Sergei Rachmaninoff: Schubert/Liszt, Ständchen (Serenade)

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: Серге́й Васи́льевич Рахма́нинов; Russian pronunciation: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej rɐxˈmanʲɪnəf]; 1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 – 28 March 1943), was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of all time and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a personal style notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and his use of rich orchestral colours. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff’s compositional output, and through his own skills as a performer he explored the expressive possibilities of the instrument. The Rachmaninoff family, of Russian and distant Moldavian (allegedly from one of Stephen the Great’s sons) descent, was part of the Russian aristocracy, having been in the service of the Russian tsars since the 16th century, and had strong musical and military leanings. The composer’s father, Vasily Arkadyevich Rachmaninoff (1841–1916), an amateur pianist and army officer, married Lyubov Petrovna Butakova (1853–1929), gained five estates as a dowry, and had three boys and three girls. Sergei was born on 1 April [O.S. 20 March] 1873 at the estate of Semyonovo, in Oneg, near Great Novgorod in north-westernRussia... A link to this wonderful artists personal website: Please Enjoy! I send my kind and warm regards,