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Good evening!

Hi from Saint-Petersburg, Russia!

Hope to find here friends, that know much about Rachmaninoff and love to collect photos and interesting information about his recitals and biography facts, everything about his music.

I try to find all the rare photos of Rachmaninoff.
I also try searching for rare old records on youtube of the pianists and conductors that were his friends

My choice on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=MarianneAlkonost&view=favorites

Hope you will like this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QB6-gT-dt18

This is the most complete video of Rachmaninoff and contains his voice also... Please pass this link forward!

As for the photos, here is my collection:

www.rachmaninow.narod.ru

If you have comment on any photo, please post!

And here is my first question - do you have the list of conductors that conducted while Rachmaninoff was playing?

Here is my list:

1) Bruno Walter (photo on the stage together)
2) Henry Wood (photo on the stage together)
3) Willem Mengelberg (photo on the stage together)
4) Mitropulos
5) Gustav Mahler
6) Ormandy (photo on the stage together)
7) Stokowski
8 ) Josef Stransky (1872-1936)
9) Ernest Ansermet(1883–1969)
10) George Hoberg (1872–1950)

Welcome to Pianoworld forums! Hope you enjoy the stay.

Rachmaninoff is my favorite composer without a shadow of a doubt. Thanks for your photo collection!

Welcome!

I have been rather obsessed with Rach's music this past year, learning several.

I loved seeing the video of him. Thank you so much for sharing.

Now...can anyone list the music? (Vocalise at the end)

Just checked out your collection of photos as well.

Great!

Are you a pianist as well?

That was wonderful! Thank you for sharing the photos. I was looking at Rachmaninoff's hands - they were huge! Makes me jealous.

Yes they were! Here's a fan that made his own life-size reproduction of Rach's hands:

http://s-ec-sm.buzzfeed.com/static/...d-some-big-hands-30726-1237324696-15.jpg

Thanks for sharing, and welcome to the forums Marianne! Rachmaninoff is easily tied with Chopin as my favorite composer.



Not quite that big.

I see you purloined Frank's avatar.

I think we should all use that avatar for this week only, to honor the best piano forum on the net!!

Most don't realize that there's an action figure currently available from CollectionDX of Rachmaninoff, big hands and all, from their famous pianist series:

http://www.collectiondx.com/gallery2/gallery/d/429199-3/27.jpg

Welcome, Marianne.

Thanks for your links, photos, videos.

What biography would you recommend reading on Rachmaninoff?


best wishes,
Valerie

On the contrary, I think that that avatar should be Frank's and Frank's alone.

Regards,

I do too but when Thurman Munson flew his plane nose-first right into the tarmac, all of his teammates wore a black armband with number 20 on it, not forever, but just for the remainder of the season, which was only about another month.
It would be a temporary tribute to show our appreciation and to raise awareness of Frank's efforts and this great Forum as well as showing our support for all his efforts!

Thanks very much, MarianneAlkonost.

There are a lot of pics and a few videos of Rachmaninoff at http://www.senar.ru/

For those like me who can't read Russian, click on Фотографии for the pics and Видео for the videos.


Mel

Looks like the names on my Russian sustenon and Polish Dianabol!

Thanks dannylux

I love this one (wonder if it will show up here) of him young and posed at the piano

The most authoritative is that by Barry Martin. It is excellently researched and provides a balanced, well-written survey.

For an honest biography, written not long after Rachmaninoff's death, try that by Victor Seroff. Seroff knew Rachmaninoff and his portrait is a personal and revealing one. I don't think it is in print anymore.

Geoffrey Norris, a leading Rachmaninoff scholar, has written an excellent biography in the Master Musician series.

I would approach Oskar von Rieseman's "Rachmaninoff's Recollections as told to..." with caution. There is some debate as to how accurate these supposed memoirs are. Rachmaninoff is reputed to have remarked that much of it was pure invention on Rieseman's part.

You might enjoy 'Sergei Rachmaninoff, a lifetime in music', by Bertensson & Leyda. I prefer it to 'Rachmaninoff' by Scott.

I haven't read Barry Martin's book, but I will when I get the chance.

Great post! I loved seeing those pictures.

Here is the page in Google's translation.

MarrianneAlkonost-Thank you for posting and alerting me to these photos and especially the video. Rachmaninoff is my favorite composer, I play his music everyday. I plan to learn every piece he ever wrote for solo piano. I'm probably half way there. I was fortunate to attend the Rachmaninoff Society meeting in New York City Sept 07. We had heard of the videos but could not find out where they were. I met one branch of the Rachmaninoff family, first his great grandson and his brother and then their mother (R's grand daughter) and father. This family owns R's Steinway. Its keys are worn down from all the practice I was told. At the dinner attended by Vladimir Ashkenazy who I was able to speak to alone for a few minutes I also met Ruth Slynchenska who as a child replaced Rachmaninoff in a concert he had cancelled. She then studied with Rachmaninoff for a few weeks. She told me about her conversations with Rachmaninoff. I took a piano lesson from her, so now I am a student of a student of Rachmaninoff.....As for the best book about Rachmaninoff I suggest Rachmaninoff's Recollections as told to Oskar von Riesemann, The MacMillan Company 1934 although I don't know where you can find a copy. I found mine on e bay. It's full of treasures such as Rachmaninoff telling in his own words such things as the support received from Tchaikovsky who was clearly quite fond of R. and a debate he had in Paris over lunch with Alexander Scriabin and Rimsky-Korsakov.

"As for the best book about Rachmaninoff I suggest Rachmaninoff's Recollections as told to Oskar von Riesemann, The MacMillan Company 1934 although I don't know where you can find a copy. I found mine on e bay. It's full of treasures such as Rachmaninoff telling in his own words such things as the support received from Tchaikovsky who was clearly quite fond of R. and a debate he had in Paris over lunch with Alexander Scriabin and Rimsky-Korsakov."

Oooh...

now I found my source for the book! LOL! (pretty please?)

LJ, did you check out the English translations that Horowitzian posted? Some quotes from letters in there. I just glanced at a few and will probably wait for the next snow day to pour over them.

The internet is great for stuff like this!