Sergey Rakhmaninov
and the Romantic Melody

Rakhmaninov was born in Semyonovo, Starorussky in 1873 and died in Beverly Hills, California in 1943. He was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor.

Sergey enrolled in the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1882. His teachers were Arensky (harmony), Taneyev (counterpoint) and Ziloti (piano). He completed his first piano concerto in 1891 and had his first opera, Aleko, staged in 1893.

An important figure in Rakhmaninov’s life was Dr. Nikolay Dahl, who helped Sergey regain the mental health that he needed to write his second piano concerto (1900-1901).

Rakhmaninov’s music is full of inspirational melodic writing, often accompanied with a sense of melancholy. His works are still immensely popular with performers and audiences today.

An Amazing Rakhmaninov Fact

Sergey could be both tough and generous, as demonstrated in his American concert tour of 1942-1943. The composer was not healthy at this point in his life, yet he persisted with the tour, giving proceeds from his concerts to war relief.

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