With Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov, a hereditary Russian nobleman, a brilliant pianist and composer, became a symbol of Russian music all over the world. After the October Revolution, he emigrated to America and lived there for the last third of his life, but Rachmaninov's musical compositions were known throughout the world, not excluding the Soviet Union.

Five plus three

Sergei Rachmaninov was born in the estate of Semenovo in the Novgorod province (according to other sources, in the Oneg estate in the Starorussky district of the Novgorod province) in April 1873. The Rachmaninov family was very musical. Grandfather studied with the well-known Russian teacher and composer John Field, and several romances and piano pieces of his composition, published in the 18th century, have been preserved. Father - a hereditary Tambov nobleman - was also fond of music, but did not play professionally. The first music teacher of Sergei Rachmaninov was his mother, Lyubov Rachmaninova, daughter of General Pyotr Butakov, director of the Arakcheevsky Cadet Corps.

When Sergei Rachmaninov was 8 years old, the family moved to St. Petersburg. In the autumn of 1882, the boy entered the junior department of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the class of Vladimir Demyansky. At first, the young musician was burdened by classes and often skipped them. But later he met his cousin, the young but already well-known Moscow pianist Alexander Siloti. Siloti listened to the boy's game and persuaded his parents to send Rachmaninov to Moscow, as a student to Nikolai Zverev. A well-known teacher kept in his house a private boarding school for gifted students and, under conditions of the strictest discipline, studied with them for six hours a day.

In 1888, Rachmaninov continued his studies at the senior department of the Moscow Conservatory in the Siloti class. He graduated from the conservatory as a pianist and composer, having received the Grand gold medal per thesis- one-act opera "Aleko". Tchaikovsky, who was taking the young composer's examination, gave the opera a grade of "five plus three" and recommended it for production at the Bolshoi Theatre.

From the first symphony to "symphonic dances"

Sergei Rachmaninov with his wife. Photo: clubintimlife.ru

Young Rachmaninov quickly became a favorite of the Moscow public: he was known as a talented pianist, composer and conductor. But in 1897, the musician was overtaken by a real failure: the composer Alexander Glazunov extremely unsuccessfully performed his First Symphony in St. Petersburg. The reviews were devastating. Rachmaninov's innovative composition was not accepted by either the critics or the public. The composer fell into depression and for almost four years did not compose anything and practically did not leave the house.

A new stage in his life and career came in 1901, when the composer completed the Second Piano Concerto. The composition returned to Rachmaninoff the status of a famous Russian musician: he wrote a lot, conducted at performances organized by Ziloti, traveled to Europe, America and Canada with concerts. The composer took up the position of conductor in Bolshoi Theater, where he led all Russian opera repertoire for several seasons, and headed the artistic council of the Russian Music Publishing House.

In 1902, Sergei Rachmaninoff married his cousin, the daughter of a state councilor, Natalya Satina. They had two daughters - Tatyana and Irina.

Shortly after the 1917 revolution, the composer was invited to perform at a concert in Stockholm. Rachmaninov left Russia - with his family, with virtually no means of subsistence. The revolution, the death of imperial Russia, the destruction of the foundations became a real tragedy for him. However, Rachmaninoff had to provide for his family and pay off his debts, so he again began to play the piano and give concerts. The pianist conquered the European public, and in 1918 he left for America, where he continued to give concerts. Critics and listeners recognized him as one of the greatest pianists and conductors of the era.

Sergei Rachmaninoff. Photo: classicalarchives.com

Sergei Rachmaninoff. Photo: meloman.ru

Sergei Rachmaninoff. Photo: novostimira.net

Almost all the first 10 years of emigration, Rachmaninoff could not write: “After leaving Russia, I lost the desire to compose. Having lost my homeland, I lost myself ... ". The first composition - the Fourth Concerto and Russian Songs - he created only in 1926-1927.

Rachmaninoff was intolerant of Soviet power, but was not indifferent to his former compatriots. During the Second World War, he transferred fees from concerts to the Red Army Fund and the USSR Defense Fund - a military aircraft was built in Russia with this money. “From one of the Russians, all possible assistance to the Russian people in their struggle against the enemy. I want to believe, I believe in complete victory"- wrote the musician.

AT last years Rachmaninov's life created "Symphonic Dances", which music researchers consider one of his best works. All this time he continued to perform - and his last concert gave 6 weeks before death. The composer died in 1943, he just a few days did not live up to his 70th birthday. Rachmaninoff was buried at Kensico Cemetery in New York next to his wife and daughter.

On the photo: Irina, Sergei Vasilievich and Tatyana Rachmaninoff.

Tahir- a private publishing house, organized under the financial patronage of Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov by his daughters Irina and Tatyana, with the aim of helping Russian writers in exile. Books by A.M. Remizov and I.S Shmelev were published here. The name is an abbreviation of the names Tatyana and Irina.

As early as 1908, S. Rachmaninoff had the idea of ​​founding the Composers' Self-Publishing Society in Moscow in order to free composers from the exploitation of merchant publishers. Organizational and financial difficulties did not allow the plan to be realized. However, the Russian Musical Publishing House appeared, owned by S. and N. Kusevitsky. It was headed by a council, the ideological leader of which was Rakhmaninov, who treated the affairs of the publishing house with great interest and attention.

In exile in the early 1920s, Rakhmaninov, wanting to involve his daughters in socially useful activities, organized in Paris, where they lived at that time, a publishing house under the brand name "Tair". But Sergei Vasilyevich had to take on the main work in the publishing business. Z. Apetyan's comments to the second volume of S. Rachmaninov's "Literary Heritage" indicate that the publishing house "Tair" began to exist in 1925. Meanwhile, in the same source, in the comments, it is noted that in 1924 in Paris, under the brand name "Tair", a piano transcription of S. Rachmaninov's own romance "Daisies" was published.

The main idea of ​​Rachmaninoff was the desire to publish talented works by Russian composers, which, for one reason or another, were not published in Russia. After some time, the plans were amended. Rachmaninov began to publish not only notes, but also books by Russian émigré writers, introducing an element of charity into this. Here are a few lines on this subject from a letter from Sergei Vasilyevich: “I “sit in front of people” a lot ... Every day there is a whole stream of letters and almost everyone, without exception, asks for help, for a personal date, etc. In "Tair" S. Rachmaninov also published the works of playwrights ("Fear" by A. Rybakov), but for some reason refused N. Gumilyov to publish his play "Poisoned Silence".

Rachmaninov's "Tair" operated for 10 years and completed its work in 1935. There is an indication of this by Rachmaninov himself in a letter addressed to a joint-stock company of large music publishing houses. Thus, it can be said with complete certainty that publishing activity S. Rachmaninov was not only charitable. She opened for the foreign reader the names of prominent figures of Russian culture - writers, playwrights, musicians.

Irina Sergeevna Volkonskaya, nee Rachmaninoff (May 27, 1903, Moscow - June 20, 1969, New York, buried in Valhalla at the Kensico treasure, New York). Cultural figure. Daughter of S.V. and N.A. Rachmaninov, sister T.S. Konyus, wife of Prince P.G. Volkonsky. From 1917 in exile. Lived in France. In 1931 he was a member of the Honorary Committee of the Society of Friends of Mikhail Chekhov. Participated in the evenings of the Russian Musical Society Abroad (RMOS) (1930s). Author of memoirs about his father. She left for the USA.

Tatyana Sergeevna Konyus, nee Rachmaninova (June 21 / July 3, 1907, Ivanovka estate, Tambov province - July 28, 1961, Switzerland, buried in the cemetery in Meudon, near Paris). Pianist, teacher, public figure. Daughter of S.V. Rachmaninov, wife of B.Yu. Konyus, mother of A.B. Konyus. In 1918 She settled with her family in New York. In the 1930s she moved to Paris. In 1938 he was the manager at the ball of the Association of Russian Writers and Poets. Member of the Board of the Russian Musical Society Abroad (RMOS) (since 1947). Permanent Vice-Chairman of the Assistance Center Committee, heading Orphanage in Montgeron (near Paris) (since 1957). Organizer of annual Christmas markets in favor of orphanage. She was a member of the Committee for the organization of the evening in memory of V.A. Maklakov (1958).

© (according to the network)

Lyubov Petrovna - mother of S.V. Rachmaninov.

Personal life

Love flared up in the heart of the great composer more than once, which inspired him to compose beautiful lyrical romances.

A summer guest in Ivanovka, on the estate of his father's sister, seventeen-year-old Sergei Rachmaninov met there with the three Skalon sisters, one of whom was Verochka, whom Sergei nicknamed "Psychopath". girl fell in love with young musician and he reciprocated her. It was pure youthful love. In that amazing summer for them in Ivanovka, he dedicated to his “Psychopatushka” the romance “In the Silence of the Secret Night” created there (to the verses by A. Feta). After leaving for Moscow, he wrote her touching, sublime letters, of which more than 100 pieces were written. But almost at the same time, eighteen-year-old Sergei Rachmaninov falls recklessly in love with the wife of his friend Pyotr Lodyzhensky, Anna Lodyzhensky, a meek and affectionate woman with huge black eyes, the sister of a famous gypsy singer. He dedicated his romance “Oh no, I beg you, don’t go!” to her.

And to Verochka Skalon, Sergei left, in addition to the romance “In the Silence of the Secret Night”, two more priceless gifts: a romance for cello and piano and the second part of his First Piano Concerto.

But already in 1893, he became interested in Natalia Alexandrovna Satina, in whose parents' house he lived for several years and with whom he spent almost all of his adolescence. The 20-year-old composer dedicated the amazing romance “Do not sing, beauty, in front of me” to her. April 29, 1902 they got married.

April 29, 1902 in the church of the 6th Tauride Grenadier Regiment on the outskirts of Moscow, the wedding of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Natalia Satina took place. It was raining heavily, there were almost no people in the church, and the ceremony was somehow hastily. After the wedding, having barely driven home to change clothes, the young people left for the station and took tickets to Vienna, from where they went further on their honeymoon. A few months later they returned to Russia, but for some time they lived in Ivanovka, where their first daughter was born. Why did everything happen this way? The fact is that Sergey and Natalya were cousins. Marriages between close relatives were forbidden, and they required the personal permission of the Sovereign Emperor of Russia, which was given in exceptional cases. The petition was sent, but the bride and groom did not wait for an answer from the king - and risked, despite the threat of great trouble, breaking the law. Everything worked out, and the young people returned to Moscow to their apartment on Vozdvizhenka. The couple lived together all their lives, but the poor health of their daughters, their constant illnesses constantly reminded them of the consequences of incest.

On March 14, 1903, a daughter, Irina, was born in the Rakhmaninov family, and on June 21, 1907, a daughter, Tatyana.

Lyudmila Rostovtsova, a distant relative of Sergei Rachmaninoff, sister of Verochka Skalon, wrote half a century later: “Seryozha married Natasha. He could not have chosen a better wife. She loved him from childhood, one might say, suffered through him. She was smart, musical and very informative. We were happy for Seryozha, knowing in what reliable hands he falls ... ” Rumor ascribes many more novels to Sergei Rachmaninov. Tall, handsome, unfailingly elegant, he had many admirers. During his life, S. Rachmaninov wrote more than 80 romances, each of which was dedicated to some woman. So, in September 1916, in just two and a half weeks, he wrote six romances dedicated to the young 22-year-old singer Nina Koshits (her full name- Nina Pavlovna Poray-Koshits). In October, her concerts were held, at which she was accompanied by Sergei Rachmaninov, then they went on tour in many cities of Russia. Rachmaninoff did not hide his amorous enthusiasm, which gave rise to gossip. But the revolution and the emigration of Rachmaninov put an end to this story. In exile, he did not write a single romance. For the last eighteen years, Sergei Vasilyevich was accompanied on his tours by his wife, who shared with him all the hardships of long journeys, numerous transfers and tiring sleepless nights. She protected him from drafts, watched his rest, food, packed his things after concerts and, most importantly, morally supported him. Sergei Vasilyevich called his wife "the good genius of my whole life."

Hobbies

The main passion of Sergei Rachmaninoff (after music, of course) was technology. All guests of the luxurious villa "Senar", located near Lucerne and named after the first letters of the names of the owners - Sergei and Natalia Rachmaninov, were certainly shown an elevator, a vacuum cleaner and a toy railway. And for his invention - a muff with a heating pad inside for warming hands before a concert - Sergei Rachmaninov even received a patent. Supported the composer and designer of helicopters - Sikorsky, so the US helicopter industry owes a lot to the Russian people - Sikorsky and Rachmaninoff.

Rachmaninov's special passion was cars. The famous violinist Nathan Milstein recalled: “Rakhmaninov was very fond of driving a car. Every year Rachmaninov bought a new Cadillac or Continental because he didn't like to mess around with repairs.

Almost every summer, a guest in Ivanovka, he gradually became interested, and then became very interested in agriculture. Having inherited a love of horses from his father, he rode superbly and loved to ride young horses. He spent all his free hours in the field among the peasants, observing the progress of work. Often he envied those who were freer than him and could devote more time to the household. In an effort to improve the economy, he spent a lot of money on improving inventory, livestock breeds and putting in order appearance manor with its large gardens and services. Any failure truly upset him. Successful sowing, good plowing, order in the stables and in the dairy farm greatly pleased him and always put him in a good mood.

April 1, 2008 marks the 135th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian composer, pianist Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff. His classical works, his romances and brilliant pianist skills are known and loved all over the world. Having lived in exile for 26 years, Rachmaninoff remained a truly Russian musician who preserved and developed the traditions of Russian spiritual culture.

Personal data

Sergei Vasilyevich Rahmaninov born March 20 (April 1), 1873. Died March 28, 1943. He was buried at the Russian cemetery in Kensico, near New York.

For a long time, the birthplace was considered the estate of his parents - Oneg, which is not far from Novgorod. But studies of recent years name the estate of Semenovo in the Starorussky district of the Novgorod province, where he was registered in the church book. Nevertheless, most likely, immediately after the birth, the Rachmaninov family moved to Oneg.

Rachmaninoff grew up in musical family. His grandfather, Arkady Aleksandrovich, who studied under the musician John Field, was an amateur pianist and composer. Several of his works were published in the 18th century. The father of the great composer, Vasily Arkadyevich Rachmaninov, was a man of exceptional musical talent.

His mother was his first piano teacher, although, according to the memoirs of the composer himself, the lessons gave him "great displeasure".

At the beginning of the 1880s, heavy hardships fell on the Rakhmaninov family: the destruction of the family's material well-being, the sale of Onega, and the move to St. Petersburg. In the autumn of 1882, S.V. Rakhmaninov entered the junior department of the St. Petersburg Conservatory and settled in the Trubnikov family.

However, disagreements in the family, the divorce of the parents, the lack of proper supervision of the boy and his early independence contributed little to the teaching.

The closest person to Rachmaninov in those years was his maternal grandmother S.A. Butakova. At the end of each year of studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, she took her grandson to her place in Novgorod or the nearby estate of Borisovo, where Rachmaninov had the opportunity to listen to Russian quite often folk songs who loved him very much all his life. Visiting the Novgorod monasteries with his grandmother, Sergei Vasilievich listened to the famous Novgorod bells and ancient Russian ritual melodies, in which he always noted the national folk song origins. In the future, this was reflected in his work.

Since the studies of Sergei Rachmaninov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory for three years were going poorly, then his mother, on the advice of A.I. Professor N.S. Zverev. Nikolai Sergeevich Zverev was an outstanding music teacher and educator, as evidenced by the rapid growth of his new student. Great value for the young musician, the artistic and intellectual atmosphere of Zverev's house had. Rachmaninov attends concerts of outstanding pianists A.N. Esipov, A.I. Siloti, A.G. Rubinstein and others, gets acquainted with S.I. Taneyev, V.I.Safonov, P.I. Tchaikovsky, whose friendship and support Rachmaninoff greatly valued. It was during the years of his stay with Zverev that Rachmaninoff learned the ability to work, which later helped him to conduct an extremely intensive and versatile work as a composer, pianist and conductor. Rachmaninoff's enormous successes both in the piano class and in special theory distinguished him more and more brightly every year among the students of the conservatory. At the end of 1889, Rachmaninov left N.S. Zverev and settled in the Satin family - Alexander Alexandrovich and Varvara Arkadyevna - his father's sister. Having moved to the next course of the conservatory in the spring, Sergei Vasilievich spends the summer with the Satins in their estate Ivanovka, Tambov province, which has become his favorite vacation spot and his best creative laboratory for life. AI Siloti becomes his piano teacher.

Even during the years of study at the Moscow Conservatory, Rachmaninov's performances were held with great success. On January 30, 1892, he gives his first independent concert, in which he performs not only as a pianist, but also as the author of a number of works.

May 29, 1892 SV Rachmaninov graduated from the Conservatory with a large gold medal, his name is entered in gold letters on a marble plaque in the Small Hall of the Conservatory. At the final exam, Rachmaninoff presented the one-act opera Aleko (based on the poem Pushkin"Gypsies"), which he wrote in just 17 days! For her, Tchaikovsky, who was present at the exam, gave his “musical grandson” (Rakhmaninov studied with Taneyev, Pyotr Ilyich’s favorite student) a five with three pluses. A year later, the 19-year-old composer's opera was staged at the Bolshoi Theatre. The music of the opera, captivating with youthful passion, dramatic power, richness and expressiveness of melodies, was highly appreciated by the largest musicians, critics and listeners. The music world reacted to "Aleko" not as school work but as a creation of the highest master. P.I. Tchaikovsky especially appreciated the opera: “I really liked this lovely thing,” he wrote to his brother. In the same years, the First Piano Concerto appeared, a number of romances, pieces for piano, including the prelude in C sharp minor, which later became one of Rachmaninov's most famous and favorite works.

Labor biography

Encouraged by the first success and moral support of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff quickly composed a number of works after graduating from the conservatory. Among them are the symphonic fantasy "Cliff", the first suite for two pianos, "Musical Moments", a C-sharp minor prelude, romances: "Do not sing, beauty, with me", "In the silence of a secret night", "Island", " Spring Waters. Impressed by the death of Tchaikovsky in 1893, the Ellegiac Trio was created.

Already at the age of 20, he became a piano teacher at the Moscow Mariinsky Women's School, at 24 - the conductor of the Moscow Russian Private Opera Savva Mamontov. He worked for only one season, but managed to make a significant contribution to the development of Russian opera.

In the period from 1897 to 1890, Rachmaninoff experienced a severe creative crisis associated with the failure of his First Symphony. During these years, he periodically gives private lessons and conducts concert activities.

In 1900, Rachmaninoff returned to composing; he writes two parts of the second piano concerto, completed a year later; at the same time the second suite for two pianos was written. The successful performance of his Second Piano Concerto in 1901 fully restored Rachmaninov's creative powers and helped him regain confidence in his abilities. The second concerto for piano and orchestra has become one of Rachmaninov's most famous works. It combines the composer's characteristic bell-like quality and impetuous stormy movement. This is the national coloristic feature of Rachmaninov's harmonic language.

Also, the Second Concerto opened the most fruitful period in the composer's activity as a composer. Beautiful works appear: preludes, etudes-pictures. The best romances were created, among them: "Lilac", "Vocalise", "At my window". The largest symphonic works of these years are the Second Symphony, symphonic poem"Dead island". In the same years, the following works were created: the poem-cantata "The Bells", a wonderful work for choir a cappella "The All-Night Vigil", the opera "The Miserly Knight" by A.S. Pushkin and "Francesca da Rimini" by Dante .

Sergei Rachmaninov has gained no less fame as a pianist. Since 1900, Rachmaninov constantly gave concerts in Russia and abroad. He successfully performed in France, in America. It seemed to listeners of Rachmaninov that he did not know any pianistic difficulties: his performance was so brilliant, virtuoso, distinguished by enormous inner strength. Contemporaries recognized Rachmaninoff as the greatest pianist of the 20th century. But he was also a talented opera and symphony conductor, who gave a peculiar interpretation of many classical works.

Rachmaninoff made his debut as a conductor on 3 September 1904 at the Bolshoi Theatre. Here he led a number of performances, primarily operas by Russian composers. Under the direction of Rachmaninoff, new productions of Ivan Susanin by M.I. Glinka and "The Queen of Spades" by P.I. Tchaikovsky. In May 1907, Rachmaninov held one of the four historical concerts of Russian music at the Paris Grand Opera (other concerts were conducted by A. Nikish, K.Chevillar and N. Rimsky-Korsakov). Giving concerts in the USA, he not only conducted his own compositions, but also offered an interesting interpretation of the works of such composers as Tchaikovsky and Mozart .

Piano music occupies a special place in the work of Rachmaninov. The best works he wrote for his favorite instrument, the piano. These are 24 preludes, 15 etudes-pictures, 4 concertos for piano and orchestra, "Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini" for piano and orchestra (1934), etc.

In 1915, Rachmaninov's comrade and fellow student in Zverev's class, the great Russian composer and pianist, dies. Alexander Scriabin. Rachmaninov's concert repertoire consisted mainly of his own compositions. But in memory of Scriabin, Rachmaninov gave several concerts from his works, including in order to financially support the Scriabin family.

During the First World War, Rachmaninov's Vespers (1915) was created - a large cycle for the choir without accompaniment on the themes of ancient church tunes. Unfortunately, Vespers turned out to be the last major work created at home. Sergei Rachmaninov fully supported the February Revolution of 1917, but his attitude towards the October Socialist Revolution was extremely negative. The nobleman and landowner did not accept the revolution of the workers and peasants, and when at the end of 1917 he was invited to give several concerts in the Scandinavian countries, he went with his family and never returned to Russia. He left his homeland, broke away from the soil on which his work grew.

Rachmaninoff experienced a deep inner drama until the end of his days. “After leaving Russia, I lost the desire to compose. Having lost my homeland, I lost myself ... ”he said.

At first, Rachmaninov lived in Denmark, where he gave many concerts, earning a living, then, in 1918, he moved to the USA. From the first concert in the small town of Providence in the state of Rhode Island, Rachmaninov's concert activity began, which continued without interruption for almost 25 years. In America, Sergei Rachmaninoff achieved a stunning success that has ever accompanied a foreign performer here. The listeners were attracted not only by Rachmaninov's high performing skills, but also by his playing style and outward asceticism, behind which the brilliant nature of the brilliant musician was hidden. “A person capable of expressing his feelings in such a manner and with such force must, first of all, learn to master them perfectly, to be their master ...” - was written in one of the reviews.

Until 1926, Sergei Rachmaninoff did not write significant works; the creative crisis thus lasted about 10 years. Only in 1926-1927. new works appear: the Fourth Concerto and Three Russian Songs. During his life abroad (1918-1943), Rachmaninoff created only 6 works, but they belong to the heights of Russian and world music, all these later works are marked by deep tragedy, imbued with love for Russia. Rachmaninoff remained a Russian composer until the end of his life.

In exile, Rachmaninoff almost stopped his conducting performances, although in America he was invited to take the post of head of the Boston symphony orchestra, and later the Cincinnati City Orchestra. But he did not agree and only occasionally stood at the conductor's stand when his own compositions were performed.

In 1941 Sergei Rachmaninoff completed his last work, recognized by many as his greatest creation, is Symphonic Dances. Rachmaninov's last years were overshadowed deadly disease(lungs' cancer). However, despite this, he continued his concert activity, which was stopped only shortly before his death.

Just six weeks before his death, Rachmaninoff performed Beethoven's first concerto and his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. An attack of illness was forced to interrupt the concert tour. Before his death, a telegram came to his name from Soviet composers congratulating him on his seventieth birthday.

Information about relatives

Sergei Rachmaninoff was born into the family of a general's daughter Lyubov Petrovna Butakova (1853-1929) and a retired hussar officer of the Grodno Regiment Vasily Arkadyevich Rachmaninov (1841-1916). Lyubov Petrovna received as a dowry five estates with large lands (one estate was ancestral, others were received as a reward for service in the cadet corps by father Pyotr Ivanovich Butakov), which her husband is a "helicopter", in the words of Lyubov Petrovna's mother, Sofia Alexandrovna Butakova - squandered in less than ten years.

Mother - Lyubov Petrovna - was a musically gifted, educated, erudite woman. She graduated from the conservatory in piano with the famous teacher Anton Rubinstein, she sang well.

Father - Vasily Arkadyevich Rachmaninov - played music beautifully, possessed the gift of improvisation.

Six children were born in the family: Vladimir, Sergey, Arkady, Elena, Sofia, Varvara.

Wife - Natalya Alexandrovna Rakhmaninova, nee Satina (1877-1951), graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in piano.

Daughter - Irina, was born in 1903 on Tambov land, in the village of Ivanovka. Irina was educated in America, having graduated from college and became fluent in English and French. In the 1920s and 1930s she lived in Paris. Here, in 1924, Irina married Prince Pyotr Grigoryevich Volkonsky, an artist, the son of an emigrant. Family happiness was short-lived, a year later Volkonsky died suddenly at the age of 28. Daughter Sophia was born after the death of her father in 1925. During the Second World War, Irina and Sophia managed to leave Paris before it was captured by the Germans. They moved to New York. Princess Irina Volkonskaya died in 1969. Her daughter Sophia died in 1968 in the Bahamas.

Daughter - Tatyana, was born in 1907 in the village of Ivanovka. Educated in America, graduated from high school in New York. Since the 1930s, Tatyana has lived in Paris. Here she married Boris Yulievich Konyus, the son of the famous music teacher, violinist and composer, who studied with Rachmaninov at the Moscow Conservatory. Tatyana and Boris had a son, Alexander. All Second world war Tatyana lived in Paris. In the 30s - 40s. Tatyana looked after her parents' estate in Switzerland and subsequently inherited it. T. Konyus died in 1961.

Alexander Rachmaninoff-Konius is the only grandson of the great composer. The Senar estate in Switzerland belongs to him, he is the heir to the archive, autographs, letters of SV Rachmaninoff. Alexander is a lawyer, he does a lot to preserve the memory of his famous grandfather. He often comes to Russia, is the organizer of competitions to them. SV Rachmaninov, President of the International Association of Friends of Rachmaninov, organizer of the Rachmaninoff celebrations in Switzerland.

Personal life

Love flared up in the heart of the great composer more than once, which inspired him to compose beautiful lyrical romances.

A summer guest in Ivanovka, on the estate of his father's sister, seventeen-year-old Sergei Rachmaninov met there with the three Skalon sisters, one of whom was Verochka, whom Sergei nicknamed "Psychopath". The girl fell in love with a young musician, and he reciprocated her. It was pure youthful love. In that amazing summer for them in Ivanovka, he dedicated to his “Psychopatushka” the romance “In the Silence of the Secret Night” created there (to the verses by A. Feta). After leaving for Moscow, he wrote her touching, sublime letters, of which more than 100 pieces were written. But almost at the same time, eighteen-year-old Sergei Rachmaninov falls recklessly in love with the wife of his friend Pyotr Lodyzhensky, Anna Lodyzhensky, a meek and affectionate woman with huge black eyes, the sister of a famous gypsy singer. He dedicated his romance “Oh no, I beg you, don’t go!” to her.

And to Verochka Skalon, Sergei left, in addition to the romance “In the Silence of the Secret Night”, two more priceless gifts: a romance for cello and piano and the second part of his First Piano Concerto.

But already in 1893, he became interested in Natalia Alexandrovna Satina, in whose parents' house he lived for several years and with whom he spent almost all of his adolescence. The 20-year-old composer dedicated the amazing romance “Do not sing, beauty, in front of me” to her. April 29, 1902 they got married. On March 14, 1903, a daughter, Irina, was born in the Rakhmaninov family, and on June 21, 1907, a daughter, Tatyana.

Lyudmila Rostovtsova, a distant relative of Sergei Rachmaninoff, sister of Verochka Skalon, wrote half a century later: “Seryozha married Natasha. He could not have chosen a better wife. She loved him from childhood, one might say, suffered through him. She was smart, musical and very informative. We were happy for Seryozha, knowing in what reliable hands he falls ... ” Rumor ascribes many more novels to Sergei Rachmaninov. Tall, handsome, unfailingly elegant, he had many admirers. During his life, S. Rachmaninov wrote more than 80 romances, each of which was dedicated to some woman. So, in September 1916, in just two and a half weeks, he wrote six romances dedicated to the young 22-year-old singer Nina Koshits (her full name is Nina Pavlovna Porai-Koshits). In October, her concerts were held, at which she was accompanied by Sergei Rachmaninov, then they went on tour in many cities of Russia. Rachmaninoff did not hide his amorous enthusiasm, which gave rise to gossip. But the revolution and the emigration of Rachmaninov put an end to this story. In exile, he did not write a single romance. For the last eighteen years, Sergei Vasilyevich was accompanied on his tours by his wife, who shared with him all the hardships of long journeys, numerous transfers and tiring sleepless nights. She protected him from drafts, watched his rest, food, packed his things after concerts and, most importantly, morally supported him. Sergei Vasilyevich called his wife "the good genius of my whole life."

Hobbies

The main passion of Sergei Rachmaninoff (after music, of course) was technology. All guests of the luxurious villa "Senar", located near Lucerne and named after the first letters of the names of the owners - Sergei and Natalia Rachmaninov, were certainly shown an elevator, a vacuum cleaner and a toy railway. And for his invention - a muff with a heating pad inside for warming hands before a concert - Sergei Rachmaninov even received a patent. Supported the composer and designer of helicopters - Sikorsky, so the US helicopter industry owes a lot to the Russian people - Sikorsky and Rachmaninoff.

Rachmaninov's special passion was cars. The famous violinist Nathan Milstein recalled: “Rakhmaninov was very fond of driving a car. Every year Rachmaninov bought a new Cadillac or Continental because he didn't like to mess around with repairs.

Almost every summer, a guest in Ivanovka, he gradually became interested, and then became very interested in agriculture. Having inherited a love of horses from his father, he rode superbly and loved to ride young horses. He spent all his free hours in the field among the peasants, observing the progress of work. Often he envied those who were freer than him and could devote more time to the household. In an effort to improve the economy, he spent a lot of money on improving inventory, livestock breeds and putting in order the appearance of the estate with its large gardens and services. Any failure truly upset him. Successful sowing, good plowing, order in the stables and in the dairy farm greatly pleased him and always put him in a good mood.

He had a large library. Every autumn, he brought with him from Europe the books he read most liked during the summer. Giving them to relatives and friends, he shared with them his impressions of what he had read. In recent years, he was also fond of reading the speeches of famous Russian lawyers and judicial figures, admiring the beauty of their language. He was also fond of history and read a lot of related literature.

Enemies

The enmity that arose between the director of the conservatory Safonov and Siloti was transferred by Safonov to Rachmaninov when the latter was still a student at the conservatory. Safonov disliked him both as a pianist and as a person. Therefore, in a difficult period, in 1897-1899, when S. Rakhmaninov was in dire need of some kind of income, he could not count on a professorship at the conservatory or on performances in concerts of the Russian Musical Society. It is possible that Safonov would have changed his attitude towards him if Rachmaninov had taken a step towards Safonov. But no matter how much Rakhmaninov needed, of course, neither pride, nor pride, nor dignity would ever allow him to do this. At random meetings with Safonov, Altani and other powers that be, Rachmaninov had only to think that he might be suspected of fawning, as the face of the young artist became stern, and he took on a completely impregnable appearance. In the subsequent period, when S. Rakhmaninov tried to combine all his musical specialties - both composing, performing, and conducting, this caused a lot of critical responses in musical circles. Conservative circles that did not like him, led by Ippolitov-Ivanov, said that no one would get along with him, as he was too demanding, harsh and adamant, and one of the music critics wrote that "Rakhmaninov burns his candle from three ends."

Companions

Sergei Rachmaninov, while still studying at the conservatory, had many friends from musical environment, among them were his fellow students, and those who were already professionally connected with music - musicians, composers, singers. So, he was friends with the composer Pyotr Lodyzhensky, his brother-in-law, Nadezhda Alexandrovna, a famous gypsy singer at that time.

While studying at the Moscow Conservatory, Sergei Rachmaninoff became close friends with Alexander Scriabin, the future great Russian composer and pianist, with whom he continued to be friends until his death in 1915. Another friend with whom he was friendly during his studies was Julius Eduardovich Konyus. He, like Rachmaninoff, emigrated after the revolution and lived in France, where they subsequently met frequently, and with whom Rachmaninoff corresponded over the years. Subsequently, his youngest daughter married the son of Konyus.

The last few years of his studies at the conservatory, Rachmaninov often talked with P.I. Tchaikovsky, who carefully observed the talented student and helped him in many ways. Long years Friendship connected Rachmaninoff with his teacher and senior comrade S.I. Taneyev. Arriving at the position of second conductor in the theater of S.I. Mamontov, Rachmaninov met with outstanding Russian artists and actors - V. Serov, TO. Korovin, N.I. Zabeloy-Vrubel. There, a close friendship began with the great singer F.I. Chaliapin, who remained the closest friend of Rachmaninov until the end of his life.

Living for three years in Dresden, he met the Russian musician N.G. Struve there. Their acquaintance soon turned into a great friendship, which did not stop until the death of Struve, who tragically died in 1920. He also interacted closely with famous musicians- Medtner, Brandukov, Morozov.

Weaknesses

The weaknesses of Sergei Rachmaninov include the fact that he was very hard to endure any setbacks. They led him out of balance for a long time and led to despondency and depression. In addition, Sergei Rachmaninov was not a very good teacher. Private lessons, which he was forced to give in the period 1987-1990, disgusted him, he was annoyed by the inability of the students, their lack of understanding. He was quick-tempered and impatient with them. Perhaps this affected his attitude to teaching in the future, so Rachmaninov did not have students and followers of his skill.

Rachmaninov's passion for cars, the first of which he acquired back in 1914, eventually turned into a real weakness of the musician. Sergei Vasilievich “suffered” from a scratch inflicted on the car, canceled trips if it rained, so that, God forbid, the color of the car would somehow not suffer, and for no reason allowed, with very rare exceptions, other people to drive the car. This attitude to cars was the subject of frequent jokes in the family, but Sergei Vasilievich remained unshakable.

The drivers who served with him knew how to please Sergei Vasilyevich. It seems that nothing gave him such satisfaction as giving a car to looking good, that is, washed and shiny from polished metal parts.

Another weakness of Rachmaninoff was his love for good costumes. Exceptionally modest in habits, rarely spending money on himself, Sergei Vasilievich spared no expense when it came to good clothes. He always dressed at the best tailor in England. Rachmaninov, laughing, told the story from the words of his English manager, how, after his concert, one of the listeners, having met this manager, turned to him with a question not about the performance of Sergei Vasilievich, not about the performance of any work, but about which tailor Rachmaninoff dresses so amazingly well. The visitor was very pleased to learn that the tailor was English. Sergei Vasilyevich's music made less of an impression on him than his costume.

Strengths

The musical talent of Sergei Rachmaninov manifested itself very early. Already at the age of four, he played the piano with four hands with his grandfather. While studying at the conservatory, he impressed his teachers with phenomenal hearing and memory. It was enough for him to look at the notes of the piece, and he could already play it. Contemporaries in the musical circle put Sergei Rachmaninoff very highly already at a very young age. Drawing attention to the talented student, P.I. Tchaikovsky said: "I predict a great future for him."

All Rachmaninoff's work is permeated with the Russian spirit. It reflects childhood experiences folk songs, church Russian music.

Having left Russia at the age of 47, he remained a patriot to the end, deeply worried about his separation from his homeland. While in exile, he wrote: “I write the music that I hear inside myself. I am a Russian composer, and my fatherland influenced both my temperament and my worldview, therefore my music is Russian ... "During the Great Patriotic War Rachmaninoff transferred the money collected from one of his concerts to the USSR Defense Fund with the words: “From one of the Russians, all possible assistance to the Russian people in their struggle against the enemy. I want to believe, I believe in complete victory.

Apparently, this influenced the loyalty of the Soviet government to the memory and legacy of the great composer.

Sergei Rachmaninov was constantly involved in charity work.

So, speaking in St. Petersburg, he transfers half of the collection from the concert on February 21, 1916 to the musical fund, and half of the collection from the concert on February 26 in Moscow - to the Union of Cities. In addition, Rachmaninov decides to perform again in the 1917 season and gives the entire collection to the needs of the army. This time, in order to raise the largest amount of money, a concert is held at the Bolshoi Theater, and Rachmaninoff plays three concerts in one evening to attract the public: Liszt's Concerto, Tchaikovsky's Concerto and his Second Concerto. In 1921/22, Sergei Vasilyevich gives sixty-four concerts in America from November 10 to April 21. The proceeds from the last two concerts in New York went to the needs of the Russian people. The collection since April 21 went to help Russian students in America. The proceeds from the symphony concert on April 2, in which Sergei Vasilyevich again performed his Second and Third Concertos conducted by Damrosch, were donated through the ARA (American Relief Administration) organization to benefit the starving people in Russia. Sergei Vasilyevich insisted that part of this amount be spent by the organization to help his fellow professionals: artists, musicians and staff of the Russian Conservatory, philharmonic schools and opera houses, including, of course, members of orchestras and choirs. In this difficult and terrible year for Russia, Sergei Vasilyevich sent, in addition, a very large number of individual parcels: to relatives, friends, musicians, actors, artists, scientists, teaching staff of some secondary schools and schools of painting and sculpture, professors of many higher educational institutions of Petrograd , Kyiv, Kharkov and other cities. Parcels were sent to Moscow to all the highest educational establishments for distribution to those most in need. These parcels of sugar, flour, fats and other foodstuffs were sent through the ARA, and simply by mail. According to the postscripts to the receipts that came back for receiving packages, one can see how this memory and attention of Sergei Vasilyevich were appreciated in Russia, how strong and touching the words of gratitude were.

The perseverance and perseverance with which Sergei Vasilyevich continued his daily studies are amazing. Despite the huge success that accompanied each of his performances, he did not rest on his laurels, but, on the contrary, became more and more demanding of himself, striving for further improvement in the performance of things. Often, after a concert, he was dissatisfied with himself and became gloomy, because he had not quite managed to play any thing the way he wanted it, the way he felt it. And here no praises, challenges and applause could help the cause.

Merits and failures

The greatest composer, virtuoso pianist, brilliant conductor, whose works are known and appreciated all over the world, gained fame early.

After graduating with honors from the Moscow Conservatory, where his name is written in gold letters on a commemorative marble plaque, which is still in the academic building, and the first works that were a huge success, he experienced a blow that made him lose faith in himself for a long three years. In 1895, Rachmaninoff completed his first symphony, which at the beginning of 1897 was performed in one of the Russian symphony concerts» under the direction of A.K. Glazunov. The symphony failed, it was not understood. According to a relative of Rachmaninov, L.D. Rostovtseva-Skalon, Glazunov stood phlegmatically at the console and also phlegmatically conducted it. The symphony was not liked by the public or the critics. Caesar Cui wrote, for example, in his review that the author was talented, but that if there was a conservatory in hell, Rachmaninoff would undoubtedly be its first student. This upset Rachmaninoff to such an extent that he became depressed. He even had to be treated by a psychiatrist. For several years, Rachmaninoff could not compose, and only the help of an experienced doctor, Nikolai Dahl, helped him get out of the crisis.

And another period in his life was marked by the creative crisis of the composer. His emigration from Russia had a very strong effect on him, and for almost ten years S. Rakhmaninov did not write a single work, all his activities were reduced mainly to performing, although they were a tremendous success both in America and in Europe.

Compromising evidence

April 29, 1902 in the church of the 6th Tauride Grenadier Regiment on the outskirts of Moscow, the wedding of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Natalia Satina took place. It was raining heavily, there were almost no people in the church, and the ceremony was somehow hastily. After the wedding, having barely driven home to change clothes, the young people left for the station and took tickets to Vienna, from where they went further on their honeymoon. A few months later they returned to Russia, but for some time they lived in Ivanovka, where their first daughter was born. Why did everything happen this way? The fact is that Sergey and Natalya were cousins. Marriages between close relatives were forbidden, and they required the personal permission of the Sovereign Emperor of Russia, which was given in exceptional cases. The petition was sent, but the bride and groom did not wait for an answer from the king - and risked, despite the threat of great trouble, breaking the law. Everything worked out, and the young people returned to Moscow to their apartment on Vozdvizhenka. The couple lived together all their lives, but the poor health of their daughters, their constant illnesses constantly reminded them of the consequences of incest.

The dossier was prepared by Dionysus Kaptar
KM.RU April 1, 2008

Composer, pianist and conductor

For a long time, the Oneg estate, which belonged to his mother, was considered the birthplace of Rachmaninov, but in other studies, the birthplace of Sergei Rachmaninoff is the Semenovo estate of the Starorussky district of the Novgorod province. But the childhood of Sergei Rachmaninoff was spent in Onega.

Rachmaninov was born into the family of a general's daughter Lyubov Butakova and a retired hussar officer of the Grodno regiment Vasily Rachmaninov. Lyubov Petrovna received as a dowry five estates with large land plots. One of these estates was ancestral, while others were received by her father, Peter Butakov, as a reward for service in the cadet corps. Sergei Rachmaninov's father squandered the family's inheritance in ten years, meanwhile six children were born in the Rachmaninoff family: Vladimir, Sergei, Arkady, Elena, Sofia and Varvara.

Sergei Rachmaninov grew up in a musical family. It is known that the future composer liked to listen to the bell ringing while visiting the Novgorod monasteries with his grandmother. His grandfather Arkady Aleksandrovich studied with John Field, was an amateur pianist and composer, and several of his works were published in the 18th century. The father of the great composer was also a very musically gifted person. Rachmaninov's mother graduated from the conservatory in piano with the famous teacher Anton Rubinstein, sang well and was Sergei's first piano teacher, although, according to the composer himself, these lessons gave him "great displeasure". Nevertheless, by the age of four, little Sergei Rachmaninov already knew how to play four hands with his grandfather.

In the early 1880s, the Rachmaninoff family was beset by severe adversity. The material well-being of the family was destroyed, the Oneg estate was sold, and the Rachmaninoffs moved to St. Petersburg. In the autumn of 1882, Sergei Rachmaninov entered the junior department of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the class of the teacher V.V. Demyansky and settled in the Trubnikovs' house. But discord in the family, lack of proper supervision and early independence little Sergei contributed little to learning. The closest person to Rachmaninov in those years was his grandmother S.A. Butakova. At the end of each year of studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, she took her grandson to her place in Novgorod or the nearby Borisovo estate.

In 1885, after numerous requests from his mother, Sergei Rachmaninov was listened to by his cousin, the musician AI Siloti. Convinced of the talent of his cousin, Siloti took Sergei to the Moscow Conservatory, to the class of the unique teacher and mentor Nikolai Zverev. Sergei became his student and lived in his house along with other boys. The class schedule was very strict. Zverev was strict with his students, but fair, did not tolerate laziness and carefully selected comrades for his students. The artistic and intellectual atmosphere of Zverev's house was of great importance for the young musician. Rachmaninov attended concerts of the remarkable pianists A.N. Esipov, A.I. Ziloti and A.G. Rubinstein, met S.I. Taneyev, V.I. Safonov and P.I. . It was during the years of his stay with Zverev that Rachmaninoff learned the ability to work, which subsequently helped him to conduct an extremely intensive and versatile work as a composer, pianist and conductor. The tremendous successes of Sergei Rachmaninoff both in the piano class and in special theory made him stand out among the students of the conservatory more and more brightly every year.

At the end of 1889, Rachmaninoff stopped living with Zverev and moved in with Varvara and Alexander Satin. Their Ivanovka estate in the Tambov province became his favorite vacation spot and his best creative laboratory. In Ivanovka, Sergei Rachmaninoff met with the three Skalon sisters, one of whom was Vera. The girl fell in love with a young musician, and he reciprocated her. Rachmaninov dedicated to her the romance “In the Silence of the Secret Night”, created in Ivanovka, written by him to the verses of Alexander Fet. After leaving for Moscow, he wrote her more than a hundred touching and sublime letters. Vere Skalon Sergei Rachmaninov also wrote a romance for cello and piano and the second movement of his First Piano Concerto.

Rachmaninoff began performing while studying at the Moscow Conservatory, and his performances were a great success. At the senior department of the conservatory, Rachmaninov began to study composition under the guidance of S.I. Taneyev and A.S. Arensky. At the same time, Sergei Rachmaninov first met Pyotr Tchaikovsky, who noticed a capable student and closely followed his progress. After some time, Tchaikovsky said: "I predict a great future for him."

The undoubted success of the 19-year-old Rachmaninoff was the production of his opera Aleko at the Bolshoi Theater. The music of the opera, captivating with youthful passion, dramatic power, richness and expressiveness of melodies, was highly appreciated by the largest musicians, critics and listeners. The musical world treated "Aleko" not as a school work, but as a creation of the highest master. Tchaikovsky especially appreciated the opera: “I really liked this lovely thing,” he wrote to his brother. In the last years of Tchaikovsky's life, Rachmaninoff often communicated with him. He highly appreciated the work of Tchaikovsky, and was encouraged by his first success and moral support. famous composer.

After graduating from the conservatory, Rachmaninoff composed a number of works. Among them were the symphonic fantasy "The Cliff", the first suite for two pianos, "Musical Moments", the C-sharp minor prelude, the romances "Do not sing, beauty, in front of me", "In the silence of the secret night", "Island" and "Spring water". In 1893, after the death of Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff created the Ellegiac Trio. Sergei Vasilievich said in an interview: “Tchaikovsky died in October of that year, a deep sense of bereavement prompted me to write the Elegiac Trio “In Memory of a Great Artist” for piano, violin and cello ... You see, the year of my composer debut was quite tense. I composed several serious pieces one after the other, but it is strange that a small piano piece - a cis-moll Prelude - made me famous in many countries.

In the spring of 1894, Rachmaninoff began teaching at the Mariinsky Women's School and the Elizabethan Institute. The largest creation of the young composer at that time was the First Symphony, written in the period from 1895 to 1897. However, the unusual nature of the symphony, and its unsuccessful performance by A.K. Glazunov, led to a failure, which was hard for the author. Great importance for the composer at that time had the moral support and care of people close to him. He spent the summer of 1897 in the company of the Skalon family in their Nizhny Novgorod estate of Ignatovo.

Since 1897, Rachmaninov's conducting activity began as the second bandmaster. opera house S.I. Mamontov. In the Mammoth Theater, Rachmaninoff met with Fyodor Chaliapin, with whom the composer maintained friendly relations all his life. In the summer of 1898, Rachmaninov, with the artists of the Russian Private Opera, arrived in the Crimea, where he met with Anton Chekhov. In the spring of 1899 Rachmaninoff made his first concert trip abroad to England.

The first years of the new century marked the beginning of a new chapter in the annals of Rachmaninov's life and work. The great musician experienced a powerful influx of creative forces. Rachmaninov created new works, performed in concerts in Vienna, Moscow, St. Petersburg and the provinces, since 1904 he took the post of Kapellmeister of the Bolshoi Theater. There have been changes in the personal life of the composer. A long-standing youthful friendship with Natalya Satina, in whose parents' house he lived for several years, and with whom he spent almost all of his adolescence, grew into a mutual feeling. It was Natalya Satina who the 20-year-old composer dedicated the romance "Do not sing, beauty, in my presence." On April 29, 1902, they were married in a small church of the 6th Tauride Grenadier Regiment on the outskirts of Moscow. After the wedding, having barely stopped at home to change clothes, the newlyweds left for the station and took tickets to Vienna, from where they left on their honeymoon. A few months later they returned to Russia, but for some time they lived in Ivanovka, where their first daughter was born. It should be noted that Sergei and Natalya were cousins, and marriages between close relatives were prohibited, and they required the personal permission of the Emperor of Russia, which was given in exceptional cases. The petition was sent, but the bride and groom did not wait for an answer from the king, and got married, despite possible big troubles, to break the law. Everything worked out, they returned to Moscow to their apartment on Vozdvizhenka, and on March 14, 1903, their daughter Irina was born. And on June 21, 1907, another girl was born to the Rachmaninoffs, whom they named Tatyana. Lyudmila Rostovtsova, a distant relative of Sergei Rachmaninov, sister of Vera Skalon, wrote half a century later: “Seryozha married Natasha. He could not have chosen a better wife. She loved him from childhood, one might say, suffered through him. She was smart, musical and very informative. We were happy for Seryozha, knowing in what reliable hands he falls into ... ".

Tall, handsome and invariably elegant, Rachmaninoff was always surrounded by many admirers. During his life, he wrote more than 80 romances, each of which was dedicated to a woman. In September 1916, in just two and a half weeks, he wrote six romances dedicated to the singer Nina Koshyts. Sergei Rachmaninov accompanied her on tour, and did not hide his amorous enthusiasm, which gave rise to gossip. But the revolution and the emigration of Rachmaninov put an end to this story. In exile, he did not write a single romance. For the last eighteen years, Sergei Vasilyevich on his tours was accompanied by his wife, who shared with him all the hardships of long journeys, numerous transfers and tiring sleepless nights. She protected him from drafts, watched his rest, food, packed his things after concerts and, most importantly, morally supported him. Sergei Vasilyevich called his wife "the good genius of my whole life."

Rachmaninov perceived the World War of 1914-1918 as the most difficult test for Russia. From the very first “war season”, Sergei Vasilievich began to constantly participate in charity concerts, and perceived the February Revolution of 1917 as a joyful event. Soon his sense of joy was replaced by doubts, which grew more and more in connection with the unfolding events. October Revolution was greeted with dismay by the composer. In his opinion, due to the breakdown of the whole system, artistic activity in Russia could stop for many years, and having left on tour in Sweden in December 1917, Rachmaninov and his family never returned to Russia. He left his homeland, broke away from the soil on which his work grew, and until the end of his days he experienced a deep inner drama. “After leaving Russia, I lost the desire to compose. Having lost my homeland, I lost myself ... ”he said.

In exile, the Rachmaninoff family initially settled in Denmark, where the composer gave many concerts to earn a living, and in 1918 the Rachmaninovs moved to America, where Rachmaninoff's concert activity continued without interruption for almost 25 years. In America, Sergei Rachmaninoff achieved stunning success. The listeners were attracted not only by Rachmaninov's high performing skills, but also by the manner of his playing, external asceticism, behind which the brilliant nature of the brilliant musician was hidden. “A person capable of expressing his feelings in such a manner and with such force must, first of all, learn to master them perfectly, to be their master ...” - was written in one of the reviews. In an interview about working in America, Rachmaninov said: “I'm tired of America. Just think: to give concerts almost every day for three months in a row. I played only my works. The success was great, they forced to encore up to seven times, which is a lot for the local public. The audience is surprisingly cold, spoiled by the tours of first-class artists, always looking for something unusual, unlike others. The local newspapers are sure to note how many times they were called, and for a large public this is a measure of your talent.

In exile, Rachmaninoff almost stopped his conducting performances, although he was invited to take the post of head of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and later the orchestra of the city of Cincinnati. But he did not agree and only occasionally stood at the conductor's stand when his own compositions were performed. In an interview, he said: “What pleasantly struck and deeply touched me in America was the popularity of Tchaikovsky. A cult has been created around the name of our composer. Not a single concert passes without the name of Tchaikovsky in the program. And what is most surprising of all, the Yankees, perhaps, feel and understand Tchaikovsky better than us Russians. Positively, every note of Tchaikovsky says something to them. Music education in America is well established. I have visited conservatories in Boston and New York. Of course, they showed me the best students, but a good school is visible in the very manner of performance. This, however, is understandable - the Americans do not skimp on writing the best European virtuosos and paying them colossal fees for teaching. And in general, in the staff of professors of their conservatories 40% of foreigners. The orchestras are also very good. Especially in Boston. This is without a doubt one of the best orchestras in the world. However, it is 90% foreigners. wind instruments- all French, but the strings are in the hands of the Germans.

Living abroad, Rachmaninov did not forget about his homeland. He closely followed the development of Soviet culture, and Rachmaninov's Bolshevik attitude to power was unshakably negative. Giving concerts in America and Europe, Rachmaninoff achieved artistic and material well-being, but did not find the peace of mind he had lost when leaving Russia. For many years he helped his comrades in the profession, held charity concerts. The composer helped the helicopter designer Sikorsky. Meeting with him in America, he enthusiastically listened to his stories about the testing of new aircraft.

In 1930, Sergei Vasilievich bought a house near Lucerne, and called this estate "Senar", combining the first two letters of his name and the name of his wife Natalia, adding the letter "R" to them - the Rachmaninoffs. Natalya Rachmaninova recalled: “In 1930, O.O. Rizeman came to Clairefontaine, who was going to write a biography of Sergei Vasilyevich. He spoke with such enthusiasm about life in Switzerland and so persuaded Sergei Vasilyevich to buy some piece of land there in order to spend summer rest in this late country that Sergei Vasilyevich decided to go there. He had long been weary of the annual search for dachas in Europe and spoke of the desire to settle down in a certain place, not wandering around dachas and resorts in his old age. We went to Switzerland at the end of August and stayed with Riesemann's friends - prof. Kramer and his wife, who lived in their villa on the shores of Lake Firwaldstet, not far from Lucerne. We traveled all over the neighborhood and carefully examined the proposed sites. Finally we found a good place near Gertenstein, owned by a widow. Sergei Vasilyevich liked this place very much, and he immediately bought it. This estate had a large three-storey very old house . Sergei Vasilievich decided to demolish it and build a new one with all the amenities. Our house was built on the site of a large rock that had to be blown up. For two years, while this house was being built, we lived in a relatively small outbuilding. The workers came at 6 o'clock in the morning and began to work with some kind of drills. The hellish noise kept us awake. Sergei Vasilyevich was so passionate about construction that he treated it condescendingly. He liked to examine all the plans with the architect, walked with him around the building with pleasure, and was even more interested in talking with the gardener who planned the garden. The entire empty area in front of the future house had to be filled two and a half meters deep with huge blocks of granite left over from the explosion of the rock. It was covered with earth and sown with grass. After two or three years, this plot turned into a magnificent green meadow that spread out in front of the house. Due to landslides, a steep cliff from the house to the lake had to be laid out with stones, a real wall was obtained, which was nicknamed Gibraltar. While the house was being built, Russian friends often came to our wing: Horowitz and his wife, the violinist Milstein, the cellist Pyatigorsky and others. There was a lot of good music these days. Our new house was built in Art Nouveau style, with three large terraces, overlooking the lake, Mount Pilatus on one side, and Mount Rigi on the other. Sergei Vasilievich demolished the old boat pier and built a new one for a motor boat on this site. The area near the pier was lined with granite slabs, there were two benches on it, and from it a wide staircase descending directly into the lake. The house was built very well. He was handsome and comfortable. One of the doors of the large hallway led to the studio of Sergei Vasilyevich, which was located on the western side of the house. It was a large room with two huge windows, from which one could see a staircase descending directly into the lake. As for the garden, it was full of flowering shrubs, and only a very small area was left unplanted for strawberries and a small vegetable garden. Sergei Vasilyevich planted every bush and tree with such love. Arriving in Senar in the spring, he first of all walked around his plantations, looking at how much they had grown since autumn. Unfortunately, he did not get to see Senar after the 1939-1945 war. How amazed he would be to see how all his plantings had grown and how everything was really extraordinarily beautiful. It was good to come back in the spring after the concert season and tiresome trips around America and Europe to our wonderful Senar. We all felt so comfortable and well there. Beautiful roomy house with all amenities, garden, full of flowers, magnificent bathing, silence ... Only twice I had to persuade and convince Sergei Vasilyevich to leave Senar for a short time for a resort to treat his fingers, since the pain in one of the fingers frightened him and interfered with his playing a little. In the very first year after finishing work in the house, while living in Senar, he composed one of his best works - the Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra. This was in 1934. The next two summers in Senar he worked and completed his Third Symphony. In 1938, he wanted to rest, and he limited himself to just looking at various small things and making plans for future big work. He was deeply upset by the death of Chaliapin in the spring of 1938, and he constantly remembered him. In the spring of 1939, Sergei Vasilyevich slipped in the dining room and fell heavily. I was on the terrace. An Englishman, Mr. Lockhart, who was with him, who temporarily acted as Sergei Vasilievich's secretary, was so at a loss that he did not even call me. But the housekeeper came running, hearing a roar, and the three of us took Sergey Vasilyevich, pale as death, upstairs in an elevator and put him to bed. A doctor was called from Lucerne, who told him to lie down; he said that apparently there was no fracture. Arriving the next day, the doctor was convinced that there was nothing but a severe bruise and shock from the fall. He said that Sergei Vasilyevich could get up and soon he would be able to start playing. Sergei Vasilievich's left leg still hurt for a long time, and the hand near the hand was completely blue. The bruise was so strong that during the whole summer Sergei Vasilyevich walked around the garden limping and with two sticks. When later we went to Lucerne to the surgeon Brun to take an x-ray, Sergei Vasilievich was especially worried about his hand, Brun told me with admiration that in all his many years of practice he had not seen such a perfectly shaped hand.

The main hobby of Sergei Rachmaninoff, in addition to music, was technology. To all the guests of his villa "Senar" he showed an elevator, a vacuum cleaner and a toy railway. And for his invention - a muff with a heating pad inside for warming hands before a concert - Sergei Rachmaninov even received a patent. Rachmaninov's special passion was cars. The famous violinist Nathan Milstein recalled: “Rakhmaninov was very fond of driving a car. Every year Rachmaninov bought a new Cadillac or Continental because he didn't like to mess around with repairs.

The Rachmaninov family lived in the Senar estate for about 10 years, but after the outbreak of World War II, they moved to America. After the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union, Rakhmaninov tried to help his compatriots. In 1941 he held a charity concert in New York, the entire collection from which he transferred to the Soviet consul V.A. Fedyushin. In a cover letter, Sergei Vasilievich wrote: “From one of the Russians, all possible assistance to the Russian people in their struggle against the enemy. I want to believe, I believe in complete victory!...”. This was not his only concert, the fee from which went to help the struggling Motherland.

In 1942, it was 50 years since the beginning of Rachmaninov's artistic activity, but the hero of the day forbade relatives and friends to talk about it. On the one hand, he did not like solemn events with banquets and toasts, on the other hand, he considered the celebration inappropriate when blood was shed at the fronts. In America, few people remembered the composer's anniversary, only representatives of the Steinway company presented Rachmaninov with a magnificent piano. And in the Soviet Union, an exhibition dedicated to the life and work of Rachmaninov was organized at the Bolshoi Theater.

The last concert season, despite feeling unwell, Rachmaninoff began on October 12, 1942. On February 17, 1943, his last concert took place, after which, due to illness, Rachmaninov was forced to interrupt the tour. From the memoirs of the composer's wife: “During the war, we spent the summers of 1940 and 1941 at dachas near New York. In 1942, Sergei Vasilyevich decided to spend the summer in California. He wrote to S.L. Bertenson received a letter asking him to find us a suitable dacha. Soon the answer came that the dacha had been found. It was a villa that belonged to a film actress. This house stood on a mountain, and from the terrace there was a marvelous view of Los Angeles and the whole neighborhood. The villa had a large swimming pool. Palm trees and flowers in the garden. In the studio of Sergei Vasilievich there were two pianos. Vladimir Horowitz and his wife lived not far from us. To get to them, it was only necessary to go down from our mountain. Sergei Vasilyevich was very fond of Wanda Horowitz for her straightforwardness. Sergei Vasilievich and Horowitz played the two pianos more than once with great pleasure. They played Mozart, Sergei Vasilievich's suites, the newly released arrangement for two pianos of Sergei Vasilievich's "Symphonic Dances" and other things. We often invited guests in the evening for dinner. On the huge terrace in this house were placed small tables on which food was served. All the walls of the terrace were covered with flowers, and lamps were burning everywhere. It was very nice and comfortable. Bertenson, Horowitz, Fedya Chaliapin, the Tamirovs, the Ratovs came. It was very fun and lively. Arrived once and Arthur Rubinstein with his wife. Once the Stravinskys were having lunch, and they in turn invited us to dinner. We also visited the Tamirovs, who lived on a farm outside the city. I remember well one successful evening at the Tamirovs'. With us were Horowitz and former entertainer Art Theater Lev Bulgakov with his wife. He was a very cheerful person. Once at Horowitz's we met Charlie Chaplin, Rene Clair, De Mills and other actors. At Rubinstein we met with Charles Boyer and Ronald Colman. Arthur Rubinstein was an excellent storyteller. Film actors often advised him to act in films. That evening he was talking about two birds, and he presented one of them so well that I still see him as that bird. Rubinstein also played us his recording of Grieg's Piano Concerto and delighted Sergei Vasilievich and all those present. Sergei Vasilyevich remembered Rubinstein as a completely young man and always talked about what a talented pianist he was. Living in California, Sergei Vasilyevich decided to buy a small house there. He had been saying for a year or two that it was time for him to stop his concert trips, to perform in concerts only occasionally and to concentrate mainly on compositions. We soon found a suitable two-story house on Elm Drive 10 in Beverly Hills with a front garden at the entrance and a small garden at the back of the house. There are three big trees in front of the house. In the yard - a garage. Above the garage, we decided to build a small studio isolated from external noise for Sergei Vasilievich's classes. On the ground floor of the house there was an entrance hall, a dining room, a living room, Sergei Vasilyevich's office with a small balcony, a servant's room and a kitchen. On the second floor there was a bedroom with a large balcony overlooking the garden, a boudoir and two other bedrooms. Sergey Vasilyevich himself went to the decorator, ordered draperies from him, chose the necessary furniture himself; part of what was purchased was delivered immediately, the rest was to be delivered by the spring of 1943. Before leaving California, we stayed in our new home for two days and received many housewarming flowers from friends. I don't believe in premonitions, but I didn't want to move into this house and I didn't want to leave New York. In these two days spent in our new home, I could not get rid of gloomy thoughts. In October we returned to New York, and Sergei Vasilievich soon began his annual concert season. He soon became noticeably haggard and thinner. He often said to me during the trip: "I don't have C-and-l." This worried me terribly... At the end of November we were passing through Chicago. There we had a doctor friend whom I asked to recommend a good specialist in internal medicine to us in order to investigate the state of health of Sergei Vasilyevich. These two doctors began to study him together, and from the report they sent to New York it was clear that they did not find anything wrong. Christmas we, as always, spent at home. In the mornings, at this time, Sergei Vasilyevich had a strong tickle in his throat, and he coughed quite strongly. Since he had had this before from smoking, I was not particularly worried, but nevertheless insisted that he go to the doctor again. And this doctor did not find anything threatening. On February 1, 1943, twenty-five years after our arrival in America, we took American citizenship. We had, of course, to take an examination; we prepared for it, we were accepted out of line, and everything went well, although I stumbled on some easy question. The next day we left again for the second half of the concert tour. On February 11, Sergei Vasilievich played Beethoven's First Concerto and his Rhapsody in Chicago under the baton of Stock. The hall was packed, and when Sergei Vasilyevich left, the orchestra greeted him with a carcass, and the whole audience stood up to greet him. He played wonderfully, but he felt bad, complained of severe pain in his side. We again called a familiar Russian doctor to talk to him about Sergei Vasilyevich's ailment. The doctor explained the pain in his side by the dry pleurisy suffered by Sergey Vasilyevich, which surprised me very much, since I knew that Sergey Vasilyevich had never had pleurisy. “I hear clearly that you had pleurisy,” insisted the doctor. He advised Sergey Vasilyevich to cancel the upcoming concerts and, knowing that we would end up in Florida, he hoped that Sergey Vasilyevich, after lying down and resting in the sun, would begin to feel better. But before Florida, Sergei Vasilyevich had to give two concerts in Louisville and Knoxville, which he had to cancel before Christmas due to a finger burn. Having then canceled concerts out of necessity, he wanted to fulfill the promise he had made to the local manager that he would give these concerts in February. Sergei Vasilievich did not like to "let down" local agents. I begged him to refuse these two concerts, but he again repeated his favorite phrase: “You won’t carry me in a chair, I won’t feed pigeons while sitting in a chair, it’s better to die.” And he played these two concerts already quite sick. It hurt him to move. All the strength of his will was needed to endure these concerts. L. E. Konyus, a friend of Sergei Vasilyevich at the conservatory, with whom he studied composition with Arensky, came to the concert in Louisville. It was their last meeting... Having got rid of these two concerts, Sergey Vasilievich agreed to give up all the rest and go straight to California to his new home. Having left New Orleans for California in the morning, Sergei Vasilievich noticed blood from his throat while coughing. We were both very scared. I immediately laid him down on the couch and let him swallow pieces of ice. We sent a telegram to Fedya Chaliapin in California asking him to meet us at the train station in Los Angeles and warn Dr. Golitsyn of our arrival. In addition, of course, they telegraphed their daughter Irina about what had happened. On the train, we received a response from her. She spoke with the chief physician of the Roosevelt Hospital in New York, who telegraphed his colleague to the Los Angeles hospital, asking him to meet Sergei Vasilyevich at the station and put him in the hospital. Irina begged us to follow the doctor's advice and immediately go from the station to the hospital. When we finally arrived in Los Angeles, we were met by Fedya Chaliapin and Tamara Tamirova, who grabbed a chair for movement. Immediately there was an ambulance (ambulance) for the transportation of Sergei Vasilyevich to the hospital and a doctor, notified by Irina's telegram about the time of our arrival. We all persuaded Sergei Vasilyevich to go straight to the hospital so much that he, in the end, obeyed our requests. We got to the hospital around 12 noon. His room was ready, he was undressed and put to bed, and I went home. At home I found Fedya and Tamirova, who had arrived there straight from the station, and Dr. Golitsyn. The consultation was to take place the next day in the morning. In the morning I rushed to the hospital. Three doctors examined Sergei Vasilyevich. Their attention was directed mainly to small tumors that appeared on the forehead and side. There were tumors in other places as well. Doctors insisted on the need to cut out part of the tumor for analysis. Sergei Vasilyevich categorically refused this. When the doctors went out into the corridor, where I was waiting for the end of the consultation, I stopped the chief doctor and asked him about the results of the examination. The doctor on the way - it seemed to me that he wanted to go unnoticed - told me that nothing could be said for certain yet. Probably, it was already clear to the doctors then that Sergei Vasilyevich had cancer. Sergei Vasilyevich kept insisting that he be allowed to go home. He stayed in the hospital for another day or two, though. Golitsyn, who came to see him, examined him, assured him that he would soon be taken home, promised to invite a Russian nurse to care for him, and that he would treat him at home in his own way. At home, a bed had already been ordered for Sergei Vasilievich with a rising headboard and a lamp with red light for warming. The visiting sister of mercy, Olga Georgievna Mordovskaya, turned out to be very nice and a good man . Finally, Sergei Vasilyevich was brought home in an ambulatory car. We laid him on a new bed, warmed him with red light and smeared the tumors with ichthyol ointment. On the next day of his move, Irina arrived home from New York, a week later sister Sonya, followed by Charles Foley, who helped us a lot in these terrible days. While still in the hospital, when the conferring doctors left, Sergei Vasilyevich raised his hands, looked at them and said: "Goodbye, my hands." Two or three days later, Sergei Vasilyevich felt somewhat better and even wanted to sit in an armchair. We sat him near the window, and he began to play solitaire. We cheered up. But soon Sergei Vasilyevich got tired and preferred his bed. He didn't have the slightest appetite. Irina cooked food for him, but he looked at the food with disgust, and it was difficult to persuade him to swallow a spoonful or two of some soup. He complained only of pain in his side. The nurse continued to warm his tumors with red light, but this no longer brought relief. He developed a cough that prevented him from sleeping. I did not leave his room day or night, going downstairs for about five minutes to dinner and breakfast. At 8 o'clock we put out the light and gave him a sleeping pill prescribed by doctors. When Sergei Vasilyevich noticed that his health was not improving, he wanted to call another doctor for advice. On the recommendation of T. Tamirova, we invited Professor Moore (I don't remember exactly his name). He insisted on cutting out part of one of the tumors for analysis, convincing Sergei Vasilyevich that this would not be a painful operation. Despite local anesthesia, Sergei Vasilievich groaned heavily. The professor promised to report the results of the analysis the next day, which he did, telling me frankly that Sergei Vasilievich had cancer, that there was no hope for recovery. When I asked how long this could go on, he replied that it was a form of fulminant cancer, that in young people the disease proceeds very quickly, and in older people the disease sometimes drags on for months. The professor tried to console me that with the help of morphine, Sergei Vasilyevich would not suffer much. These injections were given three times a day, the smallest dose was sufficient to bring him to a calm state. We were so afraid that Sergei Vasilyevich would guess about his situation that we begged the professor to tell him that he had an inflammation of the “nerve nodes”. The professor complied with our request. Coming to Sergei Vasilyevich, I told him: “You see what a rare disease you have.” “Well, then, we must endure,” he answered me. Sergei Vasilievich could be so secretive that even now I am still tormented by the question, did he know that he was dying, or did he not? I cannot forget how tormenting was the thought that I should wish him a speedy death, I, who loved him so much. Many of our friends came to visit Sergei Vasilievich: Fedya Chaliapin, the Tamirovs, Horowitz and his wife, and others. But the disease quickly advanced, and soon, except for Fedya, no one was allowed to see him. Since Sergei Vasilyevich could not stand it when his hair grew, he asked Fedya to cut his hair, as always, under the typewriter. Once, half asleep, Sergei Vasilyevich demanded that the doctor come to him every day, and we, so that he would not think that his situation was so difficult, asked Dr. Golitsyn to fulfill his desire. For all the time of his illness, Sergei Vasilyevich smiled only once, when, at his request, we helped him sit up in bed, covering him with pillows on all sides, and supported him. Irina asked him why he was smiling. “Natasha does not want anyone to touch me, except for her,” answered Sergey Vasilyevich. The disease progressed so rapidly that even Dr. Golitsyn, who visited him daily, was surprised. Sergey Vasilievich could not eat at all. Heartbeats began. I asked the doctor to tell us when Sergei Vasilyevich should be given communion. Somehow, in a semi-consciousness, Sergei Vasilievich asked me: “Who is playing?” - "God be with you, Seryozha, no one plays here." - "I hear music." Another time, Sergei Vasilyevich, raising his hand above his head, said: "Strange, I feel as if my aura is separated from my head." On March 26, Dr. Golitsyn advised calling a priest for communion. Father Gregory communed him at 11 o'clock in the morning (he also buried him). Sergei Vasilyevich was already unconscious. On the 27th, around midnight, the agony began, and on the 28th, at one in the morning, he quietly died. He had a remarkably calm and good expression on his face. The people from the funeral home quickly took him away in the morning and then moved him to the church. It was a wonderful little church of the Icon of the Mother of God of the Salvation of the Perishing, somewhere on the outskirts of Los Angeles. In the evening there was the first memorial service. A lot of people gathered. The church was full of flowers, bouquets, wreaths. Whole azaleas were sent by Steinway. For the funeral we brought only two flowers from our garden and put them on the hands of Sergei Vasilyevich. The coffin was zinc, so that later, someday, it could be transported to Russia. The choir of the Platov Cossacks sang well. They sang some especially beautiful "Lord, have mercy." For a whole month after the funeral, I could not get rid of this chant. The priest said a very good word, then we said goodbye, and Irina and her sister took me home. I could not look at how the coffin was sealed. I was not allowed to go home to New York for another month due to various formalities. The coffin of Sergei Vasilyevich was temporarily placed in the city mausoleum. At the end of May, Irina and I returned to New York, and we soon managed to buy a piece of land at the cemetery in Kensico for the grave of Sergei Vasilyevich. The funeral took place on the first of June. Metropolitan Theophilus served, a large Russian choir sang. A lot of people came to the funeral - musicians, friends, Russian and American fans of Rachmaninov, there were also representatives of Soviet Russia who came from Washington. Foley managed to arrange for the convenience of the public who came to the funeral, a special carriage that was attached to the train. On the grave, at the head, grows a large spreading maple. Instead of a fence, coniferous evergreen bushes were planted around, and flowers were planted on the grave itself. On the grave is a large Orthodox cross imitating gray marble. The cross is engraved in English with the name, dates of birth and death of Sergei Vasilyevich. After the death of Sergei Vasilyevich, the Musical Society ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) arranged a big concert in memory of Rachmaninoff in early June. Thus ended my life together with the most noble, talented and dear person to me.

Sergei Rachmaninov was buried near New York in the Russian cemetery in Kensico.

He left beautiful daughters, who tremblingly and carefully preserved the memory of their father. Irina was educated in America, having graduated from college and became fluent in English and French. In the 1920s and 1930s she lived in Paris. Here, in 1924, Irina married Prince Pyotr Grigoryevich Volkonsky, an artist, the son of an emigrant. Family happiness was short-lived, a year later Volkonsky died suddenly at the age of 28.

Tatyana was educated in America, graduated from a gymnasium in New York, and since the 1930s lived in Paris, where she married the son of a famous music teacher, violinist and composer, who studied with Rachmaninoff at the Moscow Conservatory Boris Konyus. Tatyana and Boris had a son, Alexander. During World War II, Tatiana lived in Paris. In the 1930s and 1940s, Tatiana looked after her parents' estate in Switzerland and subsequently inherited it.

Alexander Rachmaninoff-Konius is the only grandson of the great composer. The Senar estate in Switzerland later became his property. He is the heir to the archive, autographs and letters of Rachmaninov. He organized the Rachmaninov Competitions in Russia and the Rachmaninov Celebrations in Switzerland.

Natalya Rachmaninova left touching and tender memories of her husband, in which she spoke about her family, the life of the veins of the Motherland and friends who helped and supported their family: “He was a noble, kind, exceptionally honest and direct person in his judgments. He was very strict not only towards others, but also demanded the same from himself as from others. Sergei Vasilievich was not afraid to tell the most cruel truth to others in the face, which often led me to amazement and embarrassment. He was very impatient, and if something had to be done, he wanted it to be done immediately. Sergei Vasilievich was unusually accurate. I was never late for trains, or for concerts, or for invitations to visit. I never made a grand senor of myself, keeping myself waiting. He was modest in conversation and behavior, but behaved with dignity. I do not think that he ever forgot the offense inflicted on him, although he never spoke of it afterwards. If he really was very angry, then his voice broke and his expression became terrible. I could always judge his mood by his face, which did not know how to hide anything, most importantly, by the expression of his lips, which I jokingly called the barometer of his perceptions and moods. His voice was very low, muffled, monophonic. He always spoke very quietly, so I often noticed that people who saw him for the first time listened, trying to understand what he was saying ... gambling Sergei Vasilievich did not like and never played them. When we were with him in Monte Carlo, he did not even play roulette. Only went once, and that was because of me. I definitely wanted to try my luck. He decided in advance to bet on three numbers, somehow calculating them from the year when his Second Concerto was written, and won several thousand francs on all three numbers. And I lost all the time. When it was time for dinner, I refused to leave. He left with Foley, who was with us, and I was left to keep losing. In the evenings after classes, Sergei Vasilievich liked to play solitaire or tried to put together a picture, sawn and scattered into small pieces. Sergei Vasilyevich sometimes liked to go to the cinema, but he could not stand vulgarity and generally immediately went home if the picture was not to his taste. Once we watched the movie "Frankenstein" with him. At the very beginning, they show a grave and a cross. As soon as he saw this, I heard: "You stay, and I'll leave." It seems to me that most of all he loved funny movements and laughed to tears, for example, when Charlie Chaplin portrayed a man skating for the first time. He was very fond of good-naturedly teasing people, mostly ladies. In particular, A.F. Greiner got it. He assured those present about her passion for some minor artist, whose performance she had long criticized in the presence of Sergei Vasilievich, and the more she resented his fiction, assuring those present that this was not true, that she did not like the artist at all, the more he laughed and rejoiced. . Sergey Vasilievich often tried to avoid photographers who pursued artists who came and went in America and Europe, both at home, and in hotels, and at concerts. He became angry when the photographer who was filming him asked him to take some inspired or thoughtful pose. In terms of food, Sergei Vasilyevich was unpretentious. He was very fond of Russian cuisine, dumplings, pancakes, pies with cabbage, dumplings with sour cream, he loved bream with porridge, crayfish, but mainly he adored coffee. I was ready to drink coffee with cream around the clock. How I tormented him, the poor one, when the doctors advised him to replace real coffee with the so-called "sanka". He categorically refused this drink and got angry if we tried to deceive him. Sergei Vasilyevich's favorite entertainment in childhood was swimming in the summer and skating in the winter. In youth - riding. He sat very well and beautifully on a horse, in general he loved horses. He was afraid of dogs and at the same time adored his handsome Leonberg Levko. Later there was a passion for cars and motor boats. During the last three or four years in Russia, he became seriously interested in agriculture. Talk in Ivanovka was only about plowing, winnowing machines, plows, sheaves, sowing, farming, threshing, etc. This hobby was interrupted by the revolution.

A documentary film was made about Sergei Rachmaninoff.

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Text prepared by Tatyana Khalina

Used materials:

ON THE. Rachmaninov “Memories of S.V. Rachmaninov