The wife of Sergei Rachmaninov revealed a family secret only before her death: the composer’s heart did not belong to her alone. Sergei Rachmaninov: biography, video, interesting facts, creativity Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov personal life

For the first time, Alexander Rachmaninov agreed to talk about unknown pages of his grandfather’s life.

Hypnosis sessions

– There is an extremely incorrect opinion about my grandfather Sergei Vasilyevich in the musical community. They say the composer had a difficult, gloomy character. In fact, the family has memories that he was very cheerful, loved to joke and play pranks.

Once his closest friend, the famous bass Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin, asked Rachmaninov to write a chamber composition for him. The composer agreed with a mysterious grin. There was a salon concert of the singer. Chaliapin, holding in his hands, as he thought, the notes of a new composition already known to him from rehearsals, prepared for the premiere performance. Rachmaninov sat by the door in the last row...

Chaliapin began to sing and faltered - he didn’t have enough breath. He apologized to the public. The second time - the same thing... And the third time, the famous singer grabbed a chair and slammed it on the floor in anger. It turned out that Sergei Vasilyevich quietly “slipped” a note into a copy of Chaliapin’s sheet music that the great bass obviously could not play. My grandfather ran out of the hall and laughed for half an hour.

...The friends didn’t talk for three months, but then, of course, they made up. They had a surprisingly close relationship, both constantly making fun of each other. Fyodor Ivanovich lovingly called Sergei Vasilyevich “you are my Tatar face,” knowing about the Tatar roots of the ancient Rachmaninoff family.

There is another incorrect opinion: it concerns the long-term melancholy that the composer allegedly suffered from. Oddly enough, the rumor about this was spread by the Master’s wife, my grandmother Natalya Alexandrovna. She did this deliberately...

Six months before her death, she invited me and said:

“I want to free my soul from sin and will tell you the truth... However, on one condition - that before the year 2000 ( i.e. for almost 50 years. – A.R.) you won’t tell anyone about my confession..."

Sergei Rachmaninov was only 22 years old when he wrote his First Symphony. Then he could not have imagined that her fate would be so thorny. During its first performance, conductor Alexander Glazunov, who is known to be capable of standing at the controls while intoxicated, controlled the orchestra accordingly. But the main thing is that he absolutely did not understand the depth and scale of the work written by such a young man... As a result, the essay was a failure...

For Sergei Vasilyevich this was a real shock. For three years after this failure, he could not write anything - melancholy deprived him of his creative powers. The bride's family (at that moment he was already the official groom of Natalya Satina, who was his cousin) rushed to Sergei's aid.

Rachmaninov agreed to contact the famous Moscow doctor Nikolai Dahl, whom his relatives strongly advised him to do. Natalya could not even imagine how these several sessions of “hypnosis” would turn out in her future family life with Sergei. After all, the doctor had a beautiful daughter...

Gradually, strength and inspiration returned to the composer. He writes the Second Concerto, which became world famous. However, he does not dedicate it to his fiancee, her family, or Nikolai Dahl. Natalya felt that behind Sergei’s frequent trips to the doctor’s house there was no concern for health.

She is very worried that the concert is not dedicated to her. And literally a few minutes before the first public performance of the work, knowing the incredibly tense state in which Sergei (who had already experienced the severe failure of the First Symphony) was, my grandmother demanded that the dedicatory inscription be changed and that the Second Concert be dedicated to Dr. Dahl, in order to thus forever hide the name of her rival. She said:

“You promised to marry me. If you don’t change your dedication, I will refuse to become your wife.”

Rachmaninov kept the nobleman’s word, and the newlyweds were married in a military church.

In addition to his deep heartfelt affection for Natalya, Sergei remained immensely grateful throughout his life to her mother, his aunt Varvara Satina (his father’s sister), in whose house he found warmth and love.

The fact is that the young man’s father, my great-grandfather Vasily Rachmaninov, spent his wife’s entire dowry in card games, left the family, leaving his wife and children in absolute poverty. Sergei's Moscow relatives, General Satin, his wife and daughters accepted the young man into the family as their own and thereby saved him from a miserable existence.

Bouquet of lilacs

Beloved cousin Natalya Alexandrovna adored Sergei and forgave his ridicule: “Black as a jackdaw, skinny as a stick, I feel sorry for you, girl Natalka.” She idolized this tall, noble-looking, and most importantly, God-marked young man. And she became Rachmaninov’s wife, the mother of their two children.

The spiritual beauty and spiritual greatness of this woman deserve a separate discussion. She decided to veil the true meaning of Sergei’s visits to Dr. Dahl forever. This is how the legend she created about the composer’s long-term melancholy appeared.

One could only guess what passions were boiling in the soul of this reserved woman. The family of Sergei and Natalia Rachmaninov looked ideal in appearance. However, they both knew: after each concert the musician would have a bouquet of white lilacs from another woman waiting in his artistic room. Natalya never uttered a word of reproach and did not sort things out with her husband.

Sergei Vasilyevich was an incredibly gentle and caring father. Film footage filmed in the USA, Switzerland and France has been preserved - his games with his daughters Irina (the eldest) and Tatyana (my mother), his sincere laughter, tender glances...

He affectionately called Tatyana Tutushok, Tutunka, Tuki. Our family remained in France during the war - my mother categorically refused to go with me to prosperous New York because my father was at the front. Through the Red Cross, Sergei and Natalya Rakhmaninov, at any opportunity, sent short letters where the grandfather asked: does the family have money?... isn’t Tanyusha very tired?...

Each of his letters ended with the words: “Christ is with you, my Dear Ones. Love you!" All these letters from Sergei Vasilyevich and Natalya Alexandrovna are carefully stored in our family archive. Rachmaninov had a hard time parting with his Motherland, and when it found itself in the depths of war, it is known what enormous assistance he provided both to the army and to individual people in Russia. He very deeply and sincerely loved Russia, his Fatherland, but could not stand the Soviet system and its leaders.

Sergei Vasilyevich smoked a lot, practically never letting a cigarette out of his mouth. And he got cancer. He spent the last months of his life in California. Natalya Alexandrovna and Irina were nearby.

Leaving this life was very difficult. Sergei Vasilyevich asked in a whisper: “You hear, right? They are playing my “All-Night Vigil” on the street...” At this tragic moment, the door to the bedroom quietly opened and another woman approached the head of the composer, who was losing his last strength, and Natalya Alexandrovna herself urgently sent a driver for her.

Without making a sound, she motioned for her to come closer to the bed, pointing to the seat next to her. A moment later, life left the great Sergei Rachmaninov...

According to established tradition, “White Lilac” was opened by the composer’s grandson Alexander Rachmaninov, head of the International Foundation. Rachmaninov in Switzerland, honorary president of the Kazan festival. Alexander Rachmaninov, a regular reader of AIF, agreed for the first time to talk about unknown pages of his grandfather’s life.

Hypnosis sessions

There is an extremely incorrect opinion about my grandfather Sergei Vasilyevich in the musical community. They say the composer had a difficult, gloomy character. In fact, the family has memories that he was very cheerful, loved to joke and play pranks. Once his closest friend, the famous bass Fyodor Ivanovich Chaliapin, asked Rachmaninov to write a chamber composition for him. The composer agreed with a mysterious grin. There was a salon concert of the singer. Chaliapin, holding in his hands, as he thought, the notes of a new composition already known to him from rehearsals, prepared for the premiere performance. Rachmaninov sat down by the door in the last row... Chaliapin began to sing and faltered - he didn’t have enough breath. He apologized to the public. The second time - the same thing... And the third time, the famous singer grabbed a chair and slammed it on the floor in anger. It turned out that Sergei Vasilyevich quietly “slipped” a note into a copy of Chaliapin’s sheet music that the great bass obviously could not play. My grandfather ran out of the hall and laughed for half an hour. ...The friends didn’t talk for three months, but then, of course, they made up. They had a surprisingly close relationship, both constantly making fun of each other. Fyodor Ivanovich lovingly called Sergei Vasilyevich “you are my Tatar face,” knowing about the Tatar roots of the ancient Rachmaninoff family.

There is another incorrect opinion: it concerns the long-term melancholy that the composer allegedly suffered from. Oddly enough, the rumor about this was spread by the Master’s wife, my grandmother Natalya Alexandrovna. She did this deliberately... Six months before her death, she invited me and said: “I want to free my soul from sin and tell you the truth... However, on one condition - that before the year 2000 (i.e., within almost 50 years . - A.R.) you won’t tell anyone about my confession...”

Sergei Rachmaninov was only 22 years old when he wrote his First Symphony. Then he could not have imagined that her fate would be so thorny. During its first performance, conductor A. Glazunov, who is known to be capable of standing at the controls while intoxicated, controlled the orchestra accordingly. But the main thing is that he absolutely did not understand the depth and scale of the work written by such a young man... As a result, the essay was a failure... For Sergei Vasilyevich this was a real shock. For three years after this failure, he could not write anything - melancholy deprived him of his creative powers. The bride's family (at that moment he was already the official groom of Natalya Satina, who was his cousin) rushed to Sergei's aid. Rachmaninov agreed to contact the famous Moscow doctor Nikolai Dahl, whom his relatives strongly advised him to do. Natalya could not even imagine how these several sessions of “hypnosis” would turn out in her future family life with Sergei. After all, the doctor had a beautiful daughter...

Gradually, strength and inspiration returned to the composer. He writes the Second Concerto, which became world famous. However, he does not dedicate it to his fiancee, her family, or Nikolai Dahl. Natalya felt that behind Sergei’s frequent trips to the doctor’s house there was no concern for health. She is very worried that the concert is not dedicated to her. And literally a few minutes before the first public performance of the work, knowing the incredibly tense state in which Sergei (who had already experienced the severe failure of the First Symphony) was, my grandmother demanded that the dedicatory inscription be changed and that the Second Concert be dedicated to Dr. Dahl, in order to thus forever hide the name of her rival. She said: “You promised to marry me. If you don’t change your dedication, I will refuse to become your wife.” Rachmaninov kept the nobleman’s word, and the newlyweds were married in a military church.

In addition to his deep heartfelt affection for Natalya, Sergei remained immensely grateful to her mother all his life, his aunt Varvara Satina (his father’s sister), in whose house he found warmth and love. The fact is that the young man’s father, my great-grandfather Vasily Rachmaninov, spent his wife’s entire dowry in card games, left the family, leaving his wife and children in absolute poverty. Sergei's Moscow relatives, General Satin, his wife and daughters accepted the young man into the family as their own and thereby saved him from a miserable existence.

Bouquet of lilacs

Beloved cousin Natalya Alexandrovna adored Sergei and forgave his ridicule: “Black as a jackdaw, skinny as a stick, I feel sorry for you, girl Natalka.” She idolized this tall, noble-looking, and most importantly, God-marked young man. And she became Rachmaninov’s wife, the mother of their two children. The spiritual beauty and spiritual greatness of this woman deserve a separate discussion. She decided to veil the true meaning of Sergei’s visits to Dr. Dahl forever. This is how the legend she created about the composer’s long-term melancholy appeared. One could only guess what passions were boiling in the soul of this reserved woman. The family of Sergei and Natalia Rachmaninov looked ideal in appearance. However, they both knew: after each concert the musician would have a bouquet of white lilacs from another woman waiting in his artistic room. Natalya never uttered a word of reproach and did not sort things out with her husband.

Sergei Vasilyevich was an incredibly gentle and caring father. Film footage filmed in the USA, Switzerland and France has been preserved - his games with his daughters Irina (the eldest) and Tatyana (my mother), his sincere laughter, tender glances... He affectionately called Tatyana Tutushok, Tutunka, Tuki. Our family remained in France during the war - my mother categorically refused to go with me to prosperous New York because my father was at the front. Through the Red Cross, Sergei and Natalya Rakhmaninov, at any opportunity, sent short letters where the grandfather asked: is there money in the family?... isn’t Tanyusha very tired?... Each of his letters ended with the words: “Christ is with you, my Expensive. Love you!" All these letters from Sergei Vasilyevich and Natalya Alexandrovna are carefully stored in our family archive. Rachmaninov had a hard time parting with his Motherland, and when it found itself in the depths of war, it is known what enormous assistance he provided both to the army and to individual people in Russia. He very deeply and sincerely loved Russia, his Fatherland, but could not stand the Soviet system and its leaders.

Sergei Vasilyevich smoked a lot, practically never letting a cigarette out of his mouth. And he got cancer. He spent the last months of his life in California. Natalya Alexandrovna and Irina were nearby. Leaving this life was very difficult. Sergei Vasilyevich asked in a whisper: “You hear, right? They are playing my “All-Night Vigil” on the street...” At this tragic moment, the door to the bedroom quietly opened and another woman approached the head of the composer, who was losing his last strength, and Natalya Alexandrovna herself urgently sent a driver for her. Without making a sound, she motioned for her to come closer to the bed, pointing to the seat next to her. A moment later, life left the great Sergei Rachmaninov...

Photo from the family archive of Alexander Rachmaninov

The genius of Russian music, Sergei Rachmaninov, comes from a family of nobles. He was born on March 20 (April 1), 1873 on the Oneg estate, which his mother owned. It was located near Novgorod. As a child, little Seryozha loved to listen to the performance of folk songs, which sank deeply into his soul. With his grandmother, he often visited Orthodox monasteries, where he really liked the special sound of bells, as well as ancient ritual chants.

Biography

The Rachmaninov family was famous for its musicality. The grandfather of the future genius, whose name was Arkady Alexandrovich, was a student of John Field, played the piano very well and wrote several musical pieces, published in music collections of the 18th century. Dad Vasily Arkadyevich was also a gifted musician from childhood, and Sergei’s mother personally taught her son to play the piano. At the age of four, Rachmaninov could play music with his grandfather four hands, so we can safely say that music has been with him since childhood.

When the boy was eight years old, he and his parents moved to St. Petersburg, where in 1882 he entered the conservatory and studied with teacher Vladimir Demyansky. Three years later, the young talent auditions with the then famous musician Alexander Ziloti, after which in Moscow Sergei is accepted into the conservatory with Nikolai Zverev. Next, Rachmaninov moved to the senior department of this prestigious musical institution and continued to master composition with Anton Arensky and Sergei Taneyev.

At the same time, a significant meeting for Rachmaninov with Tchaikovsky took place. The eighteen-year-old boy graduated from the conservatory in piano and, after passing the essay exams, received a gold medal for his efforts. During the final exam, Sergei Rachmaninov performs in front of the commission the opera "Aleko", written by him based on Pushkin's classic poem "Gypsies". It is known that the composer spent a little more than two weeks composing it. Tchaikovsky, who sat on the examination committee, rated the opera an A with three pluses. The following year, the young composer’s musical work was staged at the Bolshoi Theater. Shortly before Tchaikovsky's death, Rachmaninov often visited him.

After graduating from the conservatory, Sergei Vasilyevich wrote several iconic musical works - the romances “Spring Waters”, “Island”, the C-sharp prelude and the fantasy “Cliff”. After the October Revolution, Rachmaninoff was invited to perform in Scandinavian cities. He goes on a trip with his whole family and after that he never returns to his country. All his life, the composer had a negative perception of Soviet power, and he did not feel the separation from his homeland so painfully.

At first, Sergei Rachmaninov lived in Denmark and often played concerts there, and in 1918 he moved to the USA. His American debut took place in the city of Providence. For a quarter of a century, he has been touring and delighting fans with his creativity. It was in the USA that he managed to reach the pinnacle of his performing arts. He became America's most famous foreign musician. Despite the fact that Rachmaninoff is often invited to conduct, Sergei Vasilyevich does this very rarely. At one time, the Russian composer was offered to lead the orchestras of Cincinnati and Boston, but he refused and conducted only when they performed works written by him.

During the war, Rachmaninov played special concerts in the United States, the money for which he sent to the Soviet Army Fund. After the composer's death, these merits were remembered in his homeland and he was allowed to perform his musical works and study creativity in conservatories. A month and a half before the death of Sergei Rachmaninov, he played “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini,” but cancer forced the composer to suddenly end his tour.

On March 23, 1943, Rachmaninov died, but on the eve of his death he managed to receive a congratulatory telegram from composers from the USSR, congratulating him on his 70th birthday. Fortunately, technical capabilities made it possible to make several recordings on which you can hear the composer play.

Personal life

The composer was married to Natalya Satina. Sergei Rachmaninov had daughters - Irina and Tatyana, who became the wife of lawyer B.Yu. Konyus, and their son Alexander bore the surname of his maternal grandfather. He subsequently became director of the Rachmaninoff Foundation. Thanks to the fact that Alexander received a legal education and specialized in copyright law, he was very successful in turning the creative legacy of his famous grandfather into a fairly profitable business, part of which was charity. Alexander Rachmaninov gave birth to two girls, great-granddaughters of the great composer - Emmanuelle and Marina. Rachmaninov's daughter Irina gave birth to a daughter, Sofia, who at one time lived in Costa Rica.

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov is a great Russian composer, also famous as a pianist and conductor. He first gained fame while still a student, as he wrote a number of very popular romances, the famous Prelude, the First Piano Concerto and the opera “Aleko”, which was staged at the Bolshoi Theater. In his work, he synthesized two main Russian schools of composition, Moscow and St. Petersburg, and created his own unique style, which became the pearl of classical music.

Sergei was born in the Semyonovo estate, located in the Novgorod province, but grew up on the Oneg estate, which belonged to his father, nobleman Vasily Arkadyevich. The composer's mother, Lyubov Petrovna, was the daughter of the director of the Arakcheevsky Cadet Corps. Rachmaninov apparently inherited his musical talent through the male line. His grandfather was a pianist and performed in concerts in many cities of the Russian Empire. Dad was also known as an excellent musician, but he played only in groups of friends.

Sergei Rachmaninov became interested in the music in his very early years. His first teacher was his mother, who introduced the child to the basics of musical notation, then he studied with a visiting pianist, and at the age of 9 he entered the junior class of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. But finding himself at such an early age to be his own master, the boy could not cope with the temptation and began to skip classes. At a family council, Sergei Rachmaninov briefly explained to his family that he lacked discipline, and the father transferred his son to Moscow, to a private boarding school for musically gifted children. The students of this institution were under constant supervision, honed their playing of instruments for six hours a day and without fail went to the Philharmonic and the Opera House.

However, four years later, having quarreled with his mentor, the talented teenager quits his studies. He remained to live in Moscow, as his relatives sheltered him, and only in 1988 he continued his studies, already at the senior department of the Moscow Conservatory, from which he graduated with a gold medal at the age of 19 in two areas - as a pianist and as a composer. By the way, even at a tender age, Sergei Rachmaninov, whose short biography is inextricably linked with the greatest Russian musicians, met Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. It was thanks to him that the first opera of the young talent “Aleko” based on the work of A. S. Pushkin was staged on the stage of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater.

After graduating from the conservatory, the young man began teaching young ladies at women's institutes. Sergei Rachmaninov also taught piano privately, although he always did not like being a teacher. Later, the composer took the place of conductor at the Moscow Bolshoi Theater and led the orchestra when they staged performances from the Russian repertoire. Another conductor, the Italian I. K. Altani, was responsible for foreign productions. When the October Revolution of 1917 occurred, Rachmaninov did not accept it, so he emigrated from Russia at the first opportunity. He took advantage of the invitation to give a concert in Stockholm and never returned from there.

It should be noted that in Europe, Sergei Vasilyevich was left without money and property, since otherwise he would not have been released abroad. He decided to perform as a pianist. Sergei Rachmaninov gave concert after concert and very quickly paid off his debts, and also gained enormous fame. At the end of 1918, the musician sailed by boat to New York, where he was greeted as a hero and a star of the first magnitude. In the USA, Rachmaninov continued to tour as a pianist, and occasionally as a conductor, and did not stop this activity until the end of his life. Americans literally idolized the Russian composer, and a crowd of photographers always followed him. Sergei even had to use tricks to get rid of the annoying attention. For example, he often rented a hotel room but slept in a private railroad car to confuse reporters.

Works

While still a student at the conservatory, Rachmaninov became famous at the Moscow level. It was then that he wrote the First Piano Concerto, the Prelude in C-sharp minor, which became his calling card for many years, as well as many lyrical romances. But the career that had started so successfully was interrupted due to the failure of the First Symphony. After its performance at the St. Petersburg Concert Hall, the composer received a barrage of criticism and devastating reviews. For more than three years, Sergei Vasilyevich did not compose anything, was depressed and spent almost all the time lying at home on the sofa. Only by resorting to the help of a hypnotist did the young man manage to overcome his creative crisis.

In 1901, Rachmaninov finally wrote a new major work, “Second Piano Concerto.” And this opus is still considered one of the greatest works of classical music. Even modern musicians note the influence of this creation. For example, based on it, Matthew Bellamy, frontman of the group Muse, created such compositions as “Space Dementia”, “Megalomania” and “Ruled by Secrecy”. You can also feel the melody of the Russian composer in the songs “The Fallen Priest”, “All by Myself” and “I Think of You” by Frank Sinatra.

The symphonic poem “Island of the Dead”, “Symphony No. 2”, which, unlike the first, was a tremendous success with the public, as well as the very complex “Piano Sonata No. 2” turned out to be absolutely stunning. In it, Rachmaninov made extensive use of the effect of dissonance and developed its application to the maximum level. Speaking about the work of the Russian composer, one cannot help but mention the magically beautiful “Vocalise”. This work was published as part of the collection of Fourteen Songs, but is usually performed alone and is an indication of the performance's mastery. Today there are versions of “Vocalise” not only for voice, but also for piano, violin and other instruments, including with orchestra.

After emigration, Sergei Vasilyevich did not write significant works for a very long time. Only in 1927 did he release Piano Concerto No. 4 and several Russian songs. In the last years of his life, Rachmaninov created only three musical works - “Symphony No. 3”, “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini for Piano and Orchestra” and “Symphonic Dances”. But it is noteworthy that all three belong to the pinnacle of world classical music.

Personal life

Rachmaninov was a very amorous man, in whose heart feelings for the ladies around him repeatedly flared up. And it was precisely thanks to such emotionality that the composer’s romances turned out to be so lyrical. Sergei was about 17 years old when he met the Skalon sisters. The young man especially singled out one of them, Vera, whom he called either Verochka or “My Psychopath”. Rachmaninov's romantic feeling turned out to be mutual, but at the same time purely platonic. The young man dedicated the song “In the Silence of the Secret Night,” a romance for cello and piano, as well as the second part of his First Piano Concerto, to Vera Scalon.

After returning to Moscow, Sergei writes the girl a huge number of love letters, of which about a hundred have survived. But at the same time, the ardent young man falls in love with Anna Lodyzhenskaya, the wife of his friend. For her, he composes the romance “Oh no, I pray you don’t go!”, which has become a classic. And Rachmaninov met his future wife, Natalya Alexandrovna Satina, much earlier, because she was the daughter of the very relatives who sheltered him when Sergei dropped out of school at the boarding house.

In 1893, Rachmaninov realized that he was in love and gave his beloved a new romance, “Don’t sing, beauty, in front of me.” The personal life of Sergei Rachmaninov changes nine years later - Natalya becomes the official wife of the young composer, and a year later - the mother of his eldest daughter Irina. Rachmaninov also had a second daughter, Tatyana, who was born in 1907. But Sergei Vasilyevich’s love of love did not exhaust itself there. One of the “muses” of the Russian classical legend was the young singer Nina Koshits, for whom he specially wrote a number of vocal parts. But after Sergei Vasilyevich emigrated, he was accompanied on his tours only by his wife, whom Rachmaninov called “the good genius of my whole life.”

Despite the fact that the composer and pianist spent most of his time in the United States, he often visited Switzerland, where he built the luxurious Senar villa, which offers an amazing view of Lake Firvaldstät and Mount Pilatus. The name of the villa is an abbreviation of the names of its owners - Sergei and Natalia Rachmaninov. In this house, the man fully realized his long-time passion for technology. There you could find an elevator, a toy railroad, and one of the new products of that time - a vacuum cleaner. The composer was also the holder of a patent for his invention: he created a special muff with a heating pad attached to it, in which pianists could warm their hands before a concert. Also in the star’s garage there was always a brand new Cadillac or Continental, which he changed every year.

The biography of Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov would be incomplete if we did not talk about his love for Russia. All his life the composer remained a patriot; in exile he surrounded himself with Russian friends, Russian servants, and Russian books. But he refused to return because he did not recognize Soviet power. However, when Nazi Germany attacked the USSR, Rachmaninov was almost on the verge of panic. He began sending money collected from many concerts to the Red Army Fund and encouraged many of his acquaintances to follow his example.

Death

All his life, Sergei Vasilyevich smoked a lot, almost never parting with cigarettes. Most likely, it was this addiction that caused melanoma in the composer in his declining years. True, Rachmaninov himself did not suspect about cancer, he worked until his last days and just a month and a half before his death gave a grandiose concert in the USA, which became his last.

The great Russian composer did not live to see his 70th birthday by only three days. He died in his California apartment in Beverly Hills on March 28, 1943.

Name: Sergej Rahmaninov

Age: 69 years old

Place of Birth: Semyonovo, Starorussky district, Novgorod province,

A place of death: Beverly Hills, California, USA

Activity: composer, pianist, conductor

Family status: was married

Sergei Rachmaninov - biography

“What life takes away, music brings back.” Sergei Rachmaninov often repeated these words of Heinrich Heine. Like most geniuses, his happiness always went hand in hand with tragedy. Music healed. And listeners have repeatedly testified to the healing magic of Rachmaninov’s music.

Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninov was born on April 1, 1873 - one of six children in a talented, musical family. For a long time, the Novgorod estate of his mother, Oneg, was considered the place of his birth; later, for some reason, they began to call the Semenovo estate in the Starorussky district of the Novgorod province. But the first thing is true - the composer’s early childhood was spent in Onega.

He owes his exotic surname to the Moldavian rulers, his distant ancestors. In different parts of Russia, “rahmanny” meant different things: from “meek”, “slow” and “rustic” to the opposite “cheerful”, “hospitable” and even “rudy”. It is not known for what qualities the grandson of Stephen the Great himself was nicknamed “Rachmanin” - but, of course, it was not by chance, it was not suddenly that a genius appeared in their family centuries later, gifted with such an aristocratic stature and clearly innate nobility.

Sergei Rachmaninov - Childhood and studies

The grandfather of the great composer Arkady Aleksandrovich, although he was considered an amateur pianist, studied with John Field himself, an Irish composer who lived in Russia, Glinka’s teacher and, in fact, the creator of the Russian pianistic school. Arkady Alexandrovich himself composed music; several of his compositions were even published in the 18th century.

But he owes one of the most powerful musical impressions of his childhood to his religious grandmother, Sofya Aleksandrovna Butakova: “We stood for hours in the amazing St. Petersburg cathedrals - St. Isaac's, Kazan and others, in all parts of the city,” recalled Sergei Vasilyevich. - The best St. Petersburg choirs often sang there. I tried to find a place under the gallery and caught every sound. Thanks to my good memory, I easily remembered almost everything I heard.”

This is where the origins of his famous “Bells” and “Vespers” come from, which the composer himself considered his best works! And the unforgettable ringing of Novgorod bells will be resurrected in the sounds of the great Second Piano Concerto. “One of my most cherished childhood memories is associated with the four notes sounded by the great bells of St. Sophia Cathedral... The four notes formed a theme that repeated itself over and over again, four silver weeping notes surrounded by an ever-changing accompaniment.”

And with his phenomenal memory, Rachmaninov surprised people from his youth. One day (this was in the early 90s of the 19th century) to his teacher S.I. Composer A. Glazunov came to Taneyev to show part of his new symphony. After listening, Taneyev left and returned not alone: ​​“Let me introduce you to my talented student Rachmaninov, who also composed a symphony...” Imagine Glazunov’s surprise when the “student” sat down at the piano and performed the composition he had just played! “But I didn’t show it to anyone!” - Glazunov was amazed. It turned out that Rachmaninov was in the next room and repeated the music he heard for the first time by ear.

In the fall of 1882, Sergei entered the junior department of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the class of teacher V.V. Demyansky and settled in the house of friends. But family troubles and the boy’s early independence contributed little to his studies. My beloved grandmother Sofya Alexandrovna saved me: at the end of each conservatory year, she took her grandson to her place in Novgorod or to her estate Borisovo.

The life of Sergei Rachmaninov in Ivanovka

And then Ivanovka forever became the best place on earth for him. “For 16 years I lived on the estates that belonged to my mother,” Sergei Vasilyevich would write years later, “but by the age of 16 my parents had lost their fortune, and I went to the estate of my relative Satin for the summer. From that age until the moment I left Russia (forever?), I lived there for 28 years... There were no natural beauties, which usually include mountains, abysses, and seas.

This was a steppe estate, and the steppe is the same sea, without end and edge, where instead of water there are continuous fields of wheat, oats, etc., from horizon to horizon. Sea air is often praised, but if you knew how much better the steppe air is with its aroma of earth and everything growing, and not pumping. There was a large park on this estate, planted by hand, already fifty years old in my time. There were large orchards and a large lake. Since 1910, this estate passed into my hands... I always aspired to go there, to Ivanovka. Hand on heart, I must say that I still strive to get there.”

It was here, in Ivanovka, that a lot began and happened that would determine the entire future life of Sergei Vasilyevich. There he found “rest and complete peace or, conversely, diligent work, which is favored by the surrounding peace.” Here he honed his performing skills for concerts, which he began performing during his student years. There his first compositions were born, written under the auspices of the composer and teacher Sergei Taneyev. There he experienced his first beautiful, insanely romantic love. There he also found another - great, sensitive, devoted, who will be with him to the end.

In those years, many young people gathered in Ivanovka: the entire Satin family, their numerous relatives and neighbors, and among them Sergei’s second cousins ​​- the beauties Natalya, Lyudmila and Vera Skalon. Well, where there are a lot of young people, an atmosphere of love always arises, and everyone enthusiastically sought their happiness “where the lilacs are crowded.” She didn’t bypass 17-year-old Sergei either. At first it seems to him that he is in love with the eldest of the Skalon sisters, Natalia, whom everyone called Tatusha - it is no coincidence that he dedicated the romance “Dream” to her, based on Pleshcheev’s poems.

And Verochka seemed to easily forget her funny, lanky cousin with long legs that didn’t fit under the piano. She got married, gave birth to two daughters, and before the wedding she burned all of Rachmaninoff’s letters. Of course this is not true. It was not a simple or random company that gathered in Ivanovka. These were educated, talented young people who never tired of learning. Many studied at the conservatory, everyone played, sang, drew... And they understood, or at least guessed, intuitively felt what a powerful talent, what an amazing personality they were lucky to be with.

And despite all his youthful awkwardness, the cousin was handsome, smart, and what a brilliant pianist - everyone was happy to take lessons from him, which, by the way, he never refused to anyone... People fell in love with him in earnest. Vera's diary has been preserved, full of hopes, girlish longing and unfulfilled desires. Here are just some lines from it: “...Is this really love?! I had no idea what kind of torment this was. The books say something completely different.

I keep hoping that this mood will somehow pass..." "...Who is dearest to me? I can't even believe it! How long has it been since I found him terrible, unsympathetic, disgusting? And now? And we’ve only known each other for three weeks. God, God, how strange it all is!” “Of course, there is no longer any doubt, I am in love! It happened suddenly and against my will...” “I’m both sad and annoyed, most importantly, I’m starting to fear that Sergei Vasilyevich is completely indifferent to me. Oh, that would be terrible! How did this fear never occur to me before..."

“...This is what I saw in my dream. I’m walking along the Red Alley, and suddenly a male figure appears in the distance and quickly approaches, I stop, try to see it, but I can’t. Only when he came three steps closer did I recognize Sergei Vasilyevich. He grabbed my hand and began to squeeze it tightly and for a long time, then everything disappeared into the fog, and I woke up, still feeling the touch of his hand...”

And it’s no longer a dream, but a real explanation at a village skating: “God, what did I feel when he suddenly looked at me and said quietly and affectionately: “Oh, with what joy I would take my Psycho Girl to the ends of the world.” It seemed to me that my heart stopped beating, all the blood rushed to my head, then my heart beat so hard that I almost suffocated. We were both silent. Alas, after a few minutes we already drove around the threshing floor and the garden and again found ourselves in the yard. Oh, why can’t we really go to the ends of the world!”

“Today I became convinced that joy is as difficult to hide as grief. How unexpectedly all my painful doubts ended! How funny I find my jealousy now! From today I have heaven in my heart. I’ve already gotten used to the idea that he loves me, but only yesterday I was convinced of this.” There is no reason to doubt the sincerity of these confessions. This is confirmed by Verochka’s sisters and the further fate of the girl in love, which was determined by her parents.

The general’s family could not accept a musician so poor that the Skalon sisters, taking pity, bought him a coat together. For this, Verochka even broke her porcelain piggy bank. And in 1899, “the general’s lady” Vera, as Rachmaninov also called her, nevertheless married her equal - another Sergei, their mutual friend Tolbuzin. But ten years later, in 1909, she would be gone - at only 34 years old. She had a sick heart, but who knows how much fatal hopelessness the broken dreams were added to this pain by someone else’s cruel will. It is no coincidence that her middle sister Lyudmila claims in her memoirs that Vera loved Rachmaninov all her life.

What about him? Did he really soon forget about the one with whom he wanted to “go to the ends of the world”? But why then did Verochka, having saved such a telling diary, destroy his apparently even more eloquent letters before the wedding? And most importantly, the music remains. Listen to Rachmaninov's First Piano Concerto. The second part is dedicated to Verochka Skalon. And how much the romances dedicated to her tell: “Oh, for a long time I will be, in the silence of the secret night” to the words of Fet and several more, including the beautiful unforgettable “Lilac”.

Romances are generally special pages of Rachmaninoff’s works. “Poetry inspires music, because poetry itself contains a lot of music. “They are like twin sisters,” the composer admitted. - And a beautiful woman, of course, is a source of eternal inspiration. But you must run away from her and seek solitude, otherwise you will not compose anything, you will not bring anything to the end.

Carry inspiration in your heart and mind, think about the inspiration, but for creative work, remain alone with yourself. True inspiration must come from within. If there is nothing inside, nothing outside will help.” He created more than 80 beautiful romances, and behind each there is a vivid experience, a declaration of love from the heart with a specific name.

It is difficult to say whether in those months in Ivanovka he suspected with what pain and jealousy Verochka’s close friend and confidante, the smart, sensitive and talented Natasha Satina, who had long been endlessly and hopelessly in love with her brilliant cousin, watched the unfolding love passions. But she loved, in spite of everything, quietly, faithfully, devotedly.

By that time - while still studying at the Moscow Conservatory - Rachmaninov began performing concerts, which were a great success. He was actively involved in composition under the guidance of Sergei Taneyev and Anton Arensky. It was then that I first met Tchaikovsky, who immediately noted his capable student. Very soon Pyotr Ilyich said: “I predict a great future for him.”

At the age of 18, Rachmaninov brilliantly completed his piano studies, and after graduating from the conservatory in composition in 1892, he was awarded the Grand Gold Medal for outstanding performing and composing achievements. Another outstanding graduate, A. Scriabin, received a Small Gold Medal (the Large Gold Medal was awarded only to those who graduated from the Conservatory in two specialties). For the final exam, Rachmaninov presented a one-act opera “Aleko” based on Pushkin’s poem “Gypsies”, which he wrote in just 17 days. For this, Tchaikovsky, who was present at the exam, gave his “musical grandson” (his teacher Taneyev was Pyotr Ilyich’s favorite student) an A with three pluses.

It was well received by critics and the public... Alas. Such brilliant success turned out to be short-lived. Tchaikovsky intended to include Aleko in the Bolshoi Theater repertoire along with his one-act opera Iolanta. Both he himself and the Theater Directorate told me that these two operas would be performed in December of the same year. But on October 25, 1893, Tchaikovsky died. “Iolanta” was staged, but... without my “Aleko”.

For almost three years, the young composer interrupted himself with lessons at the Mariinsky Women's School and the Elizabethan Institute. But he continued to compose. The largest creation at that time was the First Symphony. Unfortunately, Alexander Glazunov, not understanding its unusualness, failed the first performance. How the moral support and care of people close to him helped the author! And suddenly, in 1897, Rachmaninov unexpectedly received an offer in a completely different field.

The wealthy industrialist Savva Mamontov organized a private opera, gathered talented young people there and offered him the position of second conductor. Here Sergei Vasilyevich mastered opera classics in practice, met many wonderful musicians and amazing master artists who were patronized by Mamontov: Serov, Vrubel, Korovin. And I met the then amazing beginning singer - Fyodor Chaliapin, who was just creating his Godunov, Grozny and other roles that would soon shock the whole world. Here he began a friendship with this “God-marked man” that lasted all his life.

In the summer of 1898, the composer and the artists of the Russian Private Opera came to Crimea, where he met with Anton Chekhov. In the spring of 1899, Rachmaninov's first concert trip abroad took place - to England. And the first years of the new century revealed a new, truly great musician. Sergei Vasilyevich experienced a powerful surge of creative energy, created new works, gave concerts in Vienna, Moscow, St. Petersburg and the provinces, and in 1904 took the post of conductor at the Bolshoi Theater.

Sergei Rachmaninov - biography of personal life, family and children

By that time, Rachmaninov had already become a husband and father. The dear friend of his adolescence, who had long been in love with him and shed many tears because of other loving eyes, Natasha Satina waited in the wings. A subtle and capable musician herself, who studied piano and vocals at the conservatory, she managed to win the heart of her loved one.

Even Verochka Skalon’s sister Lyudmila Rostovtseva wrote half a century later: “Seryozha married Natasha. He couldn't have chosen a better wife. She loved him from childhood, one might say, she suffered for him. She was smart, musical and very informative. We were happy for Seryozha, knowing in what reliable hands he was falling...” And their entire subsequent family life proved that they were made for each other, that there could not be a better friend.

But, although the fact that this happy union took place, of course, is primarily due to Natasha’s enormous love and devotion, she showed claws, character, and pride. Seeing, already as a bride, how her Seryozha looked at the new beauty and even composed something for her, she immediately told the groom that he was still free to change his mind... But it was to her, among many dedications, that he presented a true masterpiece: “Don’t sing, beauty , in front of me” to the equally brilliant poems of Pushkin.

But it was not so easy to legitimize this heaven-sent union. Sergei and Natalya were cousins, and marriages between close relatives were prohibited; personal permission from the emperor was required, which was given in exceptional cases. The bride and groom submitted a petition to the highest name, but, despite the possible big troubles for breaking the law, they did not wait for an answer. To raise money for his honeymoon, Sergei sat down in Ivanovka to compose 12 romances - one every day.

And upon their return, on April 29, 1902, they got married in a small church of the 6th Tauride Grenadier Regiment on the outskirts of Moscow. “I was riding in a carriage in a wedding dress, the rain was pouring like buckets,” recalled Natalya Alexandrovna. -You could enter the church by passing through the longest barracks. The soldiers were lying on the bunks and looking at us in surprise. The best men were A. Zilota and A. Brandukov.

Ziloti, when they led us around the lectern for the third time, jokingly whispered to me: “You can still come to your senses. Not too late". Sergei Vasilyevich was in a tailcoat, very serious, and I, of course, was terribly worried. From the church we went straight to Zelota, where a champagne reception was held. After that, we quickly changed clothes and went straight to the station, taking tickets to Vienna.”

After a month in Vienna - the beauty of Italy, Switzerland, the wonderful Alps and Venetian gondolas, unforgettable concerts and opera performed by the best musicians in Europe, the wonderful singing of Italians... And - the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth, tickets for which were given as a wedding gift by Ziloti: "The Flying Dutchman", "Parsifal" and "The Ring of the Nibelung".

And straight from there - home, to Ivanovka. When it turned out in the fall that everything worked out with the marriage license, we moved to Moscow. There, on Vozdvizhenka, on March 14, 1903, their daughter Irina was born. And on June 21, 1907 - the second girl, Tatyana.

“Sergei Vasilyevich loved children in general touchingly,” his wife later recalled. - While walking, I could not pass by a child in a stroller without looking at him, and, if possible, without stroking his hand. When Irina was born, his delight knew no end. But he was so afraid for her, it seemed to him that she needed to help somehow; he was worried, walked helplessly around her cradle and did not know what to do. The same thing happened after Tanya was born four years later.

This touching care for children and tenderness for them continued until his death. He was a wonderful father. Our children adored him, but they were still a little afraid, or rather, afraid of somehow offending and upsetting him. For them, he was the first in the house. Everything went in the house - as dad would say and how he would react to this or that. When the girls grew up, Sergei Vasilyevich, going out with them, admired them and was proud of how good they looked. He later had the same attitude towards his granddaughter and grandson.”

And at the same time he managed an incredible amount, surprising even Natalya Alexandrovna: “If he got to work, it went very quickly, especially if he was composing some text. This happened not only with romances. He composed the opera “The Miserly Knight” in almost four weeks, while walking through the fields in Ivanovka. Work with “Bells” proceeded just as quickly. When he composed, he was absent from those around him. Day and night I thought only about writing. This was the case in his youth, and the same in August 1940, when he composed his last work, “Symphonic Dances.”

How much great music was born then - the operas “The Miserly Knight” and “Francesca da Rimini”, symphonic poems and choral cantatas - “The Cliff”, “Island of the Dead”, piano concertos, fantasies, sonatas, variations and rhapsodies, capriccios on gypsy motifs , on themes of Paganini, Chopin, Corelli. And - the magnificent “Vocalise”, presented to Antonina Vasilievna Nezhdanova, and to this day the dream of the best singers and instrumentalists.

And at the same time, there was enough energy and time to be passionate about... technical innovations and work on the land: “When the Ivanovka estate passed into my hands, I was very interested in farming. This did not meet with sympathy in the family, which was afraid that economic interests would push me away from musical activity. But I worked diligently in the winter, “made money” with concerts, and in the summer I put most of it into the ground, improved management, live equipment, and machines. We had binders, mowers, and seeders, mostly of American origin.”

It usually completely coincided with his opinion. Shortly before World War II in England, the conductor performing “The Bells” asked the author to come to this concert. Sergei Vasilyevich also played that day and could not do it. He replied to the conductor that his wife would come to his concert instead and “what she says will be my opinion.”

He called his Natalya Alexandrovna “the good genius of my whole life.” Alas, even such a blessed union is not cloudless. Seemingly gloomy in appearance, even gloomy, Rachmaninov was tall, handsome and elegant, and there were always many fans around. In September 1916, in just two and a half weeks, he wrote six romances dedicated to the singer Nina Koshits. He accompanied her on tour and did not hide his enthusiastic love, which gave rise not only to gossip.

It is unknown how much more suffering Natalya Alexandrovna would have had to endure - the revolution and emigration put an end to this story. Far from his homeland, Rachmaninov would never write another romance. But although the composer perceived the World War of 1914-1918 as the most difficult test for Russia, at first they had no intention of leaving. From the very first “military season,” Sergei Vasilyevich constantly participated in charity concerts and accepted the February Revolution of 1917 with joy. But doubts soon appeared, growing along with the unfolding events.

The composer greeted the revolution with alarm. Not only because with the breakdown of the entire system, artistic activity in Russia could cease for many years. I had to face a cruel reality in my Ivanovka. It seems that the local peasants were satisfied with the answers and plans of the smart and kind master, but soon they themselves came with advice to leave: some strangers were too frequent, muddying the waters and inciting rebellion. The last straw was the piano that was senselessly thrown out of the window of the “master’s house” and smashed.

Sergei Rachmaninov - emigration

In December 1917, Rachmaninov and his family went on tour to Sweden. And he never returned to Russia. It was a tragedy: “After leaving Russia, I lost the desire to compose. Having lost my homeland, I lost myself.” First, the Rachmaninoffs settled in Denmark, where the composer gave many concerts to earn a living, and in 1918 they moved to America, where Sergei Vasilyevich’s concert activities continued without interruption for almost 25 years with stunning success.

Listeners were attracted not only by Rachmaninov’s high performing skills, but by the very manner of his playing, the external asceticism, behind which the bright nature of a genius 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...” - the reviewers admired.

And he suffered: “I’m tired of America. Just think: concert almost every day for three months in a row. I played exclusively my own works. It was a great success, they forced us to encore up to seven times, which is a lot according to the public there. The audience is surprisingly cold, spoiled by the tours of first-class artists, always looking for something unusual, different from others. The local newspapers always note how many times you were called, and for the large public this is a measure of your talent.”

In exile, Rachmaninov almost stopped conducting performances, although he was invited to conduct the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and later the Cincinnati Orchestra. Only occasionally did he stand at the controls, performing his own compositions. However, he admitted: “What pleasantly surprised 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 takes place in which the name of Tchaikovsky does not appear in the program.

And what is most surprising is that the Yankees, perhaps, feel and understand Tchaikovsky better than us Russians. Positively, every note of Tchaikovsky tells them something. Music education in America is well done. I visited conservatories in Boston and New York. Of course, they showed me the best students, but the very manner of performance shows a good school.

This, however, is understandable - the Americans do not skimp on signing up the best European virtuosos and paying colossal fees for teaching. And in general, 40% of the professors at their conservatories are foreigners. The orchestras are also good. Especially in Boston. This is without a doubt one of the best orchestras in the world.

However, it is 90% foreigners. The wind instruments are all French, and the strings are in the hands of the Germans." And about pianists he said that the world is not in danger of being left without great virtuosos with impeccable technique. It’s strange, no one was so demanded to perform “modern” music as from Sergei Vasilyevich. But he did not go further than the works of Debussy, Ravel and Poulenc. He strongly objected to the prevailing opinion that this is a further stage in the development of musical art.

He believed that this, on the contrary, was a regression; he did not believe that something significant could grow from this direction, because the modernists lacked the main thing - the heart. He said that he did not understand and did not accept such works, that fans of “modern” only pretended to understand something in them: “Heine once said: “What takes away life, music brings back.” He wouldn't say that if he heard the music of today. For the most part it gives nothing. Music is supposed to bring relief, it should have a cleansing effect on the mind and heart, but modern music does not do this.

If we want real music, we need to go back to the basics that made the music of the past great. Music cannot be limited to color and rhythm; it must reveal deep feelings... The only thing I try to do when I write music is to make it express directly and simply what is in my heart.” And he added: “In countries that are especially rich in folk songs, great music naturally develops.” Giving concerts in America and Europe, Rachmaninov achieved great artistic and material well-being.

But even in his crazy busyness, he did not find the lost peace of mind, and did not forget about his Motherland for a minute. He had an unshakably negative attitude towards the Bolshevik government, but closely followed the development of Soviet culture, gave charity concerts, helped not only his comrades in the profession, but, for example, the helicopter designer Sikorsky, meeting him in America, listened with enthusiasm to stories about new aircraft.

In 1930, the Rachmaninoffs purchased an estate near Lucerne and named it Senar, combining the first two letters of the names Sergei and Natalya and the first letter of their surname. “Our house was built on the site of a large rock that had to be blown up,” wrote the composer’s wife. - For two years, while this house was being built, we lived in a small outbuilding. The workers came at 6 o'clock in the morning and began working with some kind of drills. The hellish noise did not let me sleep. But Sergei Vasilyevich was so passionate about construction that he treated it condescendingly.

He loved to look at all the plans with the architect, walked around the building with pleasure, and was even more interested in talking with the gardener. The entire empty area in front of the future house had to be filled with huge blocks of granite left over from the explosion of the rock. It was covered with earth and seeded with grass. After two or three years, the site turned into a magnificent green meadow. While the house was being built, Russian friends often came to our outbuilding: Horowitz and his wife, violinist Milstein, cellist Pyatigorsky and others.

There was a lot of good music these days." The owner also loved to solemnly demonstrate technical innovations: an elevator, a vacuum cleaner and a toy railroad. His special passion was cars. “Rachmaninov loved to drive a car,” recalled the famous violinist Nathan Milstein. “Every year I bought a new Cadillac or Continental because I didn’t like to bother with repairs.”

In the very first year in his new house - in 1935 - Rachmaninov composed one of his best works - Rhapsody for piano and orchestra. In the next two summers he completed the Third Symphony. Unfortunately, he did not get to see Senar after the war of 1939-1945. He would be amazed to see how incredibly beautiful all his plantings have grown. I didn't see it. With the outbreak of a new war, the composer and his wife returned to America.

Rachmaninov was one of the representatives of the Russian intelligentsia who signed an appeal to American citizens in 1930 against the US government's intention to officially recognize the Soviet Union with the existing power there. But with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was one of the first to decide “to show by his example to all Russians that at such a time it is necessary to forget disagreements and unite to help an exhausted and suffering Russia.”

In 1941, he handed over the entire proceeds from a charity concert in New York to the Soviet consul V.A. Fedyushin, writing in the accompanying letter: “From one of the Russians, all possible assistance to the Russian people in their fight against the enemy. I want to believe, I believe in complete victory!” There were other concerts to help the Motherland fighting the fascists. And the ocean-going steamer brought food and medicine to our compatriots.

In 1942, Rachmaninoff celebrated 50 years of artistic activity, but the hero of the day forbade his relatives and friends to talk about it. Not only because he did not like banquets and toasts, he considered celebration inappropriate when blood was being shed at the fronts. However, in prosperous America, few people remembered Rachmaninov’s anniversary; only representatives of the Steinway company presented him with a magnificent piano. But in the warring homeland, an exhibition dedicated to the life and work of the composer opened at the Bolshoi Theater.

The last years of the life of Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninov

Despite poor health, Rachmaninov began his last concert season on October 12, 1942. And on February 1, 1943, 25 years after arriving in America, during another tour, he and his wife were given American citizenship. On February 11, Sergei Vasilyevich played Beethoven's First Concerto and his Rhapsody in Chicago under Stock's baton. The hall was overcrowded; upon exiting, the orchestra saluted Rachmaninov with a salute, and the audience stood up. “He played wonderfully,” his wife wrote, “but he felt bad and complained of severe pain in his side.”

And on February 17, 1943, his last concert took place, after which he was forced to interrupt the tour. “The disease progressed so quickly that even Dr. Golitsyn, who visited him every day, was surprised,” recalled Natalya Alexandrovna. - Sergei Vasilyevich could no longer eat at all. Heart problems began. Once, half-forgotten, Sergei Vasilyevich asked me: “Who is playing?” - “God be with you, Seryozha, no one is playing here.” - “I hear music.”

Another time, Sergei Vasilyevich, raising his hand above his head, said: “It’s strange, I feel as if my aura is being separated from my head.” But even in recent days, rarely regaining consciousness, he asked Natalya Alexandrovna to read him reports from the Russian front. Having learned about the victory at Stalingrad, he whispered: “Thank God!”

“Three days before his death, the patient began to lose consciousness; sometimes he became delirious,” recalled Dr. Golitsyn, “and in his delirium he moved his hands, as if conducting an orchestra or playing the piano. I can’t help but remember the special feeling that I experienced every time I took his hand to check his pulse; I thought with sadness that these beautiful, thin hands would never touch the keys again and would not give that pleasure, that joy that they gave to people in continuation of fifty years."

“On March 26, Dr. Golitsyn advised calling a priest for communion,” the wife wrote. - Father Gregory gave him communion at I o’clock in the morning (he also performed the funeral service for him). Sergei Vasilyevich was already unconscious. On the 27th, around midnight, the agony began, and on the 28th, at one in the morning, he died quietly. He had a remarkably calm and good expression on his face. In the morning he was transported to the 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 funeral service. A lot of people gathered. The church was full of flowers, bouquets, wreaths. Whole azalea bushes were sent by Steinway.

For the funeral service, we brought two flowers from our garden and placed them in Sergei Vasilyevich’s hands. The choir of Platov Cossacks sang well. They sang some particularly beautiful “Lord, have mercy.” For a whole month after the funeral, I could not get rid of this chant... The coffin was made of zinc, so that later, someday, it could be transported to Russia. He was temporarily placed in the city mausoleum. At the end of May, Irina and I managed to buy a plot of land for a grave at the cemetery in Kensico. On the grave, at the head, there grows a large spreading maple. Coniferous evergreen bushes were planted around instead of a fence, and on the grave itself there were flowers and a large Orthodox cross in gray marble.”

Sergei Rachmaninov left beautiful daughters who reverently and carefully preserved the memory of their father. Irina was educated in America, graduating from college and becoming fluent in English and French. In 1920-30 she lived in Paris. Here in 1924 she married Prince Pyotr Grigorievich Volkonsky, an artist, the son of an emigrant. But family happiness was short-lived; a year later Volkonsky died suddenly at the age of 28.

Tatyana graduated from high school in New York, and from the 1930s lived in Paris, where she married the son of a famous music teacher, violinist and composer, who studied with Rachmaninov at the Moscow Conservatory, Boris Konyus. During the war, she remained in Paris, looked after her parents' estate in Switzerland and subsequently inherited it. Then Senar and Rachmaninov's archive were inherited by her son, the only grandson of the great composer Alexander Rachmaninov-Konyus. He organized Rachmaninoff competitions in Russia and Rachmaninov celebrations in Switzerland.