Composer | Sergei Rachmaninov

Rachmaninov was born in 1873 in Novgorod, the fourth of six children of wealthy parents with military and musical backgrounds, he studied piano and composition at the St. Petersburg and Moscow Conservatoires. Initial success with his opera Aleko was followed by writer’s block after the 1897 failure of his First Symphony, and he turned to conducting until 1901 when his Second Piano Concerto’s success restored his confidence and also brought him conducting engagements at the Bolshoi Theatre, Dresden, and the United States.

In 1902, Rachmaninov married his cousin Natalia Satina and they had two daughters. His career as composer and conductor prospered until unhappy with the way things were going, Rachmaninov left Russia with his family in late1917, touring as a concert pianist and guest conductor before settling in New York. His successful touring career hampered his composing: between 1918 and 1943 Rachmaninov composed only six new works, including the Fourth Piano Concerto, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, the Third Symphony, and Symphonic Dances. As he later admitted, by leaving Russia “I left behind my desire to compose: losing my country, I lost myself also.” Deteriorating health caused a move to California, where he and his wife became naturalized American citizens one month before the composer’s death in March 1943.