Sergei Rachmaninoff was one of the finest pianists who ever lived. He was helped, no doubt by his pair of huge hands. He was born in Oneg (near Novgorod) on April 1, 1873 and he died in Beverly Hills on March 28, 1943. Until the death of his friend Scriabin, Rachmaninoff had only played his own music in recitals. After Scriabin died in 1915, Rachmaninoff played his friend's music at a series of recitals, but in a completely different style from Scriabin. Many were outraged, but a young Prokofiev came backstage and told Rachmaninoff that he played very well. Rachmaninoff asked: "And you thought I'd play badly?" After that Rachmaninoff and Prokofiev didn't speak for years.

Rachmaninoff was an early wunderkind - he entered the Moscow conservatory when he was 14. He won medals for his piano playing, and he was very serious about composition early in his life. During preparations for performance of the students' final projects, the professor in charge freely cut and altered the students' compositions, but Rachaminoff not only refused to make any changes, he even had the nerve to point out the errors in the professor's conducting.

In 1892 he wrote the famous Prelude in C-sharp minor. There is a story that the reason this prelude became so popular is because Rachmaninoff forgot to copywright it, so all the publishers had a field day with it. His first symphony, on the other hand, was very badly received. Afterwards he could not write any music for three years. He was treated by a hypnotic specialist, Dr. Nikolai Dahl, who repeated over and over: "You will write your concerto... You will write your concerto... You will work with great facility... The concerto will be of excellent quality." Rachmaninoff did write a concerto, finishing it in 1901, and it became his most popular work. In the years before World War I Rachmaninoff wrote many excellent songs, including Vocalise, and extremely challenging piano piece, "tailored to his own spectacular hands."

In 1917, after the Revolution, Rachmaninoff left Russia for good, living in Europe and finally permanently settling in the United States in 1935. He felt written-out as a composer after leaving Russia, and he made a living as a pianist and conductor. Nevertheless, he wrote quite a few remarkable pieces during the later period of his life - Variations on a Theme by Corelli, Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini, Symphony No. 3, and Symphonic Dances. His music remains incredibly popular with audiences, but during his life it was not much liked by the critics because it was not groundbreaking enough for their tastes. Rachmaninoff wrote very melodic, romantic music that was very emotional, but not revolutionary. As a person Rachmaninoff was somewhat distant and was considered "stiff." He did have a good sense of humor, which he didn't show very often. Once though, during a recital at Carnegie Hall, the violinist he was playing with lost his place in the music and whispered to Rachmaninoff, "Where are we?" Rachmaninoff replied, in all seriousness, "Carnegie Hall."

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