian mode, gypsy scale, etc.), in rhythm - multiols in combination with regular groupings of durations (polyrhythm). His specific piano texture is also recognizable.

The evolution of creative style

Rachmaninov's work is conventionally divided into three or four periods: early (1889-1897), mature(it is sometimes divided into two periods: 1900-1909 and 1910-1917) and late (1918-1941).

Rachmaninov's style, which grew out of late romanticism, subsequently underwent a significant evolution. Like his contemporaries A. Scriabin and I. Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff at least twice (c. 1900 and c. 1926) radically updated the style of his music. The mature and especially late style of Rachmaninov goes far beyond the post-romantic tradition (“overcoming” of which began in the early period) and at the same time does not belong to any of the stylistic currents of the musical avant-garde of the 20th century. Rachmaninov's work, therefore, stands apart in the evolution of world music of the 20th century: having absorbed many achievements of impressionism and the avant-garde, Rachmaninov's style remained uniquely individual and original, unparalleled in world art (excluding imitators and imitators). In modern musicology, a parallel with L. van Beethoven is often used: just like Rachmaninoff, Beethoven went in his work far beyond the boundaries of the style that educated him (in this case, Viennese classicism), without joining the romantics and remaining alien to the romantic worldview .

First early period- began under the sign of late romanticism, assimilated mainly through the style of Tchaikovsky (First Concerto, early pieces). However, already in the Trio in D minor (1893), written in the year of Tchaikovsky’s death and dedicated to his memory, Rachmaninoff gives an example of a bold creative synthesis of the traditions of romanticism (Tchaikovsky), the Kuchkists, the old Russian church tradition and modern everyday and gypsy music. This work is one of the first examples of polystylistics in world music, as if symbolically heralding the continuity of tradition from Tchaikovsky to Rachmaninov and the entry of Russian music into a new stage of development. In the First Symphony, the principles of stylistic synthesis were developed even more boldly, which was one of the reasons for its failure at the premiere.

maturity period marked by the formation of an individual, mature style based on the intonational baggage of Znamenny chant, Russian songwriting and the style of late European romanticism. These features are clearly expressed in the famous Second Concerto and Second Symphony, in the piano preludes op. 23. However, starting with the symphonic poem "Isle of the Dead", Rachmaninov's style becomes more complicated, which is caused, on the one hand, by an appeal to the themes of symbolism and modernity, and on the other hand, by the implementation of the achievements of modern music: impressionism, neoclassicism, new orchestral, textural, harmonic techniques. The central work of this period is the grandiose poem "The Bells" for choir, soloists and orchestra, to the words of Edgar Allan Poe, translated by K. Balmont (1913). Brightly innovative, saturated with unprecedented new choral and orchestral techniques, this work had a huge impact on the choral and symphonic music of the 20th century. The theme of this work is typical for the art of symbolism, for this stage of Russian art and Rachmaninov's work: it symbolically embodied various periods of human life, leading to inevitable death; the apocalyptic symbolism of the Bells, carrying the idea of ​​the End of the World, presumably influenced the "musical" pages of T. Mann's novel Doctor Faustus.

Late - foreign period of creativity- marked by exceptional originality. Rachmaninov's style is made up of a solid fusion of the most diverse, sometimes opposing stylistic elements: the traditions of Russian music - and jazz, the old Russian znamenny chant - and the "restaurant" stage of the 1930s, the virtuoso style of the 19th century - and the harsh toccato of the avant-garde. The very heterogeneity of stylistic premises contains a philosophical meaning - the absurdity, the cruelty of being in the modern world, the loss of spiritual values. The works of this period are distinguished by mysterious symbolism, semantic polyphony, and deep philosophical overtones.

Last piece Rachmaninoff - Symphonic Dances (1941), which vividly embodies all these features, is compared by many with M. Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita, completed at the same time.

The value of Rachmaninov's composer creativity huge: Rachmaninov synthesized various trends in Russian art, various thematic and stylistic trends, and combined them under one denominator - the Russian national style.

Rachmaninoff enriched Russian music with the achievements of the art of the 20th century and was one of those who brought the national tradition to a new stage. Rachmaninoff enriched the intonation fund of Russian and world music with the intonation baggage of ancient Russian znamenny chant.

Rachmaninoff (along with Scriabin) brought Russian piano music of the 20th century to the world level, became one of the first Russian composers whose piano works are included in the repertoire of all pianists in the world.

The value of Rachmaninov's performing arts no less great: Rakhmaninov the pianist became a standard for many generations of pianists from different countries and schools, he approved the world priority of the Russian piano school, the hallmarks of which are: 1) deep content of performance; 2) attention to the intonation richness of music; 3) "singing on the piano" - imitation of vocal sounding and vocal intonation by means of the piano.

Rachmaninov, a pianist, left reference recordings of many works of world music, on which many generations of musicians learn.

A family

On April 29, 1902, in Moscow, in the church of the 6th Tauride Grenadier Regiment (crowned by priest Anatoly Zamaraev), “the hereditary nobleman Sergei Vasilyev Rakhmaninov” was married to “the daughter of the state councilor, the maiden Natalya Alexandrova Satina”, his cousin.

The Rachmaninoffs had two daughters, Tatyana and Irina. Irina had an only daughter, Sophia, who lived in Costa Rica. Daughter Tatyana married lawyer B. Yu. Konyus, her son Alexander took the surname Rachmaninov. Being a lawyer in the field of copyright by profession, he led the S. V. Rachmaninov Foundation. Alexander left two daughters - Marina and Emmanuel.

Memory

Coin of the Bank of the Russian Federation

Postage stamp of Moldova, 1997

Monument to Sergei Rachmaninov in Veliky Novgorod

Monument to Rachmaninoff in Tambov on the street. Rachmaninov.

Rachmaninoff's grave at Kensico Cemetery near New York

Sergei Rachmaninoff International Prize

• Since 1982, the Rachmaninov Society has been operating in the USSR, and then in Russia, thanks to the efforts of which a monument to Rachmaninoff was erected in Moscow on Strastnoy Boulevard (1999), monuments in Tambov and Veliky Novgorod, and an International Piano Competition is held.
• In 1999, on the site of the former Semyonovo estate (12 km south of the village of Pinaevy Gorki, Zaluchskoye rural settlement, Novgorod region), a memorial sign was erected commemorating the birth of Rachmaninov here.

• In 1968, a museum was created, and since 1987 - the Museum-Estate of S.V. Rachmaninov in the village of Ivanovka, Uvarovsky district, Tambov region.
• In 2011, in Kazan, on the initiative of the artistic director and chief conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan, Alexander Sladkovsky, the International Music Festival named after. S. Rachmaninov "White Lilac". The festival is held annually in May.
• The Rostov State Conservatory, the Tambov State Musical and Pedagogical Institute, the Kaliningrad Regional College of Music, the Chisinau Russian Music Lyceum (formerly the E. Koki Secondary Special Music School), the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, a music school in Moscow (a structural subdivision of the MGODSHI (Moscow city ​​united children's art school) "Izmailovo") and the Novgorod Regional College of Arts.
• There are streets named after Rachmaninov in Sochi, Kyiv, Alma-Ata, Tambov, Penza, Veliky Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Morshansk, Krasnodar and in the New York area of ​​the Bronx.
• On June 14, 2009, a monument to Sergei Rachmaninoff by sculptor Rukavishnikov was unveiled in Veliky Novgorod.
• On the facade of the house number 5 on Strastnoy Boulevard in Moscow, where S. Rachmaninov lived and worked, there is a memorial plaque by the sculptor N. I. Niss-Goldman.
• In Moscow, in a mansion on Bolshaya Ordynka, 6/12, it is planned to open a museum of the composer; The Moscow government leased this building to the Rachmaninov Society until 2018.
• In 2013, at the initiative of the Russian pianist, laureate of international competitions, professor of the APS Academy, Violetta Egorova, the International Sergei Rachmaninov Prize was established in Moscow. The official award ceremony is held annually at the Moscow Conservatory.
• On March 18, 2010, the Rachmaninov crater on Mercury was named after Rachmaninoff.
• On October 5, 2017, the grand opening of the monument to Sergei Rachmaninoff took place at the Ivanovka Estate Museum (Tambov Region).

The estate "Senar"

After the death in early November 2012 of Alexander Rachmaninov (1933-2012), the grandson and sole heir of the composer, the relatives planned to put the Senar estate in Switzerland up for auction, followed by a sale in parts of the property and unique items of cultural heritage of S. V. Rachmaninov. In these circumstances, the Russian pianist Denis Matsuev raised the issue with Russian President Vladimir Putin about buying out the estate in favor of Russia for the construction of a memorial to the composer, holding musical master classes, festivals and competitions there. The price of the issue, according to expert estimates, is approximately 630-650 million rubles. President Putin agreed to make efforts to implement this idea.

Rachmaninoff societies

• International Rachmaninoff Society in Darmstadt, Germany
• St. Petersburg Rachmaninoff Society
• Rachmaninoff Society in Moscow
• London International Rachmaninoff Society
• International Rachmaninoff Society, Miami, San Jose

Artworks

Prelude op. 23 No. 5

In brackets - the date of completion of the work.

• op. 1 - Piano Concerto No. 1 (1890)
• op. 2 - Two pieces for cello and piano (1890)
• op. 3 - Fantasy Pieces for piano (1892)
• op. 4 - Romances (1892)
• op. 5 - Suite No. 1 for two pianos (1893)
• op. 6 - Two pieces for violin and piano (1893)
• op. 7 - Symphonic fantasy "Cliff" (1893)
• op. 8 - Romances (1894)
• op. 9 – Elegiac Trio No. 2 for violin, cello and piano (1893)
• op. 10 - Salon Pieces for Piano (1894)
• op. 11 - Six pieces for piano four hands
• op. 12 - Gypsy Capriccio (1895)
• op. 13 - Symphony No. 1 (1895)
• op. 14 - Romances (1897)
• op. 15 - Six choirs for women's or children's voices (1897)
• op. 16 - Musical Moments for piano (1897)
• op. 17 - Suite No. 2 for two pianos (1900)
• op. 18 – Piano Concerto No. 2 (1900)
• op. 19 - Sonata for cello and piano in G minor (1901)
• op. 20 - Cantata "Spring" (1901)
• op. 21 - Romances (1902)
• op. 22 - Variations on a theme by Chopin (1902)
• op. 23 - Preludes for piano (1903)
• op. 24 - Opera "The Miserly Knight" (1903)
• op. 25 - Opera "Francesca da Rimini" (1904)
• op. 26 - Romances (1907)
• op. 27 - Symphony No. 2 (1907)
• op. 28 – Piano Sonata No. 1 (1907)
• op. 29 - Symphonic poem "Isle of the Dead" (1908)
• op. 30 - Piano Concerto No. 3 (1909)
• op. 31 - Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (1911)
• op. 32 - Preludes for piano (1910)
• op. 33 - Etudes-Pictures for piano (1911)
• op. 34 - Romances (1911)
• op. 35 - Poem "The Bells" for choir, soloists and orchestra (1913)
• op. 36 - Piano Sonata No. 2 (1913)
• op. 37 - Vigil (1915)
• op. 38 - Six poems for voice and piano (1916)
• op. 39 - Etudes-paintings (1917)
• op. 40 - Piano Concerto No. 4 (1927)
• op. 41 - Three Russian songs for choir and orchestra (1928)
• op. 42 - Variations on a theme by Corelli for piano (1929)
• op. 43 - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for piano and orchestra (1935)
• op. 44 - Symphony No. 3 (1937)
• op. 45 - Symphonic Dances (1941)

Works without opus.

And I had a native land;
He is wonderful!
A. Pleshcheev (from G. Heine)

Rachmaninov was created from steel and gold;
Steel in his hands, gold in his heart.
I. Hoffman

"I am a Russian composer, and my homeland has left its mark on my character and my views." These words belong to S. Rachmaninov, the great composer, brilliant pianist and conductor. All the most important events of Russian social and artistic life were reflected in his creative life, leaving an indelible mark. The formation and flourishing of Rachmaninov's work falls on the 1890-1900s, a time when the most complex processes took place in Russian culture, the spiritual pulse beat feverishly and nervously. The acutely lyrical feeling of the era inherent in Rachmaninoff was invariably associated with the image of his beloved Motherland, with the infinity of its wide expanses, the power and violent prowess of its elemental forces, the gentle fragility of the blossoming spring nature.

Rachmaninov's talent manifested itself early and brightly, although until the age of twelve he did not show much zeal for systematic music lessons. He began learning to play the piano at the age of 4, in 1882 he was admitted to the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where, left to his own devices, he pretty much messed around, and in 1885 he was transferred to the Moscow Conservatory. Here Rachmaninoff studied piano with N. Zverev, then A. Siloti; in theoretical subjects and composition - with S. Taneyev and A. Arensky. Living in a boarding house with Zverev (1885-89), he went through a harsh, but very reasonable school of labor discipline, which turned him from a desperate lazy and naughty person into an exceptionally collected and strong-willed person. "The best that is in me, I owe him," - so Rachmaninov later said about Zverev. At the conservatory, Rachmaninoff was strongly influenced by the personality of P. Tchaikovsky, who, in turn, followed the development of his favorite Seryozha and, after graduating from the conservatory, helped stage the opera Aleko at the Bolshoi Theater, knowing from his own sad experience how difficult it is for a novice musician to lay your own way.

Rachmaninov graduated from the Conservatory in piano (1891) and composition (1892) with a Grand Gold Medal. By this time, he was already the author of several compositions, including the famous Prelude in C-sharp minor, the romance “In the Silence of the Secret Night”, the First Piano Concerto, the opera “Aleko”, written as a graduation work in just 17 days! The Fantasy Pieces that followed, op. 3 (1892), Elegiac Trio "In Memory of a Great Artist" (1893), Suite for two pianos (1893), Moments of Music op. 16 (1896), romances, symphonic works - "Cliff" (1893), Capriccio on gypsy themes (1894) - confirmed the opinion of Rachmaninov as a strong, deep, original talent. The images and moods characteristic of Rachmaninoff appear in these works in a wide range - from the tragic sorrow of the “Musical Moment” in B minor to the hymn apotheosis of the romance “Spring Waters”, from the harsh spontaneous-volitional pressure of the “Musical Moment” in E minor to the finest watercolor of the romance “Island ".

Life during these years was difficult. Decisive and powerful in performance and creativity, Rachmaninoff was by nature a vulnerable person, often experiencing self-doubt. Interfered with material difficulties, worldly disorder, wandering in strange corners. And although he was supported by people close to him, primarily the Satin family, he felt lonely. The strong shock caused by the failure of his First Symphony, performed in St. Petersburg in March 1897, led to a creative crisis. For several years Rachmaninoff did not compose anything, but his performing activity as a pianist intensified, and he made his debut as a conductor at the Moscow Private Opera (1897). During these years, he met L. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov, artists of the Art Theater, a friendship began with Fedor Chaliapin, which Rachmaninov considered one of "the most powerful, deep and subtle artistic experiences." In 1899, Rachmaninoff performed abroad for the first time (in London), in 1900 he visited Italy, where sketches of the future opera Francesca da Rimini appeared. A joyful event was the staging of the opera Aleko in St. Petersburg on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of A. Pushkin with Chaliapin as Aleko. Thus, an internal turning point was gradually being prepared, and in the early 1900s. there was a return to creativity. The new century began with the Second Piano Concerto, which sounded like a mighty alarm. Contemporaries heard in him the voice of Time with its tension, explosiveness, and a sense of impending changes. Now the genre of the concert is becoming the leading one, it is in it that the main ideas are embodied with the greatest completeness and inclusiveness. A new stage begins in the life of Rachmaninov.

General recognition in Russia and abroad receives his pianistic and conductor's activity. 2 years (1904-06) Rachmaninov worked as a conductor at the Bolshoi Theater, leaving in its history the memory of the wonderful productions of Russian operas. In 1907 he took part in the Russian Historical Concerts organized by S. Diaghilev in Paris, in 1909 he performed for the first time in America, where he played his Third Piano Concerto conducted by G. Mahler. Intensive concert activity in the cities of Russia and abroad was combined with no less intense creativity, and in the music of this decade (in the cantata "Spring" - 1902, in the preludes op. 23, in the finals of the Second Symphony and the Third Concerto) there is a lot of ardent enthusiasm and enthusiasm. And in such compositions as the romances "Lilac", "", in the preludes in D major and G major, "the music of the singing forces of nature" sounded with amazing penetration.

But in the same years, other moods are also felt. Sad thoughts about the motherland and its future fate, philosophical reflections on life and death give rise to tragic images of the First Piano Sonata, inspired by J. W. Goethe's Faust, the symphonic poem "The Island of the Dead" based on the painting by the Swiss artist A. Böcklin (1909), many pages of the Third Concerto, romances op. 26 . Internal changes became especially noticeable after 1910. If in the Third Concerto the tragedy is eventually overcome and the concerto ends with a jubilant apotheosis, then in the works that followed it it continuously deepens, bringing to life aggressive, hostile images, gloomy, depressed moods. The musical language becomes more complex, the wide melodic breath so characteristic of Rachmaninov disappears. These are the vocal-symphonic poem "The Bells" (on the st. E. Poe, translated by K. Balmont - 1913); romances op. 34 (1912) and op. 38 (1916); Etudes-paintings op. 39 (1917). However, it was at this time that Rachmaninoff created works full of high ethical meaning, which became the personification of enduring spiritual beauty, the culmination of Rachmaninoff's melody - "Vocalise" and "All-Night Vigil" for choir a cappella (1915). “Since childhood, I have been fascinated by the magnificent melodies of Oktoikh. I have always felt that a special, special style is needed for their choral processing, and, it seems to me, I found it in the Vespers. I can't help but confess. that the first performance of it by the Moscow Synodal Choir gave me an hour of the happiest pleasure,” Rachmaninov recalled.

On December 24, 1917, Rachmaninov and his family left Russia, as it turned out, forever. For more than a quarter of a century he lived in a foreign land, in the USA, and this period was mostly full of exhausting concert activity, subject to the cruel laws of the music business. Rachmaninov used a significant part of his fees to provide material support to his compatriots abroad and in Russia. So, the entire collection for the performance in April 1922 was transferred to the benefit of the starving in Russia, and in the fall of 1941 Rakhmaninov sent more than four thousand dollars to the Red Army aid fund.

Abroad, Rachmaninoff lived in isolation, limiting his circle of friends to immigrants from Russia. An exception was made only for the family of F. Steinway, the head of the piano firm, with whom Rachmaninov had friendly relations.

The first years of his stay abroad, Rachmaninov did not leave the thought of the loss of creative inspiration. “After leaving Russia, I lost the desire to compose. Having lost my homeland, I lost myself.” Only 8 years after leaving abroad, Rachmaninoff returns to creativity, creates the Fourth Piano Concerto (1926), Three Russian Songs for Choir and Orchestra (1926), "" for piano (1931), "" (1934), Third Symphony (1936 ), "Symphonic dances" (1940). These works are the last, highest rise of Rachmaninoff. A mournful feeling of irreparable loss, a burning longing for Russia gives rise to an art of enormous tragic power, reaching its climax in the Symphonic Dances. And in the brilliant Third Symphony, Rachmaninov embodies the central theme of his work for the last time - the image of the Motherland. The sternly concentrated intense thought of the artist evokes him from the depths of centuries, he arises as an infinitely dear memory. In a complex interweaving of diverse themes, episodes, a broad perspective emerges, a dramatic epic of the fate of the Fatherland is recreated, ending with a victorious life-affirmation. So through all the works of Rachmaninoff he carries the inviolability of his ethical principles, high spirituality, fidelity and inescapable love for the Motherland, the personification of which was his art.

O. Averyanova

Characteristics of creativity

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff, along with Scriabin, is one of the central figures in Russian music of the 1900s. The work of these two composers attracted especially close attention of contemporaries, it was heatedly argued about, sharp printed discussions ensued around their individual works. Despite all the dissimilarity of the individual appearance and figurative structure of the music of Rachmaninov and Scriabin, their names often appeared side by side in these disputes and were compared with each other. There were purely external reasons for such a comparison: both were pupils of the Moscow Conservatory, who graduated almost at the same time and studied with the same teachers, both immediately stood out among their peers by the strength and brightness of their talent, receiving recognition not only as highly talented composers, but also as outstanding pianists.

But there was also a lot of things that separated them and sometimes put them on different flanks of musical life. The bold innovator Scriabin, who opened up new musical worlds, was opposed to Rachmaninoff as a more traditionally thinking artist who based his work on the solid foundations of the national classical heritage. "G. Rachmaninoff, - wrote one of the critics, - is the pillar around which all the champions of the real direction are grouped, all those who cherish the foundations laid by Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky.

However, for all the difference in the positions of Rachmaninov and Scriabin in their contemporary musical reality, they were brought together not only by the general conditions for the upbringing and growth of a creative personality in their youth, but also by some deeper features of commonality. "A rebellious, restless talent" - this is how Rakhmaninov was once characterized in the press. It was this restless impulsiveness, the excitement of the emotional tone, characteristic of the work of both composers, that made it especially dear and close to wide circles of Russian society at the beginning of the 20th century, with their anxious expectations, aspirations and hopes.

"Scriabin and Rachmaninov - two "rulers of musical thoughts" of the modern Russian musical world<...>Now they share hegemony among themselves in the musical world,” admitted L. L. Sabaneev, one of the most zealous apologists for the first and an equally stubborn opponent and detractor of the second. Another critic, more moderate in his judgments, wrote in an article devoted to a comparative description of the three most prominent representatives of the Moscow musical school, Taneyev, Rachmaninov and Scriabin: the tone of modern, feverishly intense life. Both are the best hopes of modern Russia.”

For a long time, the view of Rachmaninoff as one of the closest heirs and successors of Tchaikovsky dominated. The influence of the author of The Queen of Spades undoubtedly played a significant role in the formation and development of his work, which is quite natural for a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, a student of A. S. Arensky and S. I. Taneyev. At the same time, he also perceived some of the features of the "Petersburg" school of composers: Rachmaninov combined the agitated lyricism of Tchaikovsky with the stern epic grandeur of Borodin, Mussorgsky's deep penetration into the system of ancient Russian musical thinking and the poetic perception of Rimsky-Korsakov's native nature. However, everything learned from teachers and predecessors was deeply rethought by the composer, obeying his strong creative will, and acquiring a new, completely independent individual character. The deeply original style of Rachmaninov has great internal integrity and organicity.

If we look for parallels to him in the Russian artistic culture of the turn of the century, then this is, first of all, the Chekhov-Bunin line in literature, the lyrical landscape of Levitan, Nesterov, Ostroukhov in painting. These parallels have been repeatedly noted by various authors and have become almost stereotyped. It is known with what ardent love and respect Rakhmaninov treated the work and personality of Chekhov. Already in the later years of his life, reading the letters of the writer, he regretted that he had not met him more closely in his time. The composer was associated with Bunin for many years by mutual sympathy and common artistic views. They were brought together and related by a passionate love for their native Russian nature, for the signs of a simple life that is already leaving in the immediate vicinity of a person to the world around him, the poetic attitude of the world, colored by deep penetrating lyricism, the thirst for spiritual liberation and deliverance from the fetters that constrain the freedom of the human person.

The source of inspiration for Rachmaninov was a variety of impulses emanating from real life, the beauty of nature, images of literature and painting. "... I find, - he said, - that musical ideas are born in me with greater ease under the influence of certain extra-musical impressions." But at the same time, Rachmaninov strove not so much for the direct reflection of certain phenomena of reality by means of music, for “painting in sounds”, but for the expression of his emotional reaction, feelings and experiences arising under the influence of various externally received impressions. In this sense, we can talk about him as one of the most striking and typical representatives of the poetic realism of the 900s, the main trend of which was successfully formulated by V. G. Korolenko: “We do not just reflect phenomena as they are and do not create an illusion out of whim non-existent world. We create or manifest a new relation of the human spirit to the surrounding world that is born in us.

One of the most characteristic features of Rachmaninov's music, which attracts attention first of all when getting acquainted with it, is the most expressive melody. Among his contemporaries, he stands out for his ability to create widely and long unfolding melodies of great breathing, combining the beauty and plasticity of the drawing with bright and intense expression. Melodism, melodiousness is the main quality of Rachmaninov's style, which largely determines the nature of the composer's harmonic thinking and the texture of his works, saturated, as a rule, with independent voices, either moving to the fore, or disappearing into a dense dense sound fabric.

Rachmaninoff created his own very special type of melody, based on a combination of Tchaikovsky's characteristic techniques - intensive dynamic melodic development with the method of variant transformations, carried out more smoothly and calmly. After a rapid take-off or a long intense ascent to the top, the melody seems to freeze at the achieved level, invariably returning to one long-sung sound, or slowly, with soaring ledges, returns to its original height. The opposite relationship is also possible, when a more or less prolonged stay in one limited high-altitude zone is suddenly broken by the course of the melody for a wide interval, introducing a shade of sharp lyrical expression.

In such an interpenetration of dynamics and statics, L. A. Mazel sees one of the most characteristic features of Rachmaninov's melody. Another researcher gives the ratio of these principles in the work of Rachmaninov a more general meaning, pointing to the alternation of the moments of “braking” and “breakthrough” underlying many of his works. (V. P. Bobrovsky expresses a similar idea, noting that “the miracle of Rachmaninoff’s individuality lies in the unique organic unity of two oppositely directed tendencies and their synthesis inherent only in him” - an active aspiration and a tendency to “long stay on what has been achieved.”). A penchant for contemplative lyricism, prolonged immersion in some one state of mind, as if the composer wanted to stop the fleeting time, he combined with a huge, rushing outward energy, a thirst for active self-affirmation. Hence the strength and sharpness of contrasts in his music. He sought to bring every feeling, every state of mind to the extreme degree of expression.

In the freely unfolding lyrical melodies of Rachmaninov, with their long, uninterrupted breath, one often hears something akin to the “inescapable” breadth of the Russian drawn-out folk song. At the same time, however, the connection between Rachmaninov's creativity and folk songwriting was of a very indirect nature. Only in rare, isolated cases did the composer resort to the use of genuine folk tunes; he did not strive for a direct similarity of his own melodies with folk ones. “In Rachmaninov,” the author of a special work on his melodics rightly notes, “rarely directly appears a connection with certain genres of folk art. Specifically, the genre often seems to dissolve in the general “feeling” of the folk and is not, as it was with his predecessors, the cementing beginning of the entire process of shaping and becoming a musical image. song, as smoothness of movement with a predominance of stepwise moves, diatonicism, an abundance of Phrygian turns, etc. Deeply and organically assimilated by the composer, these features become an integral part of his individual author's style, acquiring a special expressive coloring peculiar only to him.

The other side of this style, as irresistibly impressive as the melodic richness of Rachmaninov's music, is an unusually energetic, imperiously conquering and at the same time flexible, sometimes whimsical rhythm. Both the composer's contemporaries and later researchers wrote a lot about this specifically Rachmaninoff rhythm, which involuntarily attracts the listener's attention. Often it is the rhythm that determines the main tone of the music. A. V. Ossovsky noted in 1904 regarding the last movement of the Second Suite for two pianos that Rachmaninoff in it “was not afraid to deepen the rhythmic interest of the Tarantella form to a restless and darkened soul, not alien to attacks of some kind of demonism at times.”

Rhythm appears in Rachmaninov as a carrier of an effective volitional principle that dynamizes the musical fabric and introduces a lyrical "flood of feelings" into the mainstream of a harmonious architectonically complete whole. B. V. Asafiev, comparing the role of the rhythmic principle in the works of Rachmaninoff and Tchaikovsky, wrote: “However, in the latter, the fundamental nature of his“ restless ”symphony manifested itself with particular force in the dramatic collision of the theme itself. In Rachmaninoff’s music, a very passionate unification in its creative integrity lyrical-contemplative warehouse of feeling with a strong-willed organizational warehouse of the composer-performer "I" turns out to be that "individual sphere" of personal contemplation, which was controlled by rhythm in the sense of a volitional factor ... ". Rachmaninoff's rhythmic pattern is always very clearly outlined, regardless of whether it is whether the rhythm is simple, even, like the heavy, measured beats of a large bell, or complex, intricately flowery.Beloved by the composer, especially in the works of the 1910s, rhythmic ostinato gives the rhythm not only a formative, but in some cases, thematic significance.

In the field of harmony, Rachmaninoff did not go beyond the limits of the classical major-minor system in the form that it acquired in the work of European romantic composers, Tchaikovsky and representatives of the Mighty Handful. His music is always tonally definite and stable, but in using the means of classical-romantic tonal harmony, he was characterized by some characteristic features by which it is not difficult to establish the authorship of one or another composition. Among such special individual features of Rachmaninoff's harmonic language are, for example, the well-known slowness of functional movement, the tendency to stay in one key for a long time, and sometimes the weakening of gravity. Attention is drawn to the abundance of complex multi-tert formations, rows of non- and undecimal chords, often having more colorful, phonic than functional significance. The connection of this kind of complex harmonies is carried out mostly with the help of melodic connection. The dominance of the melodic-song element in Rachmaninov's music determines the high degree of polyphonic saturation of its sound fabric: individual harmonic complexes constantly arise as a result of the free movement of more or less independent "singing" voices.

There is one favorite harmonic turn by Rachmaninoff, which he used so often, especially in the compositions of the early period, that he even received the name "Rachmaninov's harmony". This turnover is based on a reduced introductory seventh harmonic minor chord, usually used in the form of a third quarter chord with the replacement of the II degree III and resolution into a tonic triad in the melodic position of the third.

As one of the remarkable features of Rachmaninov's music, a number of researchers and observers noted its predominant minor coloring. All four of his piano concertos, three symphonies, both piano sonatas, most of the etudes-pictures and many other compositions were written in minor. Even major often acquires a minor coloration due to decreasing alterations, tonal deviations and the widespread use of minor side steps. But few composers have achieved such a variety of nuances and degrees of expressive concentration in the use of the minor key. L. E. Gakkel's remark that in the etudes-paintings op. 39 "given the widest range of minor colors of being, minor shades of life feeling" can be extended to a significant part of all Rachmaninoff's work. Critics like Sabaneev, who harbored a prejudiced hostility towards Rachmaninov, called him "an intelligent whiner," whose music reflects "the tragic helplessness of a man deprived of willpower." Meanwhile, Rachmaninov's dense "dark" minor often sounds courageous, protesting and full of tremendous volitional tension. And if mournful notes are caught by the ear, then this is the “noble sorrow” of the patriot artist, that “muffled groan about the native land”, which was heard by M. Gorky in some of Bunin's works. Like this writer close to him in spirit, Rachmaninov, in the words of Gorky, “thought of Russia as a whole”, regretting her losses and experiencing anxiety for the fate of the future.

The creative image of Rachmaninov in its main features remained integral and stable throughout the composer's half-century journey, without experiencing sharp fractures and changes. Aesthetic and stylistic principles, learned in his youth, he was faithful to the last years of his life. Nevertheless, we can observe a certain evolution in his work, which manifests itself not only in the growth of skill, enrichment of the sound palette, but also partially affects the figurative and expressive structure of music. On this path, three large, although unequal both in duration and in terms of their degree of productivity, periods are clearly outlined. They are delimited from each other by more or less lengthy temporary caesuras, bands of doubt, reflection and hesitation, when not a single completed work came out from the composer's pen. The first period, which falls on the 90s of the 19th century, can be called a time of creative development and maturation of talent, which went to assert its path through overcoming natural influences at an early age. The works of this period are often not yet independent enough, imperfect in form and texture. (Some of them (First Piano Concerto, Elegiac Trio, piano pieces: Melody, Serenade, Humoresque) were later revised by the composer and their texture was enriched and developed.), although in a number of their pages (the best moments of the youthful opera Aleko, the Elegiac Trio in memory of P. I. Tchaikovsky, the famous prelude in C-sharp minor, some of the musical moments and romances), the composer’s individuality has already been revealed with sufficient certainty.

An unexpected pause comes in 1897, after the unsuccessful performance of Rachmaninov's First Symphony - a work in which the composer invested a lot of work and spiritual energy, misunderstood by most musicians and almost unanimously condemned on the pages of the press, even ridiculed by some of the critics. The failure of the symphony caused a deep mental trauma in Rachmaninoff; according to his own, later confession, he "was like a man who had a stroke and who for a long time lost both his head and hands." The next three years were years of almost complete creative silence, but at the same time concentrated reflections, a critical reassessment of everything previously done. The result of this intense internal work of the composer on himself was an unusually intense and bright creative upsurge at the beginning of the new century.

During the first three or four years of the 20th century, Rakhmaninov created a number of works of various genres, remarkable for their deep poetry, freshness and immediacy of inspiration, in which the richness of creative imagination and the originality of the author's "handwriting" are combined with high finished craftsmanship. Among them are the Second Piano Concerto, Second Suite for Two Pianos, Sonata for Cello and Piano, Cantata "Spring", Ten Preludes op. 23, the opera "Francesca da Rimini", some of the best examples of Rachmaninoff's vocal lyrics ("Lilac", "Excerpt from A. Musset"), This series of works established Rachmaninov's position as one of the largest and most interesting Russian composers of our time, bringing him a wide recognition in the circles of the artistic intelligentsia and among the masses of listeners.

A relatively short period of time from 1901 to 1917 was the most fruitful in his work: during these fifteen years, most of the mature, independent in style of Rachmaninov's works were written, which became an integral part of the national musical classics. Almost every year brought new opuses, the appearance of which became a notable event in musical life. With the incessant creative activity of Rachmaninoff, his work did not remain unchanged during this period: at the turn of the first two decades, symptoms of a brewing shift are noticeable in it. Without losing its general “generic” qualities, it becomes more severe in tone, disturbing moods intensify, while the direct outpouring of lyrical feeling seems to slow down, light transparent colors appear less often on the composer’s sound palette, the overall color of the music darkens and thickens. These changes are noticeable in the second series of piano preludes, op. 32, two cycles of etudes-paintings, and especially such monumental large compositions as “The Bells” and “All-Night Vigil”, which put forward deep, fundamental questions of human existence and the life purpose of a person.

The evolution experienced by Rachmaninov did not escape the attention of his contemporaries. One of the critics wrote about "The Bells": "Rakhmaninov seemed to be looking for new moods, a new manner of expressing his thoughts ... You feel here the reborn new style of Rachmaninov, which has nothing in common with the style of Tchaikovsky."

After 1917, a new break in the work of Rachmaninov begins, this time much longer than the previous one. Only after a whole decade did the composer return to composing music, having arranged three Russian folk songs for choir and orchestra and completed the Fourth Piano Concerto, begun on the eve of the First World War. During the 1930s he wrote (except for a few concert transcriptions for piano) only four, however, significant in terms of the idea of ​​major works.

In an environment of complex, often contradictory searches, a sharp, intense struggle of directions, a breakdown of the usual forms of artistic consciousness that characterized the development of musical art in the first half of the 20th century, Rachmaninoff remained faithful to the great classical traditions of Russian music from Glinka to Borodin, Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and their closest, direct students and followers of Taneyev, Glazunov. But he did not limit himself to the role of the guardian of these traditions, but actively, creatively perceived them, asserting their living, inexhaustible power, the ability for further development and enrichment. A sensitive, impressionable artist, Rachmaninov, despite his adherence to the precepts of the classics, did not remain deaf to the calls of modernity. In his attitude to the new stylistic trends of the 20th century, there was a moment not only of confrontation, but also of a certain interaction.

Over the course of a half-century period, Rachmaninov's work has undergone a significant evolution, and the works of not only the 1930s, but also the 1910s differ significantly both in their figurative structure and in language, means of musical expression from the early, not yet completely independent opuses of the end of the previous one. centuries. In some of them, the composer comes into contact with impressionism, symbolism, neoclassicism, although in a deeply peculiar way, he individually perceives the elements of these trends. With all the changes and turns, Rachmaninov's creative image remained internally very integral, retaining those basic, defining features to which his music owes its popularity among the widest circle of listeners: passionate, captivating lyricism, truthfulness and sincerity of expression, poetic vision of the world.

Y. Keldysh

Rachmaninov-conductor

Rachmaninov went down in history not only as a composer and pianist, but also as an outstanding conductor of our time, although this side of his activity was not so long and intense.

Rachmaninov made his debut as a conductor in the autumn of 1897 at the Mamontov Private Opera in Moscow. Before that, he did not have to lead an orchestra and study conducting, but the brilliant talent of the musician helped Rachmaninoff quickly learn the secrets of mastery. Suffice it to recall that he barely managed to complete the first rehearsal: he did not know that the singers needed to indicate the introductions; and a few days later, Rachmaninov had already done his job perfectly, conducting Saint-Saens' opera Samson and Delilah.

“The year of my stay at the Mamontov opera was of great importance to me,” he wrote. “There I acquired a genuine conductor's technique, which later served me tremendously.” During the season of work as the second conductor of the theater, Rachmaninov conducted twenty-five performances of nine operas: "Samson and Delilah", "Mermaid", "Carmen", "Orpheus" by Gluck, "Rogneda" by Serov, "Mignon" by Tom, "Askold's Grave", "The Enemy strength”, “May night”. The press immediately noted the clarity of his conductor's style, naturalness, lack of posturing, an iron sense of rhythm transmitted to the performers, delicate taste and a wonderful sense of orchestral colors. With the acquisition of experience, these features of Rachmaninoff as a musician began to manifest themselves to the fullest, complemented by confidence and authority in working with soloists, choir and orchestra.

In the next few years, Rachmaninoff, occupied with composition and pianistic activity, conducted only occasionally. The heyday of his conducting talent falls on the period 1904-1915. For two seasons he has been working at the Bolshoi Theatre, where his interpretation of Russian operas enjoys particular success. Historical events in the life of the theater are called by critics the anniversary performance of Ivan Susanin, which he conducted in honor of the centenary of the birth of Glinka, and Tchaikovsky's Week, during which Rachmaninov conducted The Queen of Spades, Eugene Onegin, Oprichnik and ballets.

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich (1873-1943), composer, pianist and conductor.

Born on April 1, 1873 in the estate of Semyonov, Novgorod province, in a noble family. In 1882, the Rachmaninovs moved to St. Petersburg. In the same year, Sergei entered the conservatory.

Since the autumn of 1886, he became one of the best students and received a scholarship named after A. G. Rubinstein.

At the final exam in harmony, P. I. Tchaikovsky liked the preludes composed by Rachmaninoff so much that he gave a five, surrounded by four pluses.

The most significant of the early works is the one-act opera Aleko based on the plot of A. S. Pushkin. It was completed in an unprecedentedly short time - just over two weeks. The examination took place on May 7, 1892; the commission gave Rachmaninov the highest mark, he was awarded the Big Gold Medal. The premiere of "Aleko" at the Bolshoi Theater took place on April 27, 1893 and was a huge success.

In the spring of 1899 Rachmaninoff completed the famous Second Piano Concerto; in 1904 the composer was awarded the Glinka Prize for him.

In 1902, the cantata "Spring" was created based on the poem "Green Noise" by N. A. Nekrasov. For it, the composer also received the Glinka Prize in 1906.

A significant event in the history of Russian music was the arrival of Rachmaninoff in the fall of 1904 to the Bolshoi Theater as a conductor and head of the Russian repertoire. In the same year, the composer completed his operas The Miserly Knight and Francesca da Rimini. After two seasons, Rachmaninoff left the theater and settled first in Italy and then in Dresden.

The symphonic poem "Isle of the Dead" was written here. In March 1908, Sergei Vasilyevich became a member of the Moscow Directorate of the Russian Musical Society, and in the fall of 1909, together with A.N. Skryabin and N.K. Medtner, he joined the Council of the Russian Musical Publishing House.
At the same time, he created the choral cycles "Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom" and "Vespers".

In the autumn of 1915, Vocalise appeared, dedicated to the singer A.V. Nezhdanova. In total, Rachmaninov wrote about 80 romances.

In 1917, the situation in the country worsened, and the composer, taking advantage of an invitation to tour in Stockholm, went abroad on December 15. He did not assume that he was leaving Russia forever. After touring Scandinavia, Rachmaninov arrived in New York.

In the summer of 1940, he completed his last major work, Symphonic Dances.
On February 5, 1943, the last concert of the great musician took place.

With Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov, a hereditary Russian nobleman, a brilliant pianist and composer, became a symbol of Russian music all over the world. After the October Revolution, he emigrated to America and lived there for the last third of his life, but Rachmaninov's musical compositions were known throughout the world, not excluding the Soviet Union.

Five plus three

Sergei Rachmaninoff was born in the estate of Semenovo, Novgorod province (according to other sources, in the Oneg estate, Starorussky district, Novgorod province) in April 1873. The Rachmaninov family was very musical. Grandfather studied with the well-known Russian teacher and composer John Field, and several romances and piano pieces of his composition, published in the 18th century, have been preserved. Father - a hereditary Tambov nobleman - was also fond of music, but did not play professionally. The first music teacher of Sergei Rachmaninoff was his mother, Lyubov Rachmaninova, daughter of General Pyotr Butakov, director of the Arakcheevsky Cadet Corps.

When Sergei Rachmaninov was 8 years old, the family moved to St. Petersburg. In the autumn of 1882, the boy entered the junior department of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the class of Vladimir Demyansky. At first, the young musician was burdened by classes and often skipped them. But later he met his cousin, the young but already well-known Moscow pianist Alexander Siloti. Siloti listened to the boy's game and persuaded his parents to send Rachmaninoff to Moscow, as a student to Nikolai Zverev. A well-known teacher kept in his house a private boarding school for gifted students and, under conditions of the strictest discipline, studied with them for six hours a day.

In 1888, Rachmaninov continued his studies at the senior department of the Moscow Conservatory in the Siloti class. He graduated from the conservatory as a pianist and composer, having received the Big Gold Medal for his thesis work - the one-act opera Aleko. Tchaikovsky, who was taking the young composer's examination, gave the opera a grade of "five plus three" and recommended it for production at the Bolshoi Theatre.

From the first symphony to "symphonic dances"

Sergei Rachmaninov with his wife. Photo: clubintimlife.ru

Young Rachmaninov quickly became a favorite of the Moscow public: he was known as a talented pianist, composer and conductor. But in 1897, the musician was overtaken by a real failure: the composer Alexander Glazunov extremely unsuccessfully performed his First Symphony in St. Petersburg. The reviews were devastating. Rachmaninov's innovative composition was not accepted by either the critics or the public. The composer fell into depression and for almost four years did not compose anything and practically did not leave the house.

A new stage in his life and career came in 1901, when the composer completed the Second Piano Concerto. The composition returned to Rachmaninov the status of a famous Russian musician: he wrote a lot, conducted at performances organized by Ziloti, traveled to Europe, America and Canada with concerts. The composer took up the post of conductor at the Bolshoi Theater, where he directed the entire Russian opera repertoire for several seasons, and headed the artistic council of the Russian Music Publishing House.

In 1902, Sergei Rachmaninov married his cousin, the daughter of a state councilor, Natalia Satina. They had two daughters - Tatyana and Irina.

Shortly after the 1917 revolution, the composer was invited to perform at a concert in Stockholm. Rachmaninov left Russia - with his family, with virtually no means of subsistence. The revolution, the death of imperial Russia, the destruction of the foundations became a real tragedy for him. However, Rachmaninoff had to provide for his family and pay off his debts, so he again began to play the piano and give concerts. The pianist conquered the European public, and in 1918 he left for America, where he continued to give concerts. Critics and listeners recognized him as one of the greatest pianists and conductors of the era.

Sergei Rachmaninoff. Photo: classicalarchives.com

Sergei Rachmaninoff. Photo: meloman.ru

Sergei Rachmaninoff. Photo: novostimira.net

Almost all the first 10 years of emigration, Rachmaninoff could not write: “After leaving Russia, I lost the desire to compose. Having lost my homeland, I lost myself ... ". The first composition - the Fourth Concerto and Russian Songs - he created only in 1926-1927.

Rachmaninoff was intolerant of Soviet power, but was not indifferent to his former compatriots. During the Second World War, he transferred fees from concerts to the Red Army Fund and the USSR Defense Fund - a military aircraft was built in Russia with this money. “From one of the Russians, all possible assistance to the Russian people in their struggle against the enemy. I want to believe, I believe in complete victory"- wrote the musician.

In the last years of Rachmaninov's life, he created Symphonic Dances, which music scholars consider one of his best works. All this time he continued to perform - and gave his last concert 6 weeks before his death. The composer died in 1943, he just a few days did not live up to his 70th birthday. Rachmaninoff was buried at Kensico Cemetery in New York next to his wife and daughter.

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov was born in the Novgorod province in April 1873. The future composer received his first piano lessons from his mother. When Seryozha was 4 years old, she began to conduct music lessons with him. And they didn't go unnoticed.

S. V.: studying at the conservatory

When Serezha was 9 years old, his family moved to the northern capital. The boy was immediately sent to study at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He ended up in 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 As work for the exam, he wrote the opera "Aleko", consisting of one act. In the same year it was successfully staged on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre.

Biography of Rachmaninov S.V.: first performances

As a talented pianist, Sergei Vasilievich appeared before the public in the winter of 1892. Everyone was quickly convinced of his outstanding abilities. Even then, Rachmaninov's playing was bright, strong, sounded rich and saturated, and was distinguished by the sharpness of the rhythm. The composer's volitional tension captured, conquered and riveted the attention of listeners and spectators.

Biography of Rachmaninov S.V.: recognition and first failure

The real glory to the talented symphonist was brought by his fantasy "Cliff". It was written almost immediately after completing his studies at the conservatory. The press noted the subtlety and richness, harmony and brightness of the work, the poetic nature of its 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. Rachmaninov put so much spiritual energy and labor into it and at the same time remained misunderstood by most musicians and critics.

This became a deep psychological trauma for him. For some time, Rachmaninoff was silent: he critically rethought everything that he had created earlier. But the result of intense inner work was a colossal creative surge.

Biography of Rachmaninov S.V.: the first years of the 20th century

During 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 the new technique. Another undoubted creative success of Rachmaninoff was the Second Suite. By the nature of the music, in some moments it even echoed the concert. The operas "Francesca da Rimini", as well as "The Miserly Knight" were shown during one evening on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. They caused a lot of controversy and controversy, although they were met with interest. A separate place in the composer's work is given to romances. The piano accompaniment of these works is distinguished by a variety of forms and brilliance.

S. V. Rakhmaninov. Brief biography: emigration

For the first time the composer successfully toured America in 1909. But then he had no idea to stay abroad. But when Rakhmaninov happened in his homeland, unlike many, he was sure that the old Russia had come to an end, and he would not live here as an artist. Unexpectedly, he received an invitation from Sweden. He was offered to take part in a concert in Stockholm. Sergei Vasilyevich took advantage of this opportunity and, together with his wife and children, left Russia 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 later, after a long break in his work, he completed the Fourth Piano Concerto, which he began before the First World War, and processed several folk songs for choir and orchestra. Rachmaninov was very homesick. He collected Soviet records, read all the press and books coming from the USSR.

Sergei Rachmaninoff. Biography: 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, not for the first time, Rachmaninoff donated a large collection from a concert held in New York to military needs. Part of the money went to the American Red Cross, and part was transferred to Russia through the Consul General. After a debilitating illness in March 1943, Sergei Vasilyevich died in Beverly Hills, surrounded by his closest people.