(https://www.violinist.com/blog/Terez/20172/21000/)

Sorry for the lack of a good pun in the title this week – Rachmaninov doesn’t really lend itself to any easy puns. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

You might’ve noticed by now… but I’m kind of biased toward the Romantic era composers. But also, they’re awesome, given the power and emotional strength of their music. So naturally, my bias is faultless. In all seriousness though, I’m trying to give you a more rounded view of classical music, so I’ve left out other Romantic era composers that you most likely already know about, like Tchaikovsky and Brahms (lullaby, anyone?). But Rachmaninov was even more of a Russian powerhouse than Tchaikovsky.

 

Rachmaninov composed in the Romantic style during the end of the era (the early twentieth century). He was a composer as well as a virtuoso pianist and conductor. Born in Russia, he rose to fame at a young age, composing his first piano concerto at just 18 years old. Like Liszt and Chopin, Rachmaninov had an immeasurable impact on classical music. His concertos and symphonies are still treasured today as some of the most famous works in classical history.

 

Didn’t think that anyone could have bigger hands than Liszt? Wrong! Rachmaninov is believed to have the largest hands of any classical composer due to Marfan’s syndrome, allowing him to reach a 13^th on the piano and write his fiendishly difficult Piano Concerto No. 3 (listen to the first movement, my personal favorite, here). According to Classic FM, this piece has “the soloist stretched to the very limits of [their] ability.”

 

Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 is viewed by many as the greatest classical work ever created. The famous composer actually needed hypnosis therapy to be able to write this masterpiece after the disastrous failure of his first symphony (the drunken conductor certainly didn’t help). Classic FM describes it this way: “The second piano concerto was Rachmaninov’s comeback and, like when Take That came back as a man-band with floppy haircuts, it was a huge commercial smash. Just what he needed.” The concerto was featured in the British romantic film Brief Encounter, leading to its lasting popularity.

 

Rachmaninov was a very private man. He was known as the “six-foot scowl” because he never smiled in any photographs taken. Although it wasn’t riddled with affairs like other composers, his love life was a bit scandalous. He married his first cousin, Natalya, which was illegal in Russia; he did it anyways, and they had a daughter in 1903. Rachmaninov also had a very deep religious faith, which he showcased in his choral works of Vespers and Matins.

 

Rachmaninov was forced out of his home country by the Russian Revolution in 1917. He and his family took refuge at first in Helsinki, then moved to America, where he was in great demand. He performed all over the country and lived in Los Angeles. Once, while he was performing in New York with violinist Fritz Kriesler, Kriesler became lost in the music and asked Rachmaninov where they were; he replied, nonplussed, “Carnegie Hall.”

 

The serious touring and busy schedule led to the decline of Rachmaninov’s health. Quite appropriately, his last recital in 1943, a month before his death, included Chopin’s funeral march.

 

Another one of Rachmaninov’s most famous works is his Prelude in C-Sharp Minor (this I have played and can certainly attest to the complicated chords and melodies that stretched my fingers to the limit). According to an article by Minneapolis Tribune writer Lorena A. Hickok in 1921, Rachmaninov was sorry that he wrote it, stating “I have written much better music, which is not appreciated half so much. All the time, it is that ‘bells of Moscow thing’ [the audiences] want.” He was tired of playing it, and he made sure to clarify that he had never named the piece “the bells of Moscow” – it was dubbed this because of the dark beginning chords that sounded as bom-bom-bom, like bells.

 

Rachmaninov, while never really smiling much, achieved extraordinary success and his pieces remain at the top of the rankings of classical music. He ranges from tender melodies to melancholy themes to extremely intense, bang-on-the-piano type finales. He will always be one of the greats.

 

For more of Rachmaninov’s works, check out these!

Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (the most famous part) – yes, like Liszt, Rachmaninov emulated Paganini as well

13 Preludes, Opus 32: No. 12, Allegro in G-Sharp Minor (what is it with all the insanely difficult sharp minor keys?! Like okay C-sharp minor is common, but G sharp? F sharp? Who the heck wants to play in those?)

 

And here is our music meme of the week! Sike, I have two because there are so many good ones about how hard it is to match Rachmaninov’s hands. Any pianist will relate to these.

(https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/humour/piano-music-memes/)

 

Here are my references:

Hickok, Lorena A. “Nov. 11, 1921: Rachmaninoff Sorry He Wrote Prelude.” Star Tribune, Star Tribune, 15 Nov. 2011, www.startribune.com/nov-11-1921-rachmaninoff-sorry-he-wrote-prelude/133509278/?refresh=true.

Ross, Daniel. “A Detailed Explanation of Why Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 Is an Unassailably Epic Work of Genius.” Classic FM, Global, 18 Mar. 2019, www.classicfm.com/composers/rachmaninov/guides/piano-concerto-genius/.

Weinberg, Rob. “Rachmaninov: 15 Facts about the Great Composer.” Classic FM, Global, 3 Sept. 2013, www.classicfm.com/composers/rachmaninov/guides/rachmaninov-facts/.