Brookmaninoff's Influence On Russia

Throughout the past several hundred years, most notably during the Renaissance, Western Europe has transformed into one of the cultural capitals of the world. Cultural development was encouraged and Western Europe became known for artistic achievements that have withstood the test of time. During the 19th century, however, other countries across the globe wished to cultivate a reputation that would be comparable to the ones of France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, and other likewise nations. Russian leaders, for example, encouraged the exposure of Western music to the nation (Curtis). In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Russia’s greatest composers began to emerge: Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Igor Stravinsky,

An upbringing in Russia and involvement in traditional aspects of Russian life are interwoven into the melodies of Rachmaninoff’s works. Although he was not deeply religious and his individual actions clashed with the doctrines of the Russian Orthodox Church, there are traces of liturgical music in his works that were both implicitly and explicitly added. The unstable and “oftentimes negative relation between the government and church” made liturgical references somewhat controversial in Russia; nonetheless, Sergei Rachmaninoff produced music that evidently was influenced by religion, specifically church bells and traditional Russian Orthodox chants (Curtis). The piece in which religion is most starkly mentioned is The Bells. Despite statements that Rachmaninoff sought inspiration from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe, Rachmaninoff mainly based the piece on the church bells that were prevalent in his surroundings and

The two had a “mutual admiration” for each other’s work (Timofeev) and Tchaikovsky predicted that Rachmaninoff would become a great composer. Given that he critiqued Rachmaninoff’s early compositions, it is clear that his stylistic choices would have some sort of a presence. Tchaikovsky greatly shaped Rachmaninoff’s musical career; even those who had no musical experience would have an impact on the Sergei’s works, as seen in the inspiration behind his second piano concerto. However, Rachmaninoff later developed his own unique style, as seen in his second piano