Sergei Rachmaninoff
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.
Photos
Movies (68)
Riccardo Chailly & Lukas Sternath @ Lucerne Festival 2026 (complete version)
2026 · Original Music Composer
German Federal Youth Orchestra @ Young Euro Classic 2026
2026 · Original Music Composer
Europiano (2/2) - The finest piano concertos from across Europe
2026 · Original Music Composer
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 Hayato Sumino in Wiesbaden
2026 · Original Music Composer
Rachmaninoff. Liturgy
2025 · Music
Debut, or, Objects of the Field of Debris as Currently Catalogued
2025 · Additional Music
Marc-André Hamelin @ Ruhr Piano Festival 2025
2025 · Original Music Composer
Yuja Wang x David Hockney London Lightroom
2025 · Original Music Composer
Armonie di Speranza
2025 · Original Music Composer
Beatrice Rana @ Lucerne Festival 2025
2025 · Original Music Composer
Romanian National Youth Orchestra @ Young Euro Classic 2025
2025 · Original Music Composer
Martha Argerich and Daniel Barenboim in Buenos Aires - Great Moments of Music
2025 · Original Music Composer
Riccardo Chailly & Alexander Malofeev Lucerne Festival 2024
2024 · Original Music Composer
A Hall of Mirrors
2023 · Compositor
Liszt's Piano Concerto no. 2 with Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra
2023 · Original Music Composer
Mikhaïl Pletnev with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Rachmaninov's concertos: No.1 and No.2
2023 · Original Music Composer
Mikhaïl Pletnev and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France Rachmaninov's concertos: Nos.3 and n. 4
2023 · Original Music Composer
Daniil Trifonov - Thanks to the Music
2023 · Original Music Composer
t0gether al0ne.
2022 · Music
Hope for Peace Concert from the Frauenkirche - Dresden
2022 · Music
Tugan Sokhiev e Gary Magee
2022 · Original Music Composer
Vadym Kholodenko suona il Rach 3 con L'OSN
2021 · Original Music Composer
tag
2020 · Music
The Forbidden City Concert: Carmina Burana
2019 · Original Music Composer
Bluebird
2019 · Original Music Composer
A Russian Youth
2019 · Original Music Composer
Venti dell'Est per l'Orchestra Rai
2019 · Original Music Composer
The Edge of the World
2018 · Original Music Composer
Rachmaninoff: Symphonies Nos 1-3, Symphonic Dances
2018 · Original Music Composer
Shokhakimov e Seong-Jin Cho con OSN Rai
2018 · Original Music Composer
Pappano e l'Accademia di Santa Cecilia: Rachmaninov-Sibelius
2018 · Original Music Composer
Eifman Ballet: The Brothers Karamazov
2016 · Music
Rachmaninov: Danze Sinfoniche per orchestra Op.45
2016 · Original Music Composer
Francesca Da Rimini
2015 · Original Music Composer
Le star del pianoforte: Campaner
2013 · Original Music Composer
Rachmaninov: Concerto n.2 in do minore Op.18
2013 · Original Music Composer
Pappano e l'Accademia di Santa Cecilia: Puccini-Strauss-Rachmaninoff
2013 · Original Music Composer
Vibrato
2012 · Music
Romance
2011 · Original Music Composer
Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 3 | Khatia Buniatishvili, Neeme Järvi @ Verbier Festival 2011
2011 · Original Music Composer
The Lighthouse
2009 · Music
Waldbühne 2009 | Russian Rhythms
2009 · Music
Some Kind of Sadness
2006 · Music
The Miserly Knight
2005 · Musician
Coisa Mais Linda - Histórias e Casos da Bossa Nova
2005 · Self (archive footage)
Stupid Boy
2004 · Original Music Composer
Monna Lisa
2000 · Music
Rachmaninov-Ravel
2000 · Original Music Composer
Happy Birthday!
1998 · Original Music Composer
Rachmaninoff: The Harvest of Sorrow
1998 · Archive Footage
Alexander Scriabin – Towards the Light / Calculation and Ecstasy
1996 · Himself
Mr. Sobchak In His Shirt-Sleeves
1992 · Music
The Bursa
1990 · Music
Our Armoured Train
1988 · Original Music Composer
Chronicle of the Revolution
1988 · Music
The Defendant
1985 · Music
The Elder Son
1975 · Music
Romeo e Giulietta
1964 · Music
The Broken Wings
1964 · Original Music Composer
White Nights
1960 · Music
The House Opposite
1959 · Music
The Clock Stopped at Midnight
1959 · Music
Stories About Lenin
1957 · Music
The Barbarians
1953 · Music
Aleko
1953 · Opera, Music
The Golden Twenties
1950 · Self (archive footage)
Moscow Skies
1944 · Music
Temirkanov e la musica russa a Santa Cecilia
· Original Music Composer
