Sergei Rachmaninoff was born on April 1,1873 in the town of Semyonovo, near Novgorod, Russia. His parents were of the aristocracy, but his father Vasily was a spendthrift and in 1881 the last of their five estates, Oneg, had to be sold. With this money Vasily bought a small flat in St.Petersburg but shortly after the move, the family succumbed to diptheria and Sergei's sister Sophia did not recover. His mother, Lubov, blamed Vasily for losing their beloved Oneg, where she felt they would have been spared the epidemic. Vasily, possibly from humiliation, left his family and was never heard from again.
Rachmaninoff's Student Years
This then, was the backdrop for Sergei's student years. His first piano teacher was Anna Ornatskaya of St.Petersburg, who came to Oneg to teach the young boy. After a few years under her tutelage Sergei was awarded a scholarship at the St.Petersburg Conservatory where he promptly failed all his classes. Having fun was more to the taste of young Sergei and he was told he would be expelled. Through the kindness of his cousin, the pianist Alexander Siloti, who spoke on his behalf, he was accepted at the Moscow Conservatory in the autumn of 1885. His teacher would be Nikolai Zverev, Siloti's former teacher. Sergei was twelve years old.
Moscow Conservatory
While at the conservatory, Rachmaninoff lived, along with two other boys, at his teacher's apartment. He was required to practise three hours a day and Zverev's sister was always there overlooking the scene. In a short time Rachmaninoff acquired a very substantial piano technique and he finally settled into being a serious student. His one-act opera, Aleko, written when he was in his teen years, was awarded a gold medal. While at the conservatory Sergei also studied harmony with Anton Arensky (1861-1906) and counterpoint with Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915).
Composition Studies
A break came with Zverev when Sergei told him he wanted to concentrate on composition. Zverev felt that he could not back his talented pianist student in his desire to compose and the accomodations at the Zverev apartment were no longer available to Sergei. He found other rooms with an aunt in Moscow and at this time he began to compose seriously.
Rachmaninoff's Youthful Compositions
Rachmaninoff's compositional output began with a two-piano transcription of Peter Tchaikowsky's Manfred Symphony , finished in 1886.
Then came, in 1887
- Scherzo in d minor for orchestra
- Four Piano Pieces
- Three Nocturnes for piano .
The famous Prelude in C-sharp minor would come a bit later...when he was nineteen.
Rachmaninoff was well on his way to a fabulous career as one of the great composers.
For further reading about Rachmaninoff see:
Rachmaninoff the Conductor Rachmaninoff in America
Source
Rachmaninoff, by Robert Walker, Omnibus Press, New York, 1979
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