Composer of the Week - Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) - Early Life

Sergei Rachmaninov (1873-1943) With Donald Macleod. 1/5. Early Life Rachmaninov was born into a musical family. His grandfather had studied with John Field and would sit most mornings playing pieces by Chopin, Mendelssohn and Field. Initially, his family were well off, with extensive property holdings in North Western Russia, but by the 1880s, their finances were in such a dire state that the family had to sell up and move to a cramped flat in St Petersburg. It was there that Sergei Rachmaninov's musical path began in earnest when, at the age of ten, he won a scholarship to the St Petersburg Conservatory. Prelude in C sharp minor, Op 3, No 2 Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) Piano Concerto No 1 (1st mvt) Vladimir Ashkenazy (piano) Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Bernard Haitink (conductor) Aleko's Cavatina (Aleko) Maria Guleghina (soprano) Sergei Leiferkus (baritone) Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra Neeme Jarvi (conductor) Piano Trio No 2 in D minor (1st mvt) The Borodin Trio.