Thursday, April 21, 2016

R is for Rachmaninoff

 
              I am participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge, and my theme this year is classical music. Check out the list of other participants by clicking here! R is for Rachmaninoff. Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer who lived from 1873 to 1943. Today’s featured video is Rachmaninoff’s (alternatively spelled Rachmaninov) Prelude in G minor, Op. 23, No. 5 played by Boris Berezovsky.



 
Photograph by Kubey Rembrandt
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
   ·   Sergei Rachmaninoff began playing the piano at the age of 4. He had an exceptional ability as a pianist and composer, and he wrote his First Piano Concerto at the age of 18.
 
   ·   He had very large hands which could span twelve keys on the piano. This made playing chords easy for him and his piano techniques were noted for definition and clarity.
 
   ·   At the premiere of Rachmaninoff’s first symphony, the conductor, Alexander Glazunov, was ill-prepared and possibly drunk. Critics highly disapproved of the piece and Rachmaninoff went into a depression for three years and suffered from writer’s block.
 
   ·   He finally overcame his depression after a course of hypnotherapy and psychotherapy, and went on to write his Piano Concerto No. 2, which became one of his most well-known, beloved concertos.
 

Rachmaninoff proofing his
Piano Concerto No. 3
   ·   Beyond composing, Rachmaninoff also made a living as a concert pianist and a conductor. He was offered many conducting positions in the United States.

   ·   He had a very deep religious faith and wrote some beautiful choral vespers full of vivid harmonies.

   ·   Rachmaninoff and his family moved to the United States in 1917. He made enough money from piano concert performances to build a house in Los Angeles that was an exact replica of his home in Moscow.
 
 
For this challenge, I’m keeping a playlist of the videos I’m using plus some extras for anyone who wants to hear more. I will update with the latest letter each day. For today’s extra video, I added Rock Meets Rachmaninoff by The Piano Guys. It is based on Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in C sharp minor and done in a soft rock style. The Piano Guys take classical pieces and rework them into modern styles and pop culture music. They also do a lot of movie themes.


 
Do you know your hand span on a piano? Mine is an octave (8 keys). Trivia: Rachmaninoff was tall and he rarely smiled for photographs, what nickname did this earn him?

14 comments:

  1. Was Grouchy his nickname? I have long fingers; it would be interesting to see what my span would be on a piano. Will have to try that sometime and also check with hubby what his is.

    betty

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    1. Betty, Grouchy wasn't Rachmaninoff's nickname, but it probably would have worked as well. I asked my brother about his hand span, and his is 10 keys.

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  2. Thanks for visiting my blog, Eliabeth. I've reciprocated on the follower front! I was interested to read about Rachmaninoff's wide hand span. That would account for much; I don't use the piano at all nowadays, but remember attempting one of his works and finding the stretch too much for me. Not to mention technical difficulties!

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    1. Greenpatches, Thanks for the follow :) I only dabble at the piano, but I can tell that Rachmaninoff would be very difficult to play, attempting would be futile for me.

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  3. Since following you during the #Challenge I am behind in reading your posts. Trying to visit as many blogs as possible. I am another Rachmaninoff fan, of course. Looking forward to concentrating on the posts I've missed soon. My letter R is about a hotel in Rome, which I used in a second novel. Having fun, hope you are too. Cheers.

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    1. Stepheny, the challenge has been fun, but I did get behind this week. I might have to join the Post A to Z Roadtrip to check out on the many bloggers I missed.

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  4. Next time I'm near a piano, I'll have to measure my hand span. I have pretty big hands, though not as big as 12 keys.

    Liz A. from Laws of Gravity
    & Unicorn Bell ("Rewind")

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    1. Liz, I had to look at my keyboard to get a visual of how long 12 keys are, and wow is all I could say!

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  5. You would think having large hands would be a detriment to a pianist, but it sounds like he made it work for him.

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    1. Stephanie, I think his fingers were fairly thin, so that probably helped him.

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  6. What a shame that due to the revolution he had to leave the home he loved. At least he could build his home as he remembered it in Russia. I am trying to remember my span but I think it was 7 or 8. Even though this was Buster Keaton's nickname, I will guess and say Stoneface as well.

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    1. Birgit, Stoneface would be another suitable nickname. I do think it's neat that he replicated his home :)

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