Sergei Rachmaninoff
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness, dense contrapuntal textures, and rich orchestral colours. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output and he used his skills as a performer to fully explore the expressive and technical possibilities of the instrument. Born into a musical family, Rachmaninoff began learning the piano at the age of four. He studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1892, having already written several compositions. In 1897, following the disastrous premiere of his Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninoff entered a four-year depression and composed little, until supportive therapy allowed him to complete his well-received Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901. Rachmaninoff went on to become conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre from 1904–06, and relocated to Dresden, Germany, in 1906. He later embarked upon his first tour of the United States as a pianist in 1909. After the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia permanently, settling in New York in 1918. Following this, he spent most of his time touring as a pianist through the US and Europe, from 1932 onwards spending his summers at his villa in Switzerland. During this time, Rachmaninoff's primary occupation was performing, and his compositional output decreased significantly, completing just six works after leaving Russia. By 1942, his declining health led him to move to Beverly Hills, California, where he died from melanoma in 1943. |
Birth and Death Data: Born April 1, 1873 (Starorussky Uyezd), Died March 28, 1943 (Beverly Hills)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1908 - 1947
Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, composer, arranger, conductor
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 310 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-10322 | 10-in. | 5/12/1911 | Prelude in C sharp minor | Arthur Pryor's Band | Band | composer | |
Victor | B-10652 | 10-in. | 6/28/1911 | Prelude in C sharp minor | Charles Gilbert Spross | Piano solo | composer | |
Victor | B-10987 | 10-in. | 9/19/1911 | Lilacs | Emilio de Gogorza | Baritone vocal solo, with piano | composer | |
Victor | CVE-15958 | 12-in. | 11/11/1926 | Prelude in C sharp minor | Julius L. Schendel | Piano solo | composer | |
Victor | C-15958 | 12-in. | 4/26/1915 | Prelude in C sharp minor | Julius L. Schendel | Piano solo | composer | |
Victor | C-16018 | 12-in. | 5/10/1915 | Romance | Samuel Gardner | Violin solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | B-17302 | 10-in. | 3/14/1916 | V molchanii nochi taĭnoĭ (В молчании ночи тайной) | Nina Dimitrieff | Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | C-18976 | 12-in. | 1/10/1917 | Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2 | Victor Concert Orchestra | Orchestra | composer | |
Victor | C-23706 | 12-in. | 1/28/1920 | Prelude in C sharp minor, op. 3, no. 2 | Alfred Cortot | Piano solo | composer | |
Victor | B-23905 | 10-in. | 4/2/1920 | When night descends | John McCormack | Tenor vocal solo, with violin and piano | composer | |
Victor | B-23906 | 10-in. | 4/2/1920 | O cease thy singing, maiden fair | John McCormack | Tenor vocal solo, with violin and piano | composer | |
Victor | B-23956 | 10-in. | 4/26/1920 | Menuet | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | B-23961 | 10-in. | 4/26/1920 | F major sonata : Presto | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | B-23962 | 10-in. | 5/3/1920 | Waltz in B minor, op. 69, no. 2 | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | C-23962 | 12-in. | 4/26/1920 | Valse in B minor | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | B-23963 | 10-in. | 5/3/1920 | Waltz and elfin dance, op. 12, nos. 2 and 4 | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | B-23964 | 10-in. | 5/3/1920 | Etude G flat major, op. 10 no. 5 (Black keys) | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | B-23982 | 10-in. | 5/3/1920 | Etude in G flat major, op. 10 no. 5 (Black keys) | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | CVE-23983 | 12-in. | 3/21/1928 | Troika en traineaux, op. 37, no. 11 | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | C-23983 | 12-in. | 5/3/1920 | Troika en traineaux, op. 37, no. 11 | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | C-23984 | 12-in. | 5/3/1920 | Prelude in G minor, op. 23, no. 5 | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | composer, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | C-23985 | 12-in. | 5/3/1920 | Prelude in G major, op. 32, no. 5 | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | composer, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | C-23986 | 12-in. | 5/3/1920 | La campanella | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | B-24116 | 10-in. | 5/17/1920 | Etude in F minor | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | B-24117 | 10-in. | 5/17/1920 | Rondo capriccioso | Sergei Rachmaninoff | Piano solo | instrumentalist, piano |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Rachmaninoff, Sergei," accessed November 2, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102117.
Rachmaninoff, Sergei. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 2, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/102117.
"Rachmaninoff, Sergei." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 2 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Сергей Рахманинов
Discogs: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Allmusic: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Apple Music: Sergei Rachmaninoff
IMSLP: Sergei Rachmaninoff
RISM: Sergei Rachmaninoff
IMDb: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Britannica: Sergei Rachmaninoff
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Rachmaninoff, Sergei, 1873-1943 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50054908
Wikidata: Сергей Рахманинов - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q131861
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/60326614
MusicBrainz: Сергей Рахманинов - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/44b16e44-da77-4580-b851-0d765904573e
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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