These informative biographies present a revealing look into the events, people and places that influenced the creation of the composer s major works and tell the story of the impact that Russia had on the history of wester... more »n music.Sergei Rachmaninov, composer, conductor and one of the most brilliant pianists of the 20th century, was the last great figure of the tradition of Russian Romanticism. Rachmaninov was born on April 1, 1873 near Novgorod, Russia. He was destined to become an army officer until his father lost the entire family fortune and deserted the family. Sensing his abilities, Rachmaninov's cousin sent him to Moscow for piano studies with the noted teacher Nikolay Zverev. He also attended and graduated from the Moscow Conservatory.Rachmaninov's fame and popularity as a composer, was launched by two compositions: the Prelude in C Sharp Minor (1892) and is opera Aleko (1893). In his youth, self-doubt carried him into deep depressions, one of the most severe of which followed the failure of his Symphony No. 1 on its first performance in 1897. During this period,also brooding over an unhappy love affair, he was taken to a psychiatrist who is credited with restoring his self-confidence, thus enabling him to write the Piano Concerto No. 2.During the next 17 years came his Symphony No. 2 (1906), the symphonic poem The Isle of the Dead (10909), the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom (1910), and the choral symphony The Bells (1913). Except for a period in Dresden, Germany (1906-8) he worked mainly in Moscow.After leaving Russia in 1917, Rachmaninov settled in the U.S. In exile he concentrated on his piano and conducting careers. He missed Russia, and this alienation had a devastating effect on his formerly prolific creative ability. His only substantial works from this period are the Symphony No. 3 (1936) and the Rhapsody on a Theme of Pagnini (1936). He died in Beverly Hills, Calif. on March 28, 1943.« less