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.)

Style

Rachmaninoff's style is fundamentally Russian: his music shows the influence of the idol of his youth, Tchaikovsky. His harmonic language expanded above and beyond that of Tchaikovsky, however. Rachmaninoff's frequently used motifs include dies irae, often just the fragments of the first phrase: this is especially prevalent in The Bells, The Isle of the Dead, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and the First and Second Symphonies. The Second Symphony, in particular, has a marvelous and little known occurence of dies irae: in the second movement he uses it as the basis for the harmony in counterpoint to one of Rachmaninoff's archetypal soaring melodies.

Related Topics:
Tchaikovsky - Dies irae

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Also especially important is the use of bell-like sounds: this occurs in many pieces, most notably the Second Piano Concerto and the b minor prelude. It is of course no coincidence that he wrote a cantata entitled "The Bells". He was also fond of Russian Orthodox Chants. He uses most obviously in his Vespers, but many of his melodies found their origins in these chants. The opening melodies of the Third Concerto and the First Symphony are both derived from chants.

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In scherzo-like movements, he often used a modified rondo form, usually opening with a light, swift rhytmical idea, then supplying a breath of fresh air in the form of a beautifully romantic melody, to then end the piece in a similar scherzo-fashion. Examples of this may be found in the last movement of the Second Concerto, the Scherzo of the Cello Sonata, and the Scherzo of the Second Symphony.

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Rachmaninoff has been dubbed the "Russian Bach" for his vast mastery of counterpoint and fugal writing. The above-mentioned occurence of dies irae in the Second Symphony is an excellent example of this. Very characteristic of his writing is chromatic counterpoint.

Related Topics:
Bach - Counterpoint - Fugal - Chromatic

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His later works, such as the Piano Concerto No. 4 (op. 40, 1926) and the Variations on a Theme of Corelli (op. 42, 1931), are composed in a more emotionally detached style, making them less popular with audiences despite the striking originality of the music. In these later compositions, Rachmaninoff sought a greater sense of compression and motivic development in his works at the expense of melody. Nevertheless, some of his most beautiful (nostalgic and melancholy) melodies occur in the Third Symphony, Paganini Rhapsody, and Symphonic Dances, the latter of which is considered his swan song and has almost metaphysical references to the Alliluya of the Vespers and the first theme of his First Symphony.

Related Topics:
Piano Concerto No. 4 - 1926 - Variations on a Theme of Corelli - 1931 - Melody - Third Symphony - Paganini Rhapsody - Symphonic Dances - First Symphony

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