Sergei Rachmaninoff
Biography
Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist and conductor of the late Romantic period, some of whose works are among the most popular in the Romantic repertoire. Born into a musical family, Rachmaninoff took up the piano at age four. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1892, having already composed several piano and orchestral pieces. In 1897, following the negative critical reaction to his Symphony No. 1, Rachmaninoff entered a four-year depression and composed little until successful therapy allowed him to complete his enthusiastically received Piano Concerto No. 2 in 1901. For the next sixteen years, Rachmaninoff conducted at the Bolshoi Theatre, relocated to Dresden, Germany, and toured the United States for the first time. Following the Russian Revolution, Rachmaninoff and his family left Russia; in 1918, they settled in the United States, first in New York City. With his main source of income coming from piano and conducting performances, demanding tour schedules led to a reduction in his time for composition; between 1918 and 1943, he completed just six works, including Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Symphony No. 3, and Symphonic Dances. By 1942, his failing health led to his relocation to Beverly Hills, California. One month before his death from advanced melanoma, Rachmaninoff was granted American citizenship. In Rachmaninoff's work, early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, Mussorgsky, and other Russian composers gave way to a personal style notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and rich orchestral colors.[3] Rachmaninoff often featured the piano in his compositions, and he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument through his own skills as a pianist.
Personal Details
Also Known As
Movies (48)
Prelude
Songs (Sound)
2025
Debut, or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued
Additional Music (Crew)
2025
Yuja Wang x David Hockney London Lightroom
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2025
Armonie di Speranza
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2025
Beatrice Rana @ Lucerne Festival 2025
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2025
Romanian National Youth Orchestra @ Young Euro Classic 2025
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2025
Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim in Buenos Aires - Great Moments of Music
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2025
Riccardo Chailly & Alexander Malofeev Lucerne Festival 2024
Compositor (Crew)
2024
A Hall of Mirrors
Compositor (Crew)
2023
Liszt's Piano Concerto no. 2 with Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2023
Mikhaïl Pletnev with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Rachmaninov's concertos: No.1 and No.2
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2023
Mikhaïl Pletnev and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Rachmaninov's concertos: Nos.3 and 4
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2023
t0gether al0ne.
Music (Sound)
2022
Hope for Peace Concert from the Frauenkirche - Dresden
Music (Sound)
2022
tag
Music (Sound)
2020
The Forbidden City Concert: Carmina Burana
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2019
Bluebird
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2019
A Russian Youth
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2019
The Edge of the World
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2018
Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos 1-3, Symphonic Dances
as Composer
2018
Eifman Ballet: The Brothers Karamazov
Music (Sound)
2016
Rachmaninov: Danze Sinfoniche per orchestra Op.45
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2016
Francesca Da Rimini
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2015
Le star del pianoforte: Campaner
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2013
Vibrato
Music (Sound)
2012
Romance
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2011
The Lighthouse
Music (Sound)
2009
Waldbühne 2009 | Russian Rhythms
Music (Sound)
2009
Some Kind of Sadness
Music (Sound)
2006
The Miserly Knight
Musician (Sound)
2005
Coisa Mais Linda - Histórias e Casos da Bossa Nova
as Self (archive footage)
2005
Stupid Boy
Original Music Composer (Sound)
2004
Monna Lisa
Music (Sound)
2000
Happy Birthday!
Original Music Composer (Sound)
1998
Rachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow
as Archive Footage
1998
Alexander Scriabin – Towards the Light / Calculation and Ecstasy
as Himself
1996
Great Russian Composers
1993
Mr. Sobchak In His Shirt-Sleeves
Music (Sound)
1992
The Bursa
Music (Sound)
1990
Our Armoured Train
Original Music Composer (Sound)
1988
Chronicle of the Revolution
Music (Sound)
1988
The Elder Son
Music (Sound)
1975
Romeo e Giulietta
Music (Sound)
1964
The Broken Wings
Original Music Composer (Sound)
1964
The Clock Stopped at Midnight
Music (Sound)
1959
Stories About Lenin
Music (Sound)
1957
The Barbarians
Music (Sound)
1953
The Golden Twenties
as Self (archive footage)
1950
