Famous pianists are usually forgotten with time, then again when you think about it everything gets forgotten with time. Playing a piano isn’t a skill that many have, especially when you want to say that you play it well. Sergei Vassilievich Rachmaninoff knew what he was doing whenever he got his hands on a piano, he’s known as being the last connection between the 19th century kind of romantic music and the modern music people were becoming accustomed to. He’s a forefather when it comes to piano players, and in the end everybody needs a role model to look up to. He was born in Russia and was brought up by aristocrats, his parents loved him very much and most of his family was very military oriented (as in his grandparents). His parents were both pianists themselves, and that’s more than likely where he actually picked up the hobby. It’s like playing football your entire life and having your 8 year old son say he wants to play quarterback, it just makes you feel as proud as you’ll ever be!
He learned piano through the means of his mother Lubov, she taught him everything she knew before she finally took him to Anna Ornatskaya for some real training. It takes a really strong work ethic to become the best of the best, and it was quite obvious that Sergei had that exact edge you were looking for in a winner. His sister Sofia was killed during the diphtheria epidemic in St. Petersburg, which is where he and his family had moved when they lost their property in Semyonovo. He lived a very tough life and it’s pretty apparent that it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, and maybe that’s why he was able to make such beautiful music during his time.
He was a comlposer until the year of 1897, his symphony had officially been recognized as being a “flop” for the terrible premiere under Alexander Glazunov (whom is another musician during those times). He was a strong minded man with a will to succeed, and although he lived in the olden times there’s still a respect for him amongst piano players all across the globe today. He really did open doors when it came to creating new genres of music and things along the lines of that, so we owe a lot to this man (so pay your respects ladies and gentlemen!).
Image source: Wikipedia