Home > Piano Lessons > Blog

 

Inspiration from the life of Sergei Rachmaninoff

 

Sergei Rachmaninoff was a brilliant pianist, composer, and conductor. He was a titan of early 20th century piano music and was known for creating finger breaking difficult pieces as well as heart-meltingly romantic music. All his piano pieces are legendary.

 

Rachmaninoff was born on April 1 the year 1873 in northwest Russia. Starting from a young age, he always amazed his tutors with his great ability to play the piano. He was able to create big bang with his first piano concert when he was just 18! Although he had a good start, things got out of hand in March 1897 where he performed his first symphony, which was a total disaster. This may have been because Glazunov who was the composer conducted it. According to critics, Glazunov did not like the piece, so he did not put an effort to make it sound good. After the poor performance Rachmaninov had terrible depression that lasted for three years and needed hypnosis to overcome the problem.

 

In 1901 he managed to get back to his feet with Piano Concerto n. 2 which is described as one of the best written. This piece is heavily featured in popular culture and has been quoted in pop music composition. After completing his first choral work in 1902, he married his first cousin, Natalya. This brought about some controversies in Russia since first cousins were not allowed to marry. However, they proceeded with the marriage, and their daughter Irina was born in may 1903.

 

When it come to interpreting a piece of music, Rachmaninov had a theory that each and every piece of music has a culminating point and regardless of the spot where the point is within the song the performer should know how to approach it caution as failure to do this the execution of the piece would feel disjointed.

 

Some of the some of Rachmaninov’s famous pieces included 2 sets of Etudes-Tableaux, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Piano Concerto No. 2 and 3, The Bells as well as Symphonic Dances.

 

If you are aspiring to be the best when it comes to playing piano, there are many lessons you can learn from Rachmaninov. Luckily, he was still alive during the start of the era of recording so you can listen to the collections of his performance for more inspiration.

 

Keep reading: “Interesting Facts About The Piano That You May Not Know”>>

Read on: “Inspiration from the Life of Ludwig van Beethoven”>>


For more questions, contact us at info@willanacademy.com or 646-838-3990. Willan Academy of Music offers violin lessons, guitar lessons, and more in NYC, including Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.