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Rachmaninoff
Rachmaninoff’s work was scorned by the musical establishment as hopelessly old-fashioned and emotionally over-indulgent but never failed to find popular acclaim—including being used as the soundtrack to the film Brief Encounter. Who was this taciturn genius? This book investigates Rachmaninoff’s intense and melodramatic life.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Michael Scott
40 booksLibrarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
Michael Scott was the founder of the London Opera Society.
Michael Scott was the founder of the London Opera Society.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 12, 2026
This book covers the life and work of Sergei Rachmaninoff, no doubt my favourite Romantic pianist and composer. I enjoyed the attention to detail on the factual and historical side - it is abundantly clear just how much research has gone into this biography.
Scott not only presents an informative, compelling retelling of Rachmaninoff’s impact as both a composer and a performing musician, but ensures to explore his personal life as well - uniting the two with care. His diction never feels stuffy, or overly detailed, or as complex as perhaps other music biographers’, which is certainly welcome to the reader who is not looking to research for a dissertation and rather enjoy a pleasant non-fiction.
However, (and for this I have given three stars) I would argue more could have been said about the individual works themselves; their impact to Romanticism, their influences, characteristics, and compositional tendencies. While Scott is not secretive of his stance as a historian and not as a musicologist, I would argue his excellent research could have been balanced with more of his own musical criticism, or the criticism of others. It is a shame not to hear more about the absolutely breathtaking music that is often merely mentioned as a subject of a historical event and no more.
For those who are looking to read into a critique or evaluation of musicality, or compositional style, this is not the book for you. However, for those who are looking to know more about this great composer - his family, his youth, his mental health, his inspirations, his idols - this is a fantastic and digestible read.
Scott not only presents an informative, compelling retelling of Rachmaninoff’s impact as both a composer and a performing musician, but ensures to explore his personal life as well - uniting the two with care. His diction never feels stuffy, or overly detailed, or as complex as perhaps other music biographers’, which is certainly welcome to the reader who is not looking to research for a dissertation and rather enjoy a pleasant non-fiction.
However, (and for this I have given three stars) I would argue more could have been said about the individual works themselves; their impact to Romanticism, their influences, characteristics, and compositional tendencies. While Scott is not secretive of his stance as a historian and not as a musicologist, I would argue his excellent research could have been balanced with more of his own musical criticism, or the criticism of others. It is a shame not to hear more about the absolutely breathtaking music that is often merely mentioned as a subject of a historical event and no more.
For those who are looking to read into a critique or evaluation of musicality, or compositional style, this is not the book for you. However, for those who are looking to know more about this great composer - his family, his youth, his mental health, his inspirations, his idols - this is a fantastic and digestible read.
February 19, 2020
Too much of a chronological accounting and not enough of the essence.
Still, an amazing musician
Still, an amazing musician
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews