Rachmaninoff / Victor I. Seroff.
| Author/creator | Seroff, Victor |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | London : Cassell, [1951] |
| Description | xi, 247 pages : portraits, plates ; 23 cm |
| Subjects |
| Variant title | Rachmaninov |
| Contents | Childhood -- Adolescence and Nicolay Zverev -- The Moscow Conservatory and Taneyev -- Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff -- Prelude in C-sharp minor -- First symphony and marriage -- The Bolshoi theatre in Moscow -- Retreat to Italy -- Dresden -- The first tour in the United States -- Marietta Shaginian -- Musical feuds in Moscow -- Farewell to Russia -- Exile in the United States -- Boycott of Rachmaninoff's music in Soviet Russia -- Rhapsody on a theme of Paganini -- A touring virtuoso -- Last years -- Reinstatement of Rachmaninoff's music in Soviet Russia. |
| Abstract | The mystery of Rachmaninoff is now penetrated for the first time. The personality he presented to his public was stern, granite-like, inapproachable. Yet everyone knew that behind that personality must lie deep feelings and deep humanity. For how else could Rachmaninoff have written music that millions love, or how played with such compelling beauty. It is only now, this book that we can understand what lay behind the forbidding exterior. Based on wide, patient and devoted research, this story tells us of his stormy and colorful youth, the devastating reception of his First Symphony, the breakdown and cure under the skillful ministrations of the hypnotist Dr. Dahl, the slow emergence of the mature artist, his marriage and devotion to his family, his periods of self doubt, and his long love affair with Russia and its ironical posthumous ending. For Rachmaninoff spent the last twenty-five years of his life in self-imposed but unhappy exile, he contributed generously to the home-front efforts of Russia during World War II; he was excoriated by the Soviet press and, after he died, was officially recognized as one of the great masters of composition whose examples ought to be followed and imitated by the Shostakoviches and Khatchaturians of today. |
| Bibliography note | Includes list of compositions (pages 215-227), bibliographical references (pages 229-241), and index. |
| LCCN | 52003362 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML410.R12 S4 1951 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |