So... what's so great about Rachmaninoff?

[bennom]

...just kidding.

[pianistimo]

he was the only other melancholy composer/pianist since chopin (who was also a great composer/pianist).  he was stupid to give away that prelude for $20. bucks. what was he thinking?  maybe he could be manipulated in periods of depression?  ps i highly regard rachmaninov and that's why i use a 'v' at the end of his name.  he was the best composer since chopin to adequately describe melancholiness in piano terms.  his seriousness gave him clout. can you imagine him smiling.  it must have been like the sunlight suddenly breaking through the clouds.  how could he remember so many facts/details?  he was detail minded.  genius.

[bearzinthehood]

He was a master of texture, although the substance was a bit lacking IMO.  *shrug*  To each his own.

[steve jones]

I love Rachimaninov, but I dont think he was the greatest composer since Chopin. Infact, he was quite backward in many respects. While he was writing tonal Romantic works, music had moved on along way.

If you'd said Debussy then I might be more enclined to agree 

SJ

[alejo_90]

he was the only other melancholy composer/pianist since chopin (who was also a great composer/pianist).  can you imagine him smiling.  it must have been like the sunlight suddenly breaking through the clouds.

lol ! You're right ! I can't imagine him smiling !

[ce nedra]

He didn't smile for a reason. He didnt smile once after he had to leave Russia and move to the USA. Thats how much it depressed him.

[alzado]

he was the only other melancholy composer/pianist since chopin

I'm pretty sure that's not true.  Edward MacDowell would fit that description, just for one.  Perhaps Scriabin also.  Or Anton Rubinstein.  And one could go on . . . .

I find that PLAYING Rachmaninoff is in some ways more interesting than just listening to his music.  Rach. has something special to offer to pianists, moreso than to just the run of the concert hall audience.

One important thing about Rach. for this forum is that he was predominantly a composer for the piano. 

It is hard to assess how "great" Rachmaninoff was.  As for his influence on me personally, he would be right up there in perhaps the top six.  But as a pianist, I do not include many composers (example: Ralph Vaughan Williams) who really did not compose for piano.

[arensky]

I think he's misunderstood. People usually focus on the lush lyrical hyperemotional bravura aspects of his music. It's more than that, he was a real "builder" of pieces, the overall structures may be simple but when you look inside, the detail and craftmanship of his composing is amazing. One of the really great composers of all time.

[mikey6]

For a joke, this thread is surely getting a lot of serious replies.

[piazzo23]

lol ! You're right ! I can't imagine him smiling !

 I can indeed...

[kriskicksass]

ps i highly regard rachmaninov and that's why i use a 'v' at the end of his name. 

I spell his name Rachmaninoff for exactly the same reason as you spell it with the v. However, I think I have the upper hand here, as he spelled and signed his name Rachmaninoff while living in the United States.

[pianistimo]

was kind of joking on that one - i don't really care either way either.    but, i do respect rach.