Seven year itch rachmaninoff biography

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff [ a ] [ b ] 1 April [ O. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky , Rimsky-Korsakov , and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom notable for its song-like melodicism , expressiveness , dense contrapuntal textures, and rich orchestral colours.

Born into a musical family, Rachmaninoff began learning the piano at the age of four. He studied piano and composition at the Moscow Conservatory , from which he graduated in , having already written several compositions.

What comes after the 7-year itch

In , following the disastrous premiere of his Symphony No. Rachmaninoff went on to become conductor of the Bolshoi Theatre from —, and relocated to Dresden , Germany, in He later embarked upon his first tour of the United States as a pianist in Following this, he spent most of his time touring as a pianist through the US and Europe, from onwards spending his summers at his villa in Switzerland.

During this time, Rachmaninoff's primary occupation was performing, and his compositional output decreased significantly, completing just six works after leaving Russia. By , his declining health led him to move to Beverly Hills , California, where he died from melanoma in Rachmaninoff was born on 1 April [ O.