(Vassilievich), greatly renowned Russian-born American pianist, conductor, and composer; b. Semyonovo, April 1, 1873; d. Beverly Hills, March 28, 1943. Rachmaninoff came from a musical family. His grand-father was an amateur pianist, a pupil of JOHN FIELD, and his father also played the piano (Rachmaninoffs Polka was written on a theme improvised by his father). His mother like-wise played piano, and it was from her that he received his initial training at their estate, Oneg, near Novgorod.

After financial setbacks, the family estate was sold and Rachmaninoff was taken to St. Petersburg, where he studied piano and harmony at the Conservatory from 1882-85. Acting on the advice of his cousin Alexander Siloti—yet another family pianist—he enrolled as a piano student of Nikolai Zverev at the Moscow Conservatory in 1885. He then entered Siloti's piano class and commenced the study of counterpoint and harmony in 1888.

At this time, Rachmaninoff met PIOTR ILYICH TCHAIKOVSKY, who appreciated his talent and gave him friendly advice. Rachmaninoff graduated from the Conservatory as a pianist i n 1891 and as a composer in 1892. He won the gold medal in composition for his opera Aleko, based on a story by Aleksandr Pushkin. His Prelude in C-sharp Minor (from the Morceaux de fantaisie, op.3, no. 2) quickly followed. Published in 1892, it became one of the most celebrated piano pieces in the world. His First Symphony, given in Moscow in 1897, proved a failure, however. Discouraged, Rachmaninoff destroyed the manuscript, but the orchestral parts were preserved.

In the meantime, Rachmaninoff launched a career as a piano virtuoso. He also took up a career as a conductor, joining the Moscow Private Russian Orchestra in 1897. He made his London debut in the triple capacity of pianist, conductor, and composer with the Philharmonic Society in 1899. Although he attempted to compose after the failure of his First Symphony, nothing significant came from his pen. Plagued by depression, he underwent hypnosis with Nikolai Dahl and then began work on his Second Piano Concerto. He gave the first complete performance of the score with Siloti conducting in Moscow in 1901. This concerto became perhaps the most celebrated work of its genre written in the 20th century. It is no exaggeration to say that it became a model for piano concertos by a majority of modern Russian composers and also of semipopular virtuoso pieces for piano and orchestra written in America.

In 1902 Rachmaninoff married his cousin Natalie Satina, with whom he spent some months in Switzerland, then returned to Moscow. After conducting at Moscow's Bolshoi Theater from 1904 to 1906, he spent most of his time in Dresden, Germany, where he composed his Second Symphony, one of his most popular works. Having composed another major work, his Third Piano Concerto, he took it on his first tour of the U.S. in 1909. His fame was so great that he was offered the conductorship of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, but he declined. The offer was repeated in 1918, but again he turned it down.

Rachmaninoff lived in Russia from 1910 until after the Revolution of October 1917, at which time he left Russia with his family, never to return. From 1918 until 1939 he made annual tours of Europe as a pianist, as well as the U.S., where he spent much of his time. He also owned a villa in Lucerne from 1931 to 1939, where he composed one of his most enduring scores, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, in 1934. In 1932 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Philharmonic Society of London.

After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Rachmaninoff spent his remaining years in the U.S. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen a few weeks before his death in 1943, having made his last appearance as a pianist in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Among Russian composers, Rachmaninoff occupies a very important place. The sources of his inspiration lie in the ROMANTIC tradition of 19th-century Russian music. The link with Tchaikovsky's lyrical art is very strong: melancholy moods prevail, and minor keys predominate in his compositions, as in Tchaikovsky's. However, there is an unmistakable stamp of Rachmaninoff's individuality in the broad, rhapsodic sweep of the melodic line, and particularly in the fine resonant harmonies of his piano writing. His technical resourcefulness is unexcelled by any composer since Franz Liszt.

Despite the fact that Rachmaninoff was an émigré and stood in avowed opposition to the Soviet regime (until the German attack on Russia in 1941 impelled him to modify his stand), his popularity never wavered in Russia. After his death, Russian musicians paid spontaneous tribute to him. RachmaninofFs music is much less popular in Germany, France, and Italy. On the other hand, in England and America it constitutes a potent factor on the concert stage.

Rachmaninoff worked on several operatic projects but only completed Aleko, the Miserly Knight, op.24, after Pushkin (1903-05), and Francesca da Rimini, op.25, based on Dante's Inferno (1900-05). For orchestra, he wrote three symphonies, four piano concertos, the Paganini Rhapsody, and several symphonic poems, including Prince Rostishv in 1891, The Rock, from 1893, and The Isle of the Dead, op.29, in 1909. He also composed the Symphonic Dances, op.45, in 1941. His best-known chamber work is the Cello Sonata in G minor, op.19, from 1901.

Rachmaninoff's Russian orthodox choral music is among his finest creations: liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, op.31, from 1910, and All-Night Vigil, op.37, from 1915. He also composed The Bells, a choral symphony for soprano, baritone, chorus, and orchestra, op.35, based on the famous poem by Edgar Allan Poe, in 1913.

As a virtuoso pianist, Rachmaninoff followed the 19th-century tradition of composing music to show off his abilities. Unlike most of his predecessors, however, he wrote some excellent music in this vein, including the Fantaisie-tableaux: two suites for two pianos, opp. 5 and 17 (1893; 1900-01), 6 Moments musicaux, op. 16 (1896), Variations on a Theme of Chopin, op.22 (1902-03), 10 Preludes, op.23 (1901-03), two sonatas, opp. 28 and 36 (1907; 1913, revised 1931), 13 Preludes, op.32 (1910), Etudes-tableaux, opp.33 and 39 (1911, 1916-17), and Variations on a Theme of Corelli, op.42 (1931). He also composed 82 songs (1890-1916).