Sergey Rachmaninoff

Sergey Rachmaninoff, a great Russian composer and pianist, was born in 1873 in Nizhny Novgorod region. Music was a favourite pastime in his family. Rachmaninoff's mother sang well and gave her small son his first music lessons. Due to his mother, the boy was able to play basic pieces on the piano at the age of four. When, five years later, the family moved to St. Petersburg, he entered the conservatory boarding school.

In St. Petersburg, S. Rachmaninoff started learning to play the piano professionally. He was a top student in piano classes. He easily learned the notes, had a good memory and a remarkable ear for music. Young Rachmaninoff's piano grades were growing each year, as well as his talent. However, he was poor at musical theory and often skipped lectures.

In 1885, S. Rachmaninoff continued his education at a more prestigious Moscow Conservatory. Besides piano classes, he learned composition and cello from Russian outstanding musicians. On graduation, Rachmaninoff received the highest possible exam result ever - an excellent with three pluses from P. Tchaikovsky. The master praised his diploma opera and said that it deserved The Bolshoi Theatre stage.

After graduation, Rachmaninoff's fame as a professional musician was growing in Moscow. He presented new pieces of music that were favoured by the public. All his creations were praised a lot, except for The First Symphony. It failed in St. Petersburg because of poor orchestra adaptation. Critics called it too modernistic and hard to understand. For the next four years, Rachmaninoff felt so depressed and isolated that he almost gave up composing. The Second Concerto, however, brought back his fame.

S. Rachmaninoff became the head conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre and toured around the world. It is worth mentioning that most of his masterpieces were written in the village Ivanovka, the Tambov region. Known for its beautiful landscape and peaceful atmosphere, the place seemed ideal for composing.

In 1917 S. Rachmaninoff moved abroad. He lived there permanently with his wife and two daughters until he died in 1943. The musician gave piano concerts, which brought him money and fame. However, he could not compose for a decade because he missed home a lot. In his memoirs S. Rachmaninoff recalled the happy days in their family estate in Ivanovka. He wrote that he had lost both his homeland and his personality.

Nowadays, you can visit Rachmaninoff's Museum in Ivanovka. The family's house with its simple interior and the legendary piano is central to the exhibition. Outside, there is a park with an open-air concert hall. The museum arranges annual concerts of famous pianists. They say it is a great honour to play Rachmaninoff's instrument.

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21__ lesson was cancelled due to some unknown reason. The girls' classmates were happy to have an hour off and were having fun outside, in the school playground.

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