Sergei Rachmaninoff Essay

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Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Romantic Russian composer who lived from 1873 to 1943. He experienced many tragedies in his life and suffered with melancholia for many years, but as a musician he has written some of the most powerful pieces of the Romantic period and is known as one of the most legendary pianists of all time. Rachmaninoff was also one of the most focused and hard-working composers, and because of his disciplined ways he was able to travel and perform all over Europe and America in his lifetime, becoming very famous, though he was always doubtful of himself and his abilities. But how did he come to recognize his musical talent? What is his music like that it is so famous? Who influenced him and who in turn did he influence? Sergei was born in Oneg, Russia, to an aristocratic family who was falling apart. His father was a gambler and a drinker and spent all of their family’s wealth on his addictions. Their family, which consisted of Sergei’s mother and five other siblings, were forced to move from their mansion to a small apartment in the city of Petersburg. But they moved just at the wrong time, for a sickness was spreading. Sergei’s sister Sophia died from the illness. Guilt heavy on his father’s shoulders, he abandoned his family, never to return. Sergei’s mother, Lubov, did her best to raise her children. She was a pianist, as was her father before her, and so she began to teach Sergei at the young age of four. He showed much talent for the piano, but when he was old enough to join school on a scholarship, Sergei began to show his father’s habits. He took up gambling and wasted his money, and his family members, including his cousin Alexander Siloti, were very concerned. Alexander was also a musician, and, to save ... ... middle of paper ... ...ope and eventually went to America with his wife and two daughters, but instead of composing he focused on being a pianist. He stayed there for the rest of his life, dying at the age of seventy from cancer, but not before becoming an American citizen, which he was able to do just five weeks before he died. Works Cited: 1. Smith, Jane Stuart and Betty Carlson. “The Gift of Music: Great Composures and Their Influence.” Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway Books Publishing. 1987. Print. 2. Pogue, David and Scott Speck. “Classical Music for Dummies.” Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 1997. Print. 3. Rodman, Michael. “Sergey Rachmaninov”. 2014. The All Music website. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/sergey-rachmaninov-mn0000505265/biography 4. “ Biography of Sergei Rachmaninov”. 2014. The Classical Cat website. http://www.classiccat.net/rachmaninov_s/biography.php

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