LDV45

20 RACHMANINOFF // MUSSORGSKY Sergey Rachmaninoff and the six Moments musicaux Sergey Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) had already written an opera and enjoyed an initial taste of success with the Prelude in C sharp minor when he composed his Moments musicaux in 1896. He was only twenty-three years old and was embarking on the composition of his First Symphony. The ignominious failure of that op.13 plunged the composer into a deep depression lasting four years, from which he managed to escape thanks to hypnosis and the subsequent triumph of his Second Piano Concerto. Rachmaninoff then experienced a period of musical effervescence, during which he composed most of his works, including the famous Third Piano Concerto and the Preludes. This ‘golden age’ came to an abrupt end with the Russian Revolution of 1917. Forced to leave his homeland, Rachmaninoff went into exile in the United States, where he pursued a brilliant career as an international pianist, but composed very little. He died in 1943, in his villa in Beverly Hills, without having seen his native Russia again. He left a substantial œuvre, long neglected by critics because of its so-called simplicity. Rachmaninoff’s output for piano has since been re-evaluated at its true worth and is now part of the mainstream repertory of Russian music.