Rachmaninoff at Carnegie Hall

Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) was a few months shy of his 45th birthday when, in December 1917, the Russian Revolution forced him to flee the country with his family. At the time, he was known primarily as a composer, although he performed regularly as a pianist and conductor, usually playing his own works. Suddenly, he was faced with the prospect of providing for his family in exile, and he knew well the difficulties and insecure prospects of making a living as a composer. He also didn’t relish the prospect of accepting a full-time conducting position, even though the Boston and Cincinnati symphony orchestras both came forward with attractive offers.

Rachmaninoff quickly realized that his best hope lay in a new career as a concert pianist. He certainly had the technical skills at his disposal, but a concert pianist needs ready repertoire—works by composers such as Beethoven, Chopin, and others—that he didn’t have under his fingers. So, he hunkered down and practiced—he was known to practice a minimum of four hours per day, without exception, up to the very end—and soon he had more concerts booked than he knew what to do with.

By the time of his death in 1943, he was recognized as among the greatest pianists of the 20th century. Rachmaninoff’s gain—and the gain of those lucky enough to have heard him perform—became posterity’s loss in a way, since his grueling concert schedule left him very little time to compose. Following his career shift, he wrote only four more orchestral works and just one work for solo piano—in fact, more than 90% of his compositions were written by 1917.

Still, all the facets of Rachmaninoff’s creative output—as composer, pianist, and conductor—are deeply embedded in the history of Carnegie Hall. In an association that spanned 33 years, Rachmaninoff performed 44 solo-piano recitals and made 49 solo appearances with orchestras; in addition, 41 of his works received important premieres at the Hall, including 13 US premieres and three world premieres. Rachmaninoff made his Carnegie Hall debut on November 13, 1909, when he performed his Piano Concerto No. 2 with Max Fiedler and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. He made his Hall recital debut a week later, on November 20, with a program of his works that included the Piano Sonata No. 1; excerpts from Morceaux de salon, Op. 10, and Morceaux de fantaisie, Op. 3; and three of his Op. 23 preludes. Although Rachmaninoff conducted only 11 times in America between 1909 and 1943, two of those concerts took place at Carnegie Hall.

Rachmaninoff’s final Carnegie Hall performances—and his last in New York—took place on December 17(opens in a new tab) and 18(opens in a new tab), 1942, with the New York Philharmonic(opens in a new tab) and conductor Dimitri Mitropoulos. Although he was nearly 70 years old, suffering from arthritis, and exhausted from his unrelenting tour schedule of the past 25 years, Rachmaninoff’s incredible skills had lost none of their edge, and he blazed through his Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. The New York Times noted that Rachmaninoff and Mitropoulos “were both in top form in the Rhapsody, which was projected with such extraordinary virtuosity that it was followed by an exceptionally protracted ovation.” The New York Herald Tribune gushed over what it called “the most sumptuous piano playing of our time.” Just over three months later, Rachmaninoff died at his home in Beverly Hills, California, following a battle with cancer.

Works by Rachmaninoff that received significant premieres at Carnegie Hall include the following:

Symphony No. 2(opens in a new tab) (US Premiere) with the Russian Symphony Society of New York conducted by Modest Altschuler: January 14, 1909
The Isle of the Dead(opens in a new tab) (New York Premiere) with the Russian Symphony Society of New York conducted by Rachmaninoff: January 27, 1910
Suite No. 1 for Two Pianos, Op. 5(opens in a new tab) (US Premiere), with pianists Raymond L. Havens and Mary Cracroft: February 16, 1911
Piano Concerto No. 1(opens in a new tab) (World Premiere of revised version) with the Russian Symphony Society of New York conducted by Modest Altschuler and Rachmaninoff as soloist: January 28, 1919
Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini(opens in a new tab) (New York Premiere) with the New York Philharmonic conducted by Bruno Walter and Rachmaninoff as soloist: December 27, 1934
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45(opens in a new tab) (World Premiere of two-piano arrangement by Rachmaninoff), with pianists Vitya Vronsky and Victor Babin: December 8, 1942