Rachmaninoff, Sergei

Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) Russian composer, pianist and conductor. He played the piano from the age of five. After a short time his musical talent became apparent and in 1882, at the age of nine, he entered the St Petersburg Conservatory. At the age of twelve he moved to the Moscow Conservatory. He took his exams at the conservatory a year early, and the examining committee was so impressed with his performance that he was awarded the Great Gold Medal of the Moscow Conservatory, only the second time in its history that this had happened. He was one of the last of the Russian Romantic composers, and because he lived at the turn of the century, he was influenced by both old and new creative styles. Some of his most famous works include his Symphony No. 2, Piano Concerto No. 2, Piano Concerto No. 3 and Piano Concerto No. 4.