Harmonious

This year marks 150 years since Sergei Rachmaninov was born. He was born as Sergei Vasiljevitsj Rachmaninov on April 1, 1873, on the estate of Oleg, in the district of Novgorod (near present-day St. Petersburg). His family came from an aristocratic background.

Music was important within Rachmaninov’s family; his father played the piano and his grandfather had even received piano lessons from the Irish composer John Field. It was no great surprise that young Sergei also possessed musical talent. He went to the conservatory of St. Petersburg at the age of twelve. Due to his parents’ divorce, he performed poorly and lost his scholarship. He tried again at the Moscow Conservatory, where he succeeded.

Unlike his contemporaries Richard Strauss and Arnold Schönberg, Rachmaninoff remained faithful to the nineteenth-century tonal idiom throughout his life. As a result, his music is often considered old-fashioned. However, much of his work is popular. His second piano concerto from 1901 can be considered his most famous work. It became particularly well-known due to its use in the film Brief Encounter, directed by David Lean in 1945.

Piano Concerto No. 2 Kristian Zimmerman, Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa. Symphony No. 2: Adagio Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Maris Janssons. Vocalise Lynn Harrell, cello. Vladimir Ashkenazy, piano.