Sergei Rachmaninov 

As a pianist he was famous for his precision, rhythmic drive, legato and clarity of texture and for the broad design of his performances.

He studied at the Moscow Conservatory graduating with distinction as both pianist and composer. During the ensuing years he composed piano pieces, including his famous c-sharp Minor Prelude, songs and orchestral works, but the disastrous premiere in 1897 of his Symphony No.1.

He composed his Second Piano Concerto. Meanwhile he had set out on a new career as a conductor, appearing in Moscow and London. The essentials of his art had been assembled in the Piano Concerto no.2. Rachmaninov inherited Romanticism from Tchaikovsky and his teachers. In 1909 he made his first American tour as a pianist, for which he wrote the Piano Concerto no.3.

After the October Revolution he left Russia with his family for Scandinavia. In 1918 they arrived in New York, where he mainly lived thereafter, though he spent periods in Paris Dresden and Switzerland. There was a period of creative silence until 1926 when he wrote the Piano Concerto no.4, followed by only a handful of works over the next 15 years, even though all are on a large scale. During this period, however, he was active as a pianist on both sides of the Atlantic.

Madalin Chiricuta
"D. Zamfirescu" School, Focsani, Romania
Teacher: Petru Dumitru <petrudumitru@netscape.net>