Sergei Rachmaninoff

Russia, 1892–1943

Russian composer and pianist working in a late Romantic idiom. His Second and Third Piano Concertos remain central to the concert repertoire, and he had a substantial career as a performer.

MusicRoots documents 4 artists who influenced Sergei Rachmaninoff and 1 artist Sergei Rachmaninoff influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Sergei Rachmaninoff?

• Sergei Taneyev — Rachmaninoff studied counterpoint with Taneyev — the craftsman's discipline behind his seamless Romantic architecture.
• Anton Arensky — Rachmaninoff studied composition and harmony with Arensky at the Moscow Conservatory.
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky — Tchaikovsky personally championed the student Rachmaninoff, awarding his opera Aleko the highest mark and arranging its Bolshoi premiere.
• Frédéric Chopin — Chopin's piano tradition is the direct ancestor of Rachmaninoff's — his Variations on a Theme of Chopin and his celebrated Chopin interpretations document the lineage.

Which artists did Sergei Rachmaninoff influence?

• Muse — Bellamy's classically informed piano writing draws openly on Rachmaninoff, whose harmonic language runs through Muse's ballads and interludes.