Sergei Rachmaninoff Essays - Sergei Rachmaninoff, Piano Pedagogues

Sergei Rachmaninoff SERGEI VASILYEVICH RACHMANINOFF 1873 ? 1943 Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff was born on April 1, 1873, at the family estate in Oneg, deep in the Nogorod countryside. His parents were Lubov Boutakov and Vasily Rachmaninoff. His father, Vasily, was an ex-officer in the Russian army. He had two elder sisters, Elena and Sophia, and an older brother named Vladimir. He had two younger siblings which joined the Rachmaninoff family, a girl named Varvara and a boy called Arkady. Varvara died when she was just a baby. Music was an important part of the Rachmaninoff family tradition. His father and his grandfaher had both played the piano. Alexander Siloti, Rachmaninoff's cousin, was already an acomplished pianist and was becoming popular by the time Rachmaninoff was born. Sergei was six years of age when he had his first piano lesson from Anna Ornatsky. She was from the St. Petersburn Conservatory. Rachmaninoff seemed to have a natural ability at the piano. Anna recommended that he receive a scholarship at the St. Petersburn Conservatory in 1881. He was but 9 years old when he began his formal lessons at the Conservatory. During the next few years he would skip his classes to play games and ?train hop?, which would eventually result in failure at school. By this time, circumstances at home had left Lubov and the children with next to nothing because Vasily had pissed away all of the families earnings. With no money and the school threatening to expell her son from the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Lubov turned to her cousin Alexander Siloti. They made an arrangement that Sergei could continue to study at the Conservatory, at which point the family moved to Moscow. There Sergei became a student of Nikolai Zverev. Nikolai was known throughout the country as both a teacher and a diciplinarian. Hard daily schedules of long practice sessions soon helped Rachmaninoff settle down and become focused. Over a period of time the dicipline began to pay off as their musical evenings soon attracted many of Russia's principal musicians. Amon g some of the more notable guests was Tchaikovsky, whom Rachmaninoff became close friends with. During his career as a musician, Rachmaninoff was greatly influenced by his new found friend, Tchaikovsky. Rachmaninoff had his first introduction to composing at The Moscow Conservatory, There, under the instruction of Sergei Taneyev and Anton Arensky, he obtained a better understanding of counterpoint and harmony and began composing on his own. Of his earlier works, some of the more notable are the tone poem ?Prince Rostslav ? and ?First Piano Concerto?, along with some solo piano pieces and several songs. His instructer, Zverev, felt that he was wasting his talents composing at the keyboard. They never reached an agreement, and Rachmaninoff transferred to study under his cousin Alexander Siloti.. Rachmaninoff took his final exams a year early, demonstrating remarkable talents at the piano, and graduated in 1891, a year earlier than expected. During this time he entered an opra entitled ?Aleko? for his exam assignment, which he wrote in just one month. This piece went on to earn the highest possible mark, the Great Gold Medal, and became one of his more well known works. Shortly after g raduation he composed ?C Sharp Minor Prelude? which he came to be known for for the rest of his life. In January of 1895, he began thinking of ideas for his first major orchestral work, his ?First Symphony?. It took him eight months to complete this undertaking. It was another year and a half before his symphony debuted in St. Petersburg, five days before Rachmaninoff's 24th birthday. The performance was a disaster , which left young Rachmaninoff devasted. He later went on to say of Glazunov, who conducted the premier, ?I am amazed how such a highly talented man can conduct so badly?. It was later believed that Glazunov conducted the dramatic work while piss drunk. Rachmaninoff lacked the confidence to compose anything after the shambles of the First Symphony, although the years following were not without musical activity. During this time he obtained a position conducting for a famous private theatre in Moscow. Still struggling with his ability to compose, he wrote only a few piano miniatures. After being introduced by a friend to

Ethical Issues of the Holy War essays

Ethical Issues of the Holy War essays The issue of a jihad, or holy war is a term brought from the bible to give bearing to the conquest of the land of one by the request of God. If and what relevance does this term have to the world as we know it today? The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is a prime example that it is still an issue and probably always will be. This ethical problem deeply affects three of the most prominent influences on the way each culture in the world operates. First is the political aspect. The Israeli possession of Palestine, treatment of the Palestinian people, and the habitation of the West Bank all make us vulnerable when taking either side. Meaning we put ourselves in a situation where we automatically make an enemy. This brings the second point into perspective. How should we act in warfare? Should we be participants or just object and watch, because how do we know if God is on the same side we are and what the consequences of the actions will be. The third point is that with the above in mind, how does this affect our view on the character of a God who can judge a group and be fair to each of us individually. There are two basic ethical decisions when deciding upon where to stand on the view of a holy war. Is it right or is it wrong? The view that holy war is moral and right comes from the term Graded Absolutism. This states that killing is clearly against God's law, but God exempted Israel from breaking these to satisfy higher laws (Geisler 27, 115-118). The other is Unqualified Absolutism. This states just the opposite, that it is wrong no matter what, and that God's law against killing is a moral absolute that must not be broken. (Geisler 27). What were the reasons for the rise of a holy war? From my reading I have found four distinct events that led to the start of each war. First, each followed an outcry against a nation that practiced extreme, widespread violence and cruelty. Also, each was preceded by extensive exposure to...