Sergei Rachmaninoff

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff ({{lang-ru|?????? ?????????? ??????????}}, Sergej Vasil'evi? Rahmaninov, April 1, 1873–March 28, 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. (Alternative spellings for his name include Sergey or Serge and Rachmaninov, Rachmaninow or Rakhmaninov, all transliterations of ?????? ??????????, his name in Cyrillic. "Sergei Rachmaninoff" was the spelling Rachmaninoff himself used while living in the West. It follows the generally accepted transliteration conventions of that era and is how he signed his name throughout the latter half of his life, including when he became a United States citizen.)

Recordings on shellac and paper rolls

Rachmaninoff made his first recordings for Edison Records on their "Diamond Disc" records, since they claimed the best audio fidelity in recording the piano at the time. Rachmaninoff did not consider himself a great pianist and believed his own performances to be variable in quality; he therefore requested to personally approve any recorded performances to be commercially issued. Despite this, the Edison Company issued multiple alternative takes of Rachmaninoff's recordings, a common occurrence in the gramophone record industry at the time, possibly for reasons of simple carelessness or because of the ease of mass production of records from multiple masters.

Related Topics:
Edison Records - Audio fidelity - Piano - Gramophone record

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Rachmaninoff was so angered by this that he left Edison and subsequently started recording for the Victor Talking Machine Company and its successor, RCA Victor. The company was pleased to abide by Rachmaninoff's restrictions, and proudly advertised him as one of the great artists who recorded for the Victor Company. Rachmaninoff also made a number of piano rolls; initially disbelieving that a roll of punched paper could provide an accurate record, he was invited to listen to a master roll of his first recording in 1919 for the Ampico company. After the performance, he was quoted as saying "Gentleman — I, Sergei Rachmaninoff, have just heard myself play!" He continued to record for Ampico until around 1929.

Related Topics:
Victor Talking Machine Company - RCA Victor - Piano rolls - 1919 - Ampico - 1929

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