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Sergey Rachmaninov was the last, great representative of the Russian Romantic tradition as a composer, but was also a widely and highly celebrated pianist of his time. His piano concertos, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, and his preludes famously test pianists' skills. His Symphony No. 2, the tone poem Isle of the Dead, and his Cello Sonata are also notable. The passionate melodies and rich harmonies of his music have been called the perfect accompaniment for love scenes, but in a greater sense they explore a range of emotions with intense and compelling expression.

Sergey Vasilyevich Rachmaninov, born in Semyonovo, Russia, on April 1, 1873, came from a music-loving, land-owning family; young Sergey's mother fostered the boy's innate talent by giving him his first piano lessons. After a decline in the family fortunes, the Rachmaninovs moved to St. Petersburg, where Sergey studied with Vladimir Delyansky at the Conservatory. As his star continued to rise, Sergey went to the Moscow Conservatory, where he received a sound musical training: piano lessons from the strict disciplinarian Nikolay Zverev and Alexander Siloti (Rachmaninov's cousin), counterpoint with Taneyev, and harmony with Arensky. During his time at the Conservatory, Rachmaninov boarded with Zverev, whose weekly musical Sundays provided the young musician the valuable opportunity to make important contacts and to hear a wide variety of music.

As Rachmaninov's conservatory studies continued, his burgeoning talent came into full flower; he received the personal encouragement of Tchaikovsky, and, a year after earning a degree in piano, took the Conservatory's gold medal in composition for his opera Aleko (1892). Early setbacks in his compositional career -- particularly, the dismal reception of his Symphony No. 1 (1895) -- led to an extended period of depression and self-doubt, which he overcame with the aid of hypnosis. With the resounding success of his Piano Concerto No. 2 (1900-1901), however, his lasting fame as a composer was assured. The first decade of the 20th century proved a productive and happy one for Rachmaninov, who during that time produced such masterpieces as the Symphony No. 2 (1907), the tone poem Isle of the Dead (1907), and the Piano Concerto No. 3 (1909). On May 12, 1902, the composer married his cousin, Natalya Satina.

By the end of the decade, Rachmaninov had embarked on his first American tour, which cemented his fame and popularity in the United States. He continued to make his home in Russia but left permanently following the Revolution in 1917; he thereafter lived in Switzerland and the United States between extensive European and American tours. While his tours included conducting engagements (he was twice offered, and twice refused, leadership of the Boston Symphony Orchestra), it was his astounding pianistic abilities which won him his greatest glory. Rachmaninov was possessed of a keyboard technique marked by precision, clarity, and a singular legato sense. Indeed, the pianist's hands became the stuff of legend. He had an enormous span -- he could, with his left hand, play the chord C-E flat-G-C-G -- and his playing had a characteristic power, which pianists have described as "cosmic" and "overwhelming." He is, for example, credited with the uncanny ability to discern, and articulate profound, mysterious movements in a musical composition which usually remain undetected by the superficial perception of rhythmic structures.

Fortunately for posterity, Rachmaninov recorded much of his own music, including the four piano concerti and what is perhaps his most beloved work, the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934). He became an American citizen a few weeks before his death in Beverly Hills, CA, on March 28, 1943. ~ Michael Rodman, Patsy Morita

Russian-born bass Sergei Leiferkus has proven himself authoritative in many areas of the repertory. He was among the first of the Soviet artists of the 1980s to have established himself as an important singer in the West, as well as in his own country. In addition to opera, he has excelled in recital and concert work. His sturdy, almost brazen timbre and incisive phrasing make a bold effect and his instrument's dark coloring makes it possible for him to effectively assume such bass parts as that of the soloist in Shostakovich's Symphony No. 13 (Babi Yar). After studies in Leningrad, Leiferkus was engaged by the Malïy Opera Theatre in 1972, remaining with that company as a principal singer until 1978. His debut at Leningrad's Kirov took place as Prince Andrei in 1977. As an increasingly important figure among that theater's growing roster of world-class singers, Leiferkus assumed such roles as Don Giovanni and Rossini's Figaro. His Western debut came not in an opera house, but rather on the concert stage when he appeared in 1980 with the Berlin Philharmonic under Kurt Masur. In 1982, he appeared at the small but well-known Wexford Festival singing the Marquis in Massenet's rather obscure Grisélidis. He was invited back for the title role in Marschner's Hans Heiling, the Fiddler in Humperdinck's Königskinder and Boniface in another Massenet rarity, Le jongleur de Notre-Dame. Leiferkus established other ties in the British Isles, performing Yevgeny Onegin and Don Giovanni for the Scottish Opera, essaying Zurga and Escamillo for the English National Opera and Zurga and Scarpia for Opera North. His debut at the Royal Opera took place as the Count di Luna in a 1989 production of Il trovatore. Subsequent roles there included Prince Igor, Iago, Onegin, Telramund, Scarpia, and Ruprecht in Prokofiev's Fiery Angel. With the Kirov company, Leiferkus toured England in 1987, performing both Onegin and Tomsky in Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame. The Glyndebourne Festival invited Leiferkus to repeat Tomsky in 1992; the same year, the baritone made his Metropolitan Opera debut as Onegin. Among his other nearly 50 roles are Mazeppa, Telramund, Pizarro (all three recorded), the elder Germont and Anckarstroem in Un ballo in maschera (a role that won him outstanding reviews at San Francisco in 2000). He has sung in such other venues as the Wiener Staatsoper, La Scala, the Teatro Colón, the Bastille Opera in Paris, and the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam. Besides Glyndebourne, Leiferkus has sung opera performances at the Salzburg Easter Festival, at Edinburgh, and at Bregenz. Leiferkus has made a series of excellent song recordings for both Conifer and Chandos. The first disc of his complete cycle of Mussorgsky songs was nominated for a Grammy, while Volume Two won a 1997 Cannes classical award, and three volumes from the set were honored with a Diapason d'Or that same year. The singer's recital appearances have been acclaimed in both America and England. Leiferkus has appeared several times at Lincoln Center and at the Frick Collection and has sung memorable programs at Covent Garden and Wigmore Hall. In addition to other recitals at Tanglewood, the Wexford Festival, the Kozerthaus in Vienna, and the Cologne Philharmonic, Leiferkus has conducted master classes at the Britten-Pears School at Aldeburgh, England.

A fixture of the Hyperion label's Romantic Piano Concerto series, pianist Howard Shelley has also specialized in the music of Rachmaninov and in British music of the 20th century. He often conducts from the keyboard.

Shelley was born on March 3, 1950, in London. His early skills were prodigious; he made his debut at the age of ten on BBC television and graduated from the Royal College of Music in London at 21. In 1972, he made his debut at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts, and he has been a frequent presence both there and on BBC broadcast outlets. Shelley's focus on Rachmaninov was most pronounced in the 1980s. He began a complete series of recordings of that composer's solo piano works on the Hyperion label in 1982, and the following year, he performed them all in a marathon over several days at Wigmore Hall in London. Shelley recorded Rachmaninov's four piano concertos for Chandos in 1989 & 1990. By that time, he had already begun conducting, both from the keyboard and, in non-keyboard works, from the podium. He was associate conductor and then principal guest conductor of the London Mozart Players in the early '90s. He also made guest appearances with top British orchestras, including the Philharmonia Orchestra and the London Symphony Orchestra. Later, Shelley performed a complete cycle of Beethoven's concertos with the BBC Philharmonic.

Shelley has recorded prolifically for Hyperion and Chandos, often issuing several albums in the course of a single year. He has recorded many works by post-Classical composers such as Johann Baptist Cramer and Muzio Clementi. That specialization grew into a major series of recordings for Hyperion under the auspices of its series "The Romantic Piano Concerto," which aimed at a large-scale excavation of forgotten 19th century works. On these recordings, Shelley often conducted the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra from the keyboard. By 2022, the series had reached its 81st volume, with Shelley performing and conducting works by composer Alois (Aloys) Schmitt. A second Hyperion series, "The Classical Piano Concerto," launched in 2014 with Shelley again as pianist/conductor; by 2021, there were eight volumes, including one of works by Georg Benda that appeared that year. Shelley also embarked on a complete cycle of Mendelssohn's solo piano music, and his work appeared on a recording of Chopin's piano-and-orchestra music issued by the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw.

Appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 2009, Shelley is married to pianist Hilary Macnamara, with whom he has performed in duo piano music. The couple has a son, Alexander Shelley, who is a conductor, and Howard Shelley has performed under his baton. ~ James Manheim